VAMPIRELLA STRIKES #1 – Review

VAMPIRELLA STRIKES #1, from Dynamite Comics on May 11th, 2022, continues a new arc after the events of Vengeance. The city of Sepulcher enjoys a tenuous peace between mortals and monsters, but a new threat from the bowels of Hell has emerged to tear the city apart.

The Details

• Written By: Thomas Sniegoski
• Art By: Jonathan Lau
• Colors By: Omi Remalante Jr.
• Letters By: Jeff Eckleberry
• Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: May 11, 2022

Was It Good?

VAMPIRELLA STRIKES #1 is the latest series from dynamite that puts Vampirella at the center of a post-apocalyptic world where demons and humans struggle to coexist. Sniegoski’s successful run on Vengeance of Vampirella created a future world after Hell’s invasion was stopped and the big threat (Nyx) has long since been put down. Does the story have enough legs to keep going? So far, yes.

Sniegoski has proven to be the kind of writer that can take a story’s ending and spin up a completely new direction, like a Phoenix from the ashes. Whereas Vengeance centers on a world where humanity teetered on the brink of extinction by demonic hands, Strikes twists the aftermath into a peacekeeping story with a detective noir edge.

In tone and setting, this first issue almost feels like a Blade Runner story. You have a dystopian-ish society populated by disillusioned, cynical citizens. You have a fragile peace between two different people groups. And, you have a peacekeeper (Vampirella) looking for the heart of a conspiracy threatening to light the fuse that will lead to an explosive war. In fairness, Sniegoski isn’t copying Blade Runner. The point is that this first issue and Blade Runner share similar plot points that make for a successful recipe.

Admittedly, we were excited when we heard Jonathan Lau was working on this title, and he did not disappoint. The unique character designs are imaginative and brimming with personality. Lau’s panel compositions effectively use asymmetric closeups to emphasize the drama of even small moments. And Remalante Jr.’s coloring work is phenomenal.

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]

We begin in the city of Sepulcher. A city built by the Danse Macabre to give life a chance in a world devasted by war. The citizens of Sepulcher, humans and demons, live together in grudging harmony.

Unfortunately, Vampirella gets word of a gang-style murder. Somebody killed an entire gang of demons with an unidentifiable weapon. Shortly after the investigation starts, Balthazar notices an aspect of the weapon that sounds familiar to old stories he heard as a pup.

A specific tribe of demons, the Drujh, from the lowest pits of Hell once threatened to take over the Underworld using a weapon that kills demons with instant ferocity. The Drujh were defeated, and their weapons were locked away forever. Now, it appears somebody has found the Drujh weapons.

We conclude the issue with a barroom brawl, a support group, and target practice.

Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.

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