VAMPIRELLA: DARK REFLECTIONS #1, by Dynamite Comics on 6/5/24, returns to the Vampiverse where Lilith takes on her first assignment as a full member of the Reality Corps.
Credits:
- Writer: Tom Sniegoski, Jeannine Acheson
- Artist: Daniel Maine
- Colorist: Francesca Cittarelli
- Letterer: Taylor Esposito
- Cover Artist: Jenny Frison (cover A)
- Publisher: Dynamite Comics
- Release Date: June 5, 2024
- Comic Rating: Teen
- Cover Price: $4.99
- Page Count: 24
- Format: Single Issue
Covers:
Analysis of VAMPIRELLA: DARK REFLECTIONS #1:
Plot Analysis:
If you’re a fan of multiverse-hopping adventures starring a variant of your favorite space vampire, you’re in luck. Tom Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson return to the Vampiverse for a brand new adventure starring the series’ more enthusiastic variants – Lilith.
VAMPIRELLA: DARK REFLECTIONS #1 begins with a Cult of Chaos ceremony in progress to bring the Chaos Lords forth on one of the Thread Earths. Suddenly, a Black & White Vampirella named Lilith, wearing retro space gear, arrives through a portal to break up the ceremony and keep the Chaos Lords where they belong.
Later, Lilith is thrilled to learn her latest sortie earned her a position as a full-time agent of the Reality Corps, an organization that operates at the Nexus of the Vampiverse, aka the Weave. As a full-fledged agent, Lilith is given her first assignment – investigate why Vampirella and the Earth of Thread 9285 have suddenly gone radio silent.
Before Lilith can leave for her mission, she’s ordered to visit the Reality Corps head scientist, Pendragon, to get bonded with her new ship. Lilith is thrilled with her gift but slightly unsettled that Pendragon imbued the ship with the personality of Lilith’s deceased little brother, Adam.
Lilith and Adam (now nicknamed “Brat”) head to Thread 9285 to find waves of supernatural resistance. When they enter Earth’s atmosphere, they find the cities in ruin, covered by a silky, weblike substance. Suddenly, Brat is attacked by gigantic moth-like creatures. Brat forces Lilith to eject so he can lead the flying monsters away.
Lilith is attacked by another moth monster in mid-air. She manages to kill it, but not before crashing into the middle of a sports arena where Lilith finds a group of impregnated women with strange symbols written on their bellies. The situation goes from bad to worse when new threats attack, giving Lilith more than one surprise for her first mission.
Character Development:
Sniegoski and Acheson put Lilith’s cheery, wide-eyed optimism to the test with an adventure that fits neatly within the Vampiverse sphere of science fiction stories but borrows liberally from Vampirella’s typically dark, supernatural threats. Readers looking for a Vampirella story with a little less grim brooding will find Lilith a pleasant change of pace.
Artwork and Presentation:
Daniel Maine’s art delivery is an exceptional mix of science fiction adventure and supernatural dangers. Maine’s character designs are on point, the wide panels give readers an eyeful of creative settings, particularly during the travel scenes through the Weave, and bonus points go to Cittarelli for an impressive use of colors to showcase the mind-bending distortions of the Weave.
That said, the polish on Maine’s inks could be sharper.
Art Samples:
Pacing and Structure:
Despite the uniqueness of the scenario, placing it well outside a typical Vampirella comic, Sniegoski and Acheson turn in an entertaining script. New readers who don’t know anything about the Vampiverse are acclimated quickly through clever dialog without voluminous exposition. The writers lean into the show-don’t-tell method of establishing Lilith’s character, and the setup is easy to follow.
That said, the establishment of the Reality Corps is a new construct that didn’t get much development in the Vampiverse series, so it would have been beneficial to get a little more world-building here before jumping right into the mission.
Thematic Exploration:
For all the complexity that comes with an adventure rooted in alternate dimensions across a multiverse, the theme here is as simple as it gets – good vs. evil. Lilith isn’t wrestling with internal conflicts or being forced to examine traumas from her past. This a straight adventure about good guys fighting bad guys, and that’s okay.
The Bigger Picture:
Series Continuity:
If all the talk of the Weave, Threads, and alternate Earths sounds familiar, yes, there is quite a bit of narrative similarity to the Plural Earths from Dynamite’s other series – Project: Superpowers. The parallels may become more confusing for new readers since Vampirella has also appeared as a member (auxiliary) of The Project and done battle on Plural Earths.
However, the Weave appears to be similar but separate.
Final Thoughts:
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VAMPIRELLA: DARK REFLECTIONS #1 kicks off a rousing adventure about a new member of the Reality Corps investigating a parallel Earth gone silent. Sniegoski and Acheson’s script distills the complex multiversal shenanigans into a clear, concise plot about good versus evil, and Daniel Maine’s art excels, especially in the trippier aspects of multi-dimensional travel.
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