In VAMPIRELLA 2021 HOLIDAY SPECIAL, available from Dynamite Comics on November 17th, 2021, Vampirella must contend with three supernatural creature hunters who’ve picked her as their target on Christmas Eve. Plus, two backups that are worth the price of admission.
The Details
- Written By: Will Robson, Vincenzo Federici, Vincenzo Carratu
- Art By: Will Robson, Vincenzo Federici, Vincenzo Carratu
- Colors By: Andrew Dalhouse, Matt Herms, Kike J. Diaz
- Letters By: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover Art By: Joseph Michael Linsner (cover A)
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Release Date: November 17, 2021
Wait! Don’t Forget To Sign Up For The Comical Opinions Newsletter.
It’s 100% FREE. Sign up NOW!
Was It Good?
Look. It’s too early for Christmas, Dynamite. Waaaaaay too early. But dang it if you didn’t put out a heck of a fun comic that does something few comics do these days. The backup stories are just as entertaining as the main story.
Despite what the credits might suggest, this isn’t an anthology issue. It’s s single issue with two strong (very strong) backups about Christmas-themed adventures of our favorite Drakulonian. What’s unique is each story uses one person to do both the writing and art which gives creators with a talent for storytelling to flex some creative muscle outside the wheelhouse they’re known for. They all did a great job, and none of the stories have any glaring weaknesses.
The main story focuses on Vampirella on Christmas Eve as she’s hunted by three siblings who name themselves and their hunting styles after the ghosts of Past, Present, and Future from Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. There’s not much depth or complexity to the story, and that’s 100% okay as the focus is on pure entertainment. It’s fun to see how the three hunters use inventive weapons to track and attack Vampirella at every turn. When the hunters close in, Robson isn’t afraid to mix in a little black humor with gore to increase the entertainment factor with schadenfreude when the hunters bite off more than they can chew.
I like Robson’s art style for this story. It’s slightly cartoonish and leans on exaggerated facial expressions and anatomy to elicit the feeling that every emotion and action is big, perhaps in an over-the-top way. Robson isn’t mimicking manga but there are some similarities in the approach to presenting the art with exaggeration that pushes the emotion of each panel more effectively. There’s nothing subtle about the art, but this isn’t a subtle story, and it’s close as you can get to a Christmas party, Vampirella style.
We’ll cover the backups in the next section because they’re short but good enough to merit a few words of praise.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a werewolf tracking Vampirella on a snowy Christmas Eve night in the big city. Vampirella gets the drop on the lycan who quickly explains the restraining collar he wears forces him to track her on behalf of three hunters. The hunters name themselves Past, Present, and Future, and they make an annual event out of hunting a supernatural creature. Vampirella is the selected prey for the annual hunt.
Each hunter not only names themselves after the Dickens ghosts, but their age and fighting styles reflect their namesakes as well. Past uses old-school weapons and techniques. Present uses modern weaponry and brute strength, Future uses advanced gadgetry and controls the monsters captured from past hunts with mind-control collars. At first, Vampirella is hobbled and put back on her heels, but it doesn’t take long before we conclude the issue with a reminder that she’s no ordinary monster.
Backup: Vampire Bells
Vampirella takes a trip to China for a change of scenery during the Christmas season. Unfortunately, her plans for a quiet Christmas Eve are interrupted by the appearance of a very large and very tough Kaiju. When Vampirella gets caught up in a tangled mess, an onlooker with bad eyesight sees a Christmas vision he did not expect.
Federici’s art is amazing in this backup and the story is an interesting mix of Western/European holidays and Eastern nerd culture. The twist ending is the most bizarre case of mistaken identity you’ll likely see, and it’s great.
Backup: Sleigh
Vampirella is hunting in the snowy woods of the North when a ruckus catches her attention. She makes her way to a nearby clearing where she finds Santa in a one-on-one death struggle against a huge Krampus-like demon. When Santa receives a serious blow, Vampirella is forced to intervene in more ways than one.
The ending of this story made me laugh out loud for the sheer cool absurdity of the last panel. I won’t spoil the ending but even if you guess correctly how it ends, the last panel is worth the trip. Carratú’s art is amazing. Different than Federici’s but equally good. This is the only wordless story in this special but you never feel lost, and it’s a stellar example of using art to tell the story.
Final Thoughts
VAMPIRELLA 2021 HOLIDAY SPECIAL is the horror-themed Christmas adventure you didn’t know you needed. Remarkably, the two backups are just as good as the main story, and we have a collection of creators pulling double-duty in both writing and art to demonstrate how good storytelling is good storytelling, whether you’re an artist or a writer. If you’re lamenting it’s too early for Christmas comics, get this one anyway. “Yule” be glad you did. (I’m sorry. That was terrible).
Score: 9/10
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.
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