Creative Staff:
Story: Joseph Michael Linsner
Art: Joseph Michael Linsner
What They Say:
After being forced to entertain the demon Masodik with wild stories under the threat of death, Vampirella has had more than she can stand. She begins to suspect that her fellow captive Dawn might know more than she is saying. Is Dawn hiding some ace up her sleeve, or is she in league with Masodik? Violence erupts between the two. The demon is thrilled by this, thinking he is getting a front row seat to the fight of the century. Blood flies and roses shatter as Dawn and Vampirella come face to face and confront their differences.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
After a number of delays that drew out this five issue series significantly – this installment was originally solicited for March, the Dawn/Vampirella crossover has come to a close. And the timing is right as well as the property for Vampirella is going into relaunch mode with the current series being drawn down and all the side projects wrapping up. Having really enjoyed Linsner’s material over the years, I knew things likely wouldn’t stay on track here completely so I wasn’t surprised by it. And in a way it likely helped in spacing things out a bit since this tale was simply tales within a tale, all of which is actually part of a larger problem.
Now that Dawn and Vampirella have figured out part of the trick of what’s going on, that propels them into action to deal with Masodik. It’s not exactly the most compelling of fight sequences since he doesn’t actually fight, but Vampirella does get in a pretty decent hit on the woman that was working for him – by removing her head completely from her body. Vampirella’s certainly interested in meting out some physicality after the rough run-in she has with Dawn early on in this installment as she was frustrated by Dawn’s seeming ability to escape from here at any time with a little help from Death. Her relationship is naturally a bit more complicated than that, but it makes for a good sequence with Dawn making it clear what he own true power level is and that Vampirella damn well better respect that. And she does, to a degree, because Vampirella’s not stupid.
Where the book wants to go isn’t bad, but it’s also familiar. With Masodik’s trick revealed and his now facing judgment from Vishna, it goes poorly for him and he ends up kicking off his next reincarnation. That takes us full circle back to the beginning of the series with the whole killing of a baby for reasons unclear at the time. Because he’s got a demon soul, there’s this sense that they really should follow through with it. They play up the killing Hitler before he was born angle and considering what he has been through and their own lengthy life experiences, their uncertainty is natural. While I do like how it works out, it is all highly familiar as we see the kid growing up and becoming what he does. It’s ambiguous to be sure yet it also fits in with Linsner’s overall style of storytelling and future-telling as well.
In Summary:
I really wanted to like this series more than I did and I’m not sure if I’m disappointed in it or myself. I grew up adoring Linsner’s artwork yet what I see here feels like the style hasn’t evolved or grown over the years and is what it was when I first discovered it some twenty-odd years ago. That’s not necessarily bad, but I had hoped for something a little more. The series itself is one that I liked but it was difficult if only because there were several Vampirella miniseries and specials running that largely did the same kind of alternate story telling. Dawn provides the hook but even here she comes across as a weak player. In the end the book just feels like it ran an issue too long and didn’t have enough to really say to make it compelling. I mostly enjoyed the individual tales but I kept looking for larger meaning where there was none in the end. So it’s all a bit hollow here after all the time and waiting involved and invested.
Grade: B-
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: October 21st, 2015
MSRP: $3.99
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