Writers: Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson
Art: Daniel Maine, Francesca Cittarelli, and Taylor Esposito
Publisher: Dynamite Comics
Price: $3.99
Release Date: January 12th, 2022
Bloodwing’s quest to destroy all the multiverse’s Vampirellas continues in Vampiverse #5, taking us through various ages and worlds, as Vampirella’s team adds a new recruit. See my review below.
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The Story
Vampiverse #5 story branches across three different plots, two of which converge by the end. Plot one has Bloodwing continuing her decimation of the Vampirellas across the multiverse and grabbing more pages of “The Book of Prophecy”. Plot two has the Vampirella team trapped on a prehistoric planet, trying to get to their spaceship The Vesper in order to continue their pursuit of Bloodwing. And plot three is a glimpse of an old woman in a nursing home, whose mutterings seem to link her to Bloodwing.
The story moves at a great clip, especially the scenes with Vampirella’s team. A new Vampirella joins their team this issue and helps them battle their way through the dinosaurs and other fierce creatures on the prehistoric world where Bloodwing left them last issue.
How can you not love a comic that has vampires (even a female “Buck Rogers” style vampire, complete with ray gun, space bodice, and bubble helmet) battling dinosaurs to get to their spaceship?
It’s like watching one of those old “Sci-Fi Theater” films when I was a kid. Every Saturday afternoon on the local UHF channel, a guy (probably the station’s Assistant to the Assistant Executive Producer) dressed in a ratty spacesuit and Spock ears, introduced double features like “Devil Girl from Mars” and “Hercules Against the Moon Men”. Well, Vampiverse would fit neatly into one of those double-features like a custom-tailored suit.
I like that writers Thomas Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson give equal time and moments to each member of the Vampirella squad when they could easily have Vampirella herself take front and center, at the expense of the others. It’s smart because you get to like these other Vampirella versions enough to where you want to see their own series. Their personalities, abilities, and styles are distinct enough to where you’re never confused with who’s speaking at any given time, which is a problem that other comics dealing with alternate universes (<cough>Star Trek<cough>) drop the ball with at times.
The Art
Daniel Maine’s art in Vampiverse #5 captures the various locales throughout the issue in great detail, whether the scene takes place in a city or the cosmos.
One location in the issue is 1940’s London, and Maine masterfully depicts a city wracked by war, with airships dotting the skies, shining lights down on the wreckage of the city below.
Bloodwing’s soldiers are drawn as a cross between the zombies in “Dawn of the Dead” and the Gamorrans from Star Wars. They’re as terrifying as Bloodwing herself.
Final Thoughts
Vampiverse #5 is pure action from beginning to end. The Vampirella squad continues to be a fun team, and it will be interesting how the new member gels with the rest of the team. The issue ends on a great cliffhanger that promises a huge battle coming next issue.
9.3/10