In VAMPIRELLA VERSUS PURGATORI #1, available from Dynamite Comics on March 24th, 2021, it’s Lilith’s birthday, and what better way to kick of this new series than implementing a plan to trigger Armageddon. When Vampirella gets wind of Lilith’s plan, she crosses paths with a horned, winged demon who may or may not be an ally.
The Details
- Written By: Ray Fawkes
- Art By: Álvaro Sarraseca
- Colors By: Salvatore Aiala
- Letters By: Tom Napolitano
- Cover Art By: Derrick Chew
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: March 24, 2021
Was It Good?
Yes, it was very amusing. Comic book villains these days sometimes are portrayed as deeply flawed individuals who’ve made bad choices or see themselves as the hero of their story or weren’t loved enough when they were growing up.
Lilith isn’t any of that. Lilith is a villain. She knows it, she enjoys it, and she does terrible things because she can… usually for revenge or simply to make Vampirella’s life a living Hell. It’s fun to see a villain having fun being a villain.
The art is smoky. That may seem like an odd choice for a description but it fits well within the context of the Sylphs (elemental wraiths) and Purgatori’s first appearance. The art team makes great use of shadows and vapor to portray characters that are not always solid.
To be fair, the art isn’t perfect. Several of the panels that show contour shading on characters look like the shadows were made with charcoal rubbings. It’s more of a creative choice that doesn’t quite work rather than a flaw, however.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Hooray! It’s Lilith’s birthday! And the ousted Queen of Drakulon wants presents.
Undine, the tentacled monster born of Lilith, has cast a divination spell as a birthday gift to find the so-called Tzadikim Nistarim — a category of 36 uncorrupted souls that justify humanity’s continued existence to God. If one or more are corrupted, the result would be Armageddon and a delightful act of spite against Vampirella, Lilith’s defiant vampire daughter.
Flying on patrol, Vampirella spots a Sylph loitering near a civilian house. She confronts it and glamours it to learn what it’s doing in a residential neighborhood. Inside the house, the Sylph’s brother is attempting to kill an old woman. Before it can be stopped, the second Sylph escapes with the old woman before she’s killed. Suddenly, the old woman is dropped at Vampirella’s feet along with the skull of the Sylph by a favorite Chaos character, Purgatori.
It’s not clear where Purgatori came from or how she got the old woman away from the Sylph, but the order of the panels keeps the story squarely on Vampirella’s perspective, so it works.
Purgatori claims she’s here to help and will explain everything after they get the old woman to safety. Vampirella takes them to a haunted house, perfect for blocking out Undine’s vision. Once there, Purgatori fills in Vampirella on Lilith’s plan.
Again, the explanation, the back-and-forth, the getting-to-know/trust this new person is left out. We’re still on Vampirella’s point of view, but in this scene, it would have felt more fleshed out to see a little bit of the exchange between the two.
Cut to Lilith’s penthouse and Vampirella crashes through the window to confront Lilith about her plan. Lilith freely admits she’s no lover of humanity and is perfectly amused to end life on Earth simply to spite her daughter. As they speak, Lilith has hench monsters fanning out all over the world to capture the remaining 35.
Without spoiling a twist that concludes the issue, the Sylphs aren’t done, Lilith invites Vampirella to dance, and Purgatori has a blood snack.
Final Thoughts
VAMPIRELLA VERSUS PURGATORI #1, available from Dynamite Comics on March 24th, 2021, is a refreshing return to the glory days of comics when the bad guys loved being bad. The main conflict is original and gets the reader hooked in immediately, and the art is decent overall. Plus, this story has a nice little twist at the end that we didn’t see coming.
Score: 8/10
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