DRACULINA: BLOOD SIMPLE #3, from Dynamite Comics on 5/3/23, continues Lilith’s very lengthy exposition to Victory about the family history before unveiling the true nature of Lilith’s summons.
The Details
- Written by: Christopher Priest
- Art by: Michael Sta. Maria
- Colors by: Ivan Nunes
- Letters by: Taylor Esposito
- Cover art by: Jay Anacleto (cover A)
- Comic Rating: Teen+
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: May 3, 2023
Is It Good?
Oy! Reading a comic shouldn’t give you this much of a headache. Why is it so hard for every arc written by Christopher Priest to pick one salient point and stay focused? Alright, let’s do this.
When last we left everyone under the Sun, Levi (the blue demon) was hunting for the Watchers, Draculina lost her mind and was killing random women after dressing them up like Vampirella, Katie went looking for Draculina to stop her new hobby, and Lilith was still talking endlessly to Victory without coming to a point about what she wanted.
Now, Levi gets rough with Sam (one of the angels/Watchers), Katie gets in Draculina’s way, and Lilith finally gets to the point with Victory.
To be fair to Priest, the last page of this issue sort of ties it all together, but when you see what happens and why Lilith enlists Victory’s help, you can’t help but feel like the journey to get from point A to point B is a lot longer than the actual distance between points A and B. In other words, Draculina and Vampirella find themselves stuck in a spot, and Lilith has enlisted Victory to help get them out.
When you see how Vampirella and Draculina get stuck in the spot they’re in, your likely reaction will be “That’s it?!? We went through three issues of convoluted shenanigans for what amounts to a two-page setup?”
Presumably, all the shenanigans between issues #1 and #3 will come into play later in the series, but it feels like a lot of time was wasted.
On the plus side, Priest’s pacing, dialog, and individual character moments have weight, so the moments feel worthwhile, even if the way they’re strung together is meandering chaos.
On the even better side of this critique, the art from Sta. Maira and Nunes are gorgeous. You don’t hear reviewers often praise colorists, but Ivan Nunes earns our praise and then some. The precision and detail in Nunes’s coloring application are just short of miraculous. The story may give you a headache, but the art will take the edge off.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
Check out our DRACULINA: BLOOD SIMPLE #2 review to find out how and why Draculina adopted her new hobby.
We begin with Lilith talking to Victory about a baker named Yael who managed a bakery that served as a front for Belial’s organized crime operations. Yael is now dead, presumably drowned by Levi. The Watchers, a gang of angels, seek retribution for Yael’s death.
Meanwhile, Katie confronts Draculina in an alley while Draculina holds the body of another Vampirella “double.” Kaite and Drcualine spar, verbally and physically, until Katie realizes that Draculina wants to die. The real Vampirella shows up at the last minute to intervene.
We conclude the issue with an old candle that has a new effect, brother against brother, and a moment in time.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
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DRACULINA: BLOOD SIMPLE #3 is a headache wrapped in a migraine locked in a pain in the neck of a story. The scenes are haphazardly peppered without rhyme reason, and you get the overwhelming sense that a lot of time is wasted getting to the point. That said, the last page introduces the semblance of a plot, and the art is far better than it has a right to be.
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