VAMPIRELLA VS. RED SONJA #1, from Dynamite Comics on November 2nd, 2022, follows a new recruit to The Project, Dyna Might, on her first day as she walks into a crisis threatening all Earths across the multiverse.
The Details
- Written by: Dan Abnett
- Art by: Alessandro Ranaldi
- Colors by: Ellie Wright
- Letters by: Jeff Eckleberry
- Cover art by: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
- Cover price: $3.99
- Release date: November 2, 2022
Is It Good?
Oh, how we’ve missed this series. VAMPIRELLA VS. RED SONJA #1 continues the multiverse-level threat from the VAMPIRELLA: THE DARK POWERS and RED SONJA: THE SUPERPOWERS and merges them together into a crisis-level event that starts off small but picks up speed like a runaway freight train. Dynamite, do more of this, please.
Quite a lot of mythology and world-building happens in those previous runs, so Dan Abnett wisely introduces a new hero, Dyna Might, to The Project to act as the reader surrogate to make it easy to bring readers up to speed with naturally placed questions and observations. You get (almost) the gamut of everything that’s brought our titular characters to this point and get invested in Dyna Might’s journey as she struggles with hero envy, imposter syndrome, and a desire to contribute. Abnett’s skillfully weaves all the disparate threads and characters together into an impressivley clean, clear narrative.
This issue’s highlight is the way The Project’s “there is no magic, only science we don’t understand” mentality is challenged by Vampirella’s mere existence and the threat attacking Black Terror’s Earth. It’s a highlight because Abnett finds a way to have his cake and eat it too by explaining how magic is possible and impossible. That revelation opens the door to potentially evolving The Project for years, so this issue is a status quo game-changer for The Project.
The art is the only weak point of this issue. Ranaldi has a bright, fun, Manga-influenced style that’s fine for what it is, but the fun style diminishes the dramatic weight of the story. Imagine telling the story of Christ’s crucifixion in a Disney cartoon. The art may be well done, but the tone is mismatched. It doesn’t help that a few panels look rushed, unfinished, or unpolished. Generally, the art is fine, and Ranaldi has a good eye for character expressions and facial acting, but the gravity of this story needed more drama than this style affords.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with an introduction to Dyna Might, the newest recruit for the multiverse-spanning collection of science-based heroes known as The Project. Dyna’s first day lacks celebration as she finds she’s walked right into a crisis-level event. Black Terror’s Earth was attacked by “supernatural” monsters, and nobody can get in or out. Since Vampirella, another recent recruit, is the first supernatural being The Project has ever encountered, they assume she’s involved.
Red Sonja, the other recent recruit, decides to interrogate Vampirella because she knows the danger of magic all too well. Vampirella clarifies that all magic is not the same, and she has nothing to do with the attack on Black Terror’s world. Vampirella does, however, know of a way to get The Project to its destination.
We conclude the issue with a merging of magic and science, opening and closing doors, and the first-day blues.
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Final Thoughts
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VAMPIRELLA VS. RED SONJA #1 takes two great tastes and makes them taste great together by interweaving the Vampirella and Red Sonja interactions with The Project into a fresh story that builds on what worked in those titles. Abnett makes the impossible possible by distilling the crisis into a single, easy-to-follow issue, and an explanation of magic proves to be a game-changer for The Project. That said, the generally good art fails to capture the drama of the event.
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