PURGATORI (VOL. 2) #1 – Review

In PURGATORI (VOL. 2) #1, available from Dynamite Comics on October 20th, 2021, Purgatori takes time off to make peace with Lilith’s dark influence infecting her mind. Unfortunately, a coven of witches is about to disrupt her quiet time.

The Details

• Written By: Ray Fawkes
• Art By: Álvaro Sarraseca
• Colors By: Salvatore Aiala
• Letters By: Tom Napolitano
• Cover Art By: Antonio Fuso (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: October 20, 2021

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Was It Good?

Okay, you got me, Dynamite. I’m on board.

PURGATORI (VOL. 2) is a direct sequel to this year’s Vampirella vs. Purgatori mini-series. In that saga, Vampirella and Purgatori became reluctant allies to stop Lilith from bringing about Armageddon. Somehow, Purgatori was able to stay one step ahead of Lilith’s plans because she was being fed information from a secret source. That source happened to be the future version of herself, ascended to godhood. With Lilith’s defeat, Purgatori bore some battle scars, including a nasty mind worm courtesy of Lilith. Now, we’re dealing with the aftermath. Thus endeth the history lesson.

It would be a stretch to call a vampire/demon demi-god a “hero” but this series positions Purgatori at least as somebody who wants to be left in peace. If (and this is an assumption) Purgatori takes up a hero’s journey in this volume, Fawkes has worked out an exceptional starting point. Purgatori is damaged but pushing in the right direction. When the villain(s) show up, they intend to trip her up on her path for some malicious purpose that hasn’t been revealed.

That leaves us with a (sorta) hero starting in a bad place and on a path to redemption when external forces try to either push her down or take something she has (it’s not clear which). It’s a perfect setup to give readers a protagonist you can root for or get behind.

What elevates this first issue significantly is Shaolin Monk Kung-fu action. Yes, that’s right. They’re real and they’re spectacular.

Of course, you can’t pull off magical evil, demonic-looking vampires, or kung fu fights without the art to back it up, and Sarraseca pulls it off admirably. Our reviews of the Vampirella vs. Purgatori mini-series were consistently down on the panel backgrounds using a very Photoshop-like texture that didn’t mesh well with characters. Thankfully, Sarraseca appears to have improved on the prior series, and the integration between characters and backgrounds is much improved.

Overall, this is a better-looking start to the Vampirella vs. Purgatori and Fawkes has given readers a perfect setup for a protagonist to get behind, even if she is a tad bit evil.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

We begin with a brief flash-forward to 250 years in the future where we see Purgatori, in god form, sitting on her throne. She looks back on her life, acknowledging that forces are marshaling to disrupt her past self from becoming the ruler she is today.

Now, Purgatori spends her days in deep meditation at a Shaolin temple, learning to still the voices of all those she’s consumed over the centuries. It’s not the past that haunts her as much as the magical virus Lilith planted in her mind during their last conflict. Purgatori believes she must learn to still the voices if she’s to find the one from Lilith and either trap it or destroy it.

A coven of witches makes a plan to infiltrate the temple disguised as one of the monks to get to Purgatori. It’s not immediately clear what they plan or why, but their spells do the trick. The one witch chosen enters the temple and dispatches the monks inside while Purgatori is in a deep, meditative trance.

We conclude the issue with a king fu fight to the death, Purgatori coming out of her trance to an unhappy sight, and clarity about the first phase of the coven’s plan.

Final Thoughts

PURGATORI (VOL. 2) #1 positions the demon vampire as a damaged demi-god trying to make peace with herself and the world. Fawkes expertly takes a not-necessarily-good main protagonist and sets up a hero’s journey readers can get behind with stellar efficiency. And the art team has taken significantly improved strides from the last Purgatori mini-series.

Score: 9/10