Vampirella #5 Review

Is this still a thriller or a dim extension of an aged franchise? Read on to find out.

The official description from Dynamite:

In “Kauzstadt”, the penultimate episode of the “Our Lady of Shadow” story arc, Vampirella and Drago travel to Eastern Europe in search of the vampire blood necessary to defeat Lady Umbra, the Queen of Shadows. Their first stop is in Serbia, where they must locate and hunt down the rarest of vampires, the eerily beautiful Leptirica, before heading to the Transylvanian village of Kauzstadt, home of the King of the Nosferatu—who also happens to be Vampirella’s half-brother!

There’s a lot of things that I’ve adored about this creative team and their run, but more so than anything else is their absolute dedication to our scantily clad industry icon. Because of their hard work I believe fanboys and fangirsl are bound to find plenty of worthwhile moments within the release. It would be so easy to take one look at the cover and judge the content within, but that would be a mistake.

Nancy A. Collins pens the script and there’s no doubt, in my book, that this is exactly the right author for Vampirella. Ever since the night our heroine attempted a rescue we’ve seen her compromise her usually unshakable morals in a life altering plot. The focus is the upcoming resurrection of Lady Umbra, and that certainly carries a noticeable shadow even as darker elements come out to play. On top of that we’re treated to sturdy narration and engaging dialogue that seamlessly adds together to yield a rousing comic book experience

There were moments where the written word could have become overbearing, but the visuals by Patrick Berkenkotter found a sturdy balance from the first page to the final panel. From the various monsters to the occasional human caught in their cross-fire, it becomes readily apparent that each pencil stroke ebbs and flows with detail. Add in the dynamic colors by Jorge Sutil and the entire package is simply treated with a rather rewarding display.

Vampirella #5 stands as an engaging example for how any creative team needs to keep the quality of their arc, despite entering the fifth outing of their narrative journey. What we get from this experience is a clear and charged jaunt that keeps the supernatural elements at play without cheapening the events that came before. In other words: this comes recommended.