DIE!namite: Blood Red #1, by Dynamite Comics on 10/15/25, lurches into Sunset City, a once-human sprawl now gnawed hollow by the so-called Deadmen.
Credits:
- Writer: Fred Van Lente
- Artist: Marco Finnegan
- Colorist: Ellie Wright
- Letterer: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover Artist: E.J. Su (cover A)
- Publisher: Dynamite Comics
- Release Date: October 15, 2025
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 22
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of DIE!NAMITE: BLOOD RED #1:
First Impressions:
There’s zing in the banter but sludge on the page. The dialogue pops with personality while the art feels like it’s still stretching after a long nap. The book sways between clever apocalypse noir and a zombie brawl cobbled from concept scraps.
Plot Analysis:
Sunset City is ground zero for a gendered zombie plague. The X-virus transforms men into mindless Deadmen, leaving surviving women to rebuild society in broken pockets. Into this wasteland storms Pantha, who rescues a terrified newcomer named Jessica from an undead ambush and ushers her into the domain of Purgatori, a self-styled queen ruling behind fortified walls. The story quickly sketches a fragile ecosystem—equal parts fiefdom and fight club—where survival means tactical alliances, snappy insults, and nicotine-sharp instincts.
Meanwhile, Vampirella narrates her cynical monologue about exile from planet Drakulon after investigating the outbreak with her partner Tristan. She muses on bureaucracy, gender politics, and her knack for landing in interstellar pandemics. Her wit clashes nicely against the backdrop of blood-slick streets and black-market absurdities, including fights staged for scraps and affection traded like currency.
Running interference is Miss Fury, the terse muscle enforcing Purgatori’s grim order. Her strained exchanges with Vampirella magnify the ongoing tension between idealism and ruthless control. When Fury grows suspicious of Vampirella’s locked door and confronts her, the mutual disdain reaches a satisfying boil.
The issue closes on chaos: an unidentified UFO crashes near L.A.X., dragging a swarm of Deadmen in its wake. Rocky, Red, and Marla scramble for an extraction while Vampirella and Tristan brace to confront whatever fresh horror just crash-landed. The last page taunts with “Next: Saviouress from the Stars.” (Hint: More like a Saviouress from Mars).
Story
Fred Van Lente’s script crackles with gallows humor and confident world-building. The dialogue leaps off the page – Pantha’s sardonic warmth, Purgatori’s queenly venom, and Vampirella’s weary self-awareness make every exchange feel barbed and alive. The rhythm of narration balances exposition with character flair, keeping the reader grounded even as the apocalypse gets playfully weird.
Art
Marco Finnegan’s art, unfortunately, can’t carry the same weight. Panels look rushed, anatomy wobbles, and visual continuity tumbles scene to scene. Backgrounds blur into suggestion, and moments meant for impact dissolve into flat clutter. Ellie Wright’s coloring tries to salvage emotional tone with moody palettes, but the linework loses cohesion fast.
Characters
The cast is the saving grace. Every figure radiates personality: Pantha’s feral compassion, Fury’s biting professionalism, and Vampirella’s noir-tinted charm. Dialogue builds their identities efficiently, hinting at layered histories beneath the pulp setup. Even Jessica’s trembling humanity adds an emotional tether amid the chaos.
Positives
The issue’s greatest strength lies in its characters and their sharp, needlepoint voices. The writing moves briskly, balancing dread and snark without collapsing under either. The setting (a matriarchal post-virus mini-empire) is fresh and full of potential. Van Lente deftly juggles multiple leads without losing the thread, turning every conversation into a small duel of survival instincts and ego.
Negatives
The art drags the pacing down and mutes the intended energy. Action scenes blur instead of hitting hard, and expressions often miss emotional nuance. Perspective shifts feel sloppy, reducing the tension that the writing works hard to build. What should look grimly kinetic often just looks unfinished.
Art Samples:
Final Thoughts:
(Click this link 👇 to order this comic)
DIE!NAMITE: BLOOD RED #1 is a sharp-tongued stunner that stumbles visually. The writing howls with wit and personality while the art mumbles under its breath. DIE!namite: Blood Red #1 could have been a knockout if its visuals matched its verbal bite, but even so, it leaves a satisfyingly bloody grin.
We hope you found this article interesting. Come back for more reviews, previews, and opinions on comics, and don’t forget to follow us on social media:
If you’re interested in this creator’s works, remember to let your Local Comic Shop know to find more of their work for you. They would appreciate the call, and so would we.
Click here to find your Local Comic Shop: www.ComicShopLocator.com
As an Amazon Associate, we earn revenue from qualifying purchases to help fund this site. Links to Blu-Rays, DVDs, Books, Movies, and more contained in this article are affiliate links. Please consider purchasing if you find something interesting, and thank you for your support.