In VAMPIRELLA (VOL. 5) #21, available from Dynamite Comics on June 30th, 2021, Vampirella, Lilith, Shane, and the Cauldryn are marooned on a post-apocalyptic version of Earth called Arcadia.
The Details
- Written By: Christopher Priest
- Art By: Ergün Gündüz
- Colors By: Mohan
- Letters By: Willie Schubert
- Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: June 30, 2021
Was It Good?
It’s one of the better, if not the best, issue in the current Interstellar story arc simply because you can understand what’s going on. It’s just a shame this had to be the last issue in the Interstellar story arc.
Gündüz’s art is consistent for the run. That’s neither good nor bad, necessarily. Gündüz has a very niche style that looks like an odd mix of digital sketches merged with Photoshop textures. It may appeal to you or it may not, but it’s a significant departure from anything that looks like it fits on a printed page.
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The characters are well-drawn, and Gündüz has developed a knack for drawing realistic facial expressions. On the other hand, the characters look like stickers on the backgrounds, frequently not aligning with the ground or the objects they’re leaning against. Photoshop has its place, but details matter and this type of style is lacking in the detail department.
You can see for yourself in our VAMPIRELLA (VOL. 5) #21 preview.
as for the story, this is probably the most coherent Priest has been for almost the entirety of the arc. The odd developments of Arcadia and everything about it actually gets an explanation. You may need some time to process the mechanics of the explanation, but at least there is one. On that point alone, this issue is a massive improvement.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We open up with Vampirella and members of the Cualdryn on a scavenger hunt for blood on the planet Arcadia. If you have no idea how they go on Arcadia, read our VAMPIRELLA (VOL. 5) #20 review first before continuing.
The team enters an abandoned hospital looking for blood that still might be kept in storage and edible. They find some quarts of bloodstock but they have to fight their way out of the hospital from attacking zombies.
Zombies? Who? What? Where?
Yes, it’s confusing at first, but then the rest of the issue turns into a massive exposition dump.
Arcadia is Earth in a parallel timeline, and Drakulon is Arcadia’s moon, terraformed by the ancient ones of Drakulonian lore.
Shane is a NASA astronaut from Arcadia who was trapped on his moon and frozen in ice for a thousand years, found later by Lilith’s acolytes after the Arcadian moon had been transformed into Drakulon.
When Vampirella traveled to Earth, our Earth in the 1960s, it was via the same gateway technology, but the gateway was redirected to an alternate timeline from the one Arcadia occupies. Arcadia is effectively a dead Earth, occupied only by mindless zombies after an ancient war between Drakulon and Arcadia ravaged both planets.
Simple, right?
Now, Vampirella and Cauldryn have to bide their time until Arcadia and Drakulon align so the gateway can be reactivated and the vampires can go home. Unfortunately, Shane is holding the location of the gateway a secret to ensure he isn’t killed for his lies and murders.
Eventually, the time of the alignment is at hand, but Shane doubles down on his own survival by rigging the gateway with explosives. When the alignment starts, Wyck decides it would be better to kill Shane as soon as the teleportation starts rather than risk bringing him back.
We conclude the issue (and the arc) with Shane making a terrible mistake.
How Does It End?
Shane teleports faster than Wyck realizes. Everyone goes back to Drakulon… except one. The gateway is closed, at least for eight months.
Final Thoughts
VAMPIRELLA (VOL. 5) #21 explains darn near everything that’s going on. While it would have served the arc better to work answers into the story in a coherent way rather than wait for a last-minute info dump, at least there’s some closure.
Score: 6/10
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