As this crazy tale caught between order and chaos charges forward, do we really have enough reason to care about the players involved?  Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

Vampirella and Criswell are stranded one hundred years in the future, unraveling a mystery of apocalyptic proportions. Meanwhile, in the present, their allies struggle against a deadly coven of witches whose terrible spells threaten to damage all time and reality!

Our scarlet clad heroine has certainly been through the wringer but nonetheless, even when she’s faced with seemingly insurmountable odds, she finds the strength to keep up the fight.  Even when she’s staring into a bizarre future full of strange and inexplicable things she keeps trucking as she attempts to find a way to protect both her friends and family from things beyond their control. 

Brandon Jerwa pens the script and he finds an exceptional way to balance both the pacing of the issue as well as the zany aspects of the tale.  A by product of that is an absolutely engaging saga that has enough nuances to make the experience worthwhile.  There were some speed bumps along the way but these instances which suffered from a slight overabundance of text were few and far between. The total bulk of the literary component more than makes up for any missteps as the scribe proves his mantle once again with another excellent entry.

The art by Patrick Berkenkotter is stunning as the talent seamlessly brings life to a visually stunning world.  His renditions of the primary and secondary characters are as authentic as they are outlandish.  His pencil strokes embrace their campier elements in a way that’s neither contradictory nor disrespectful to their individual origin.  In short: I adored the delicately crafted displays, especially in a few select panels.

Vampirella #30 is not perfect but it’s yet another release that’s sure to please its hardcore audience.  As a side note The Jetsons parody that was caught in this vision of the future was a welcome distraction, even if it was a bit too random for its own good.  Recommended.

4/5