VAMPIRELLA #669, by Dynamite Comics on 6/12/24, puts Vampirella on the offensive when she accepts she’s stuck in a dream loop, who put her there, who wants to keep her there, and why.
Credits:
- Writer: Christopher Priest
- Artist: Ergün Gündüz
- Colorist: Ergün Gündüz
- Letterer: Willie Schubert
- Cover Artist: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
- Publisher: Dynamite Comics
- Release Date: June 12, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 24
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of VAMPIRELLA #669:
Plot Analysis:
The plot thickens… or does it? Christopher Priest continues Vampirella’s reality-bending, mind-warping adventure when she starts to believe that she’s stuck in a dream loop, that resets every time she dies. Can she stay alive long enough to learn the truth and break the cycle?
When last we left Vampirella in issue #668, Vampirella started to believe the nuggets of information that suggests her “good” life is a lie intended to keep her away from interfering with Stan and Shane the Astronaut’s plans. After seeking advice from her friends and family, Vampirella eventually sought the counsel of her therapist, but the session ended badly when Draculina gutted the good doctor. After a brief tussle that sent Vampirella and her sister hurtling through a skyscraper window to the street below, Shane’s son, aka “the boy,” arrived with a double-barreled shotgun to keep Vampirella alive.
In Vampirella #669, Priest briefly recounts the conclusion of Vampirella/Dracula: Rage where Vampirella and Victory do battle against Shane the Astronaut at the magical gateway that links Drakulon with Arcadia, Shane’s home. In the unreal now, Vampirella flees in a stolen cab with Shane Jr., aka “the boy”, from Draculina to keep the dream alive long enough for Vampirella to get at the truth and break the dream.
Unfortunately, her driving skills leave a lot to be desired, and the dream resets.
Fortunately, Vampirella wakes up still remembering Shane Jr’s story about a sister, so she seeks counsel with her friends and family, again. First, she talks to the therapist who suggests Draculina may not know that the dream resets every time she kills Vampirella. Then, she speaks to Lilith who has no recollection of ever having a daughter named Draculina.
Finally, she consults her husband, Matt Ecsed, who believes her story and accepts that Vampirella believes he might be a gay Dracula. In effect, her friends and family are at least supportive of her quest to find the truth.
Through the dialog and the opening flashback, we learned Lilith tied Vampirella’s DNA to the gateway linking Drakulon and Arcadia. When Shane the Astronaut was defeated and pushed through the gateway at the end of Vampirella/Dracula: Rage, the dream loop began.
Now, Vampirella and Shane Jr. wait out the next attack in a classroom. Suddenly, Draculina launches a sniper attack, but she’s surprised when Lilith sneaks up on her and disarms her at gunpoint. Draculina makes a plea to Lilith to join her quest to keep Vampirella from learning the truth because ending the dream loop resets Draculina and Lilith into their original reality in which they’re both terrible people.
The issue concludes with Vampirella racing to the sniper location, believing her tap with Lilith worked, but what she finds when she gets there is anything but Victory.
Character Development:
Slowly but surely, Vampirella gains ground on the recollection of her original reality and takes steps to get it back. Her fight feels authentic to anyone we could imagine in a similar situation, and Priest elevates the strength of her supporting characters as they take steps to support her.
Artwork and Presentation:
Ergün Gündüz’s action-heavy issue pushes the illustrator to new heights when we get Shane the Astronaut engaging in magical battles, car chases, zombie fights, and more. Admittedly, Gündüz’s style is an acquired taste, but the flat, motionless composition has improved throughout the series.
That said, there’s a serious consistency nitpick between the previous issue and this one. Draculina’s costume inexplicably changes color from black to red, which is a small but glaring mistake.
Art Samples:
Pacing and Structure:
It’s no secret we’re not a fan of the majority of Priest’s work on this title. Plus, leaning on one of the worst, most overly complicated, and ridiculously convoluted arcs (Interstellar) isn’t doing this arc any favors. However, this is one of the clearest and most informative issues so far because it lays out a connection between Vampirella, the gateway, and Shane’s actions (sort of), and we now know why Draculina keeps trying to kill her sister.
To be clear, we’re not advocates of spoon-feeding or super simplistic plot structures, but it seems clear Priest’s writing style requires a heavier editorial hand because he gets lost in laying out a clear plot. Stream-of-consciousness scripts don’t work in an ongoing title.
Regarding the reading flow and speed, the issue has a peppy pace, even if we don’t understand half of what’s happening or why.
Thematic Exploration:
There might be a theme under all this chaos and non-linear thinking, but darned if we know what it is. Presumably, you could infer the theme is the exploration of how far people are willing to go to get the life they always wanted.
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
Now that the connection is spelled out, it will serve any reader brave enough to pick up this series to go back and read Vampirella/Dracula: Rage to get the scoop on the events that led Dracula and Victory to partner up to save Vampirella from herself after her child was “killed.”
Final Thoughts:
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VAMPIRELLA #669 picks up the pace and the information dumps to explain how Vampirella got stuck in a dream loop, why Draculina wants to keep her in it, and what she needs to do (maybe) to get out of it. The pace is peppy, and the art team’s action keeps the visuals interesting, but the biggest point of anticipation is wanting this convoluted mess of a story to be over.
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