VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA #22 – Review

In VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA #22, available from Dynamite Comics on September 29th, 2021, Vampirella and Jeannine fall victim to a creepy town that sacrifices wayward travelers to a monster in exchange for protection.

The Details

• Written By: Thomas Sniegoski
• Art By: Michael Sta. Maria
• Colors By: Omi Remalante Jr.
• Letters By: Troy Peteri
• Cover Art By: Lucio Parrillo (cover A)
• Cover Price: $3.99
• Release Date: September 29, 2021

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Was It Good?

I love a good cautionary tale about messing with the wrong person, and Vampirella is absolutely the wrong person to mess with. Silly humans!

I’m not sure where we’re going with this title, but it feels like the creators are content to take fun little side quests with our main hero. The result is an amusing tale told with a simple two-issue arc that sets up the story and knocks it down with a hammer blow to the center pin (Forgive the bowling analogy. That means it’s good.).

Since the conclusion of the war with Nyx, Vampirella and Jeannine have been wandering the highways to get demons in line or send them back to Hell. What this story examines is what depths some humans have sunk to in the name of keeping the peace. What happens when the humans are just as bad as the demons, or in this case, dragons?

Sometimes you don’t need sweeping epics that take 12 issues to get through the first arc of a story. The beauty of this two-parter is in the effectiveness of telling a complete and thoroughly satisfying story without feeling rushed or incomplete. In a way, this is a throwback to the successful days of comic storytelling before the dreaded D-word (decompression) became the norm.

Simple and effective. This is a perfect jumping-on point for anyone who’s dropped off the Vampirella titles and wants a good entree to get back into the character.

Sta. Maria’s art looks great and excels at capturing the mood of a happy town infested with evil in its dark underbelly. All is well on the outside, but once you get into the dark cellars or venture out into the fields at night, you can feel the menace in long shadows and hidden corners.

What’s It About?

[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]

Catch up on the first half of this seedy tale by reading our VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA #21 review.

We pick up with Vampirella and Jeannine passing out after taking drugged food during the celebration “in their honor.” However, they’re separated by the conniving townsfolk for two very different purposes.

Jeannine is stuffed in a burlap sack and carried off to a massive hole in the nearby field. There, Mandrasath, a very large dragon, is called forth to accept Jeannine as an offering gift. Unfortunatley, Jeannine is not a snack but will be used to give birth to Mandrasath’s offspring.

Elsewhere, Vampirella is carried off to the “nursery.” In the basement of a nearby house, she’s dumped in the cellar where a brood of deformed dragon/human hybrid children are waiting to be fed. When the hybrids start to nibble on their snack, Vampirella wakes up and puts the hybrids out of their misery.

Vampirella flies out of the house and grabs the villagers who carried her to the nursery to force them to tell her where they took Jeannine. We conclude the issue with Jeanine putting up a futile fight, Vampirella putting up a not so futile fight, and angry villagers messing with the wrong person.

Final Thoughts

VENGEANCE OF VAMPIRELLA #22 is the perfect conclusion to a simple yet effective short adventure for the alien vampire. The writing makes you love to hate the creepy villagers, which makes their fitting end so, so satisfying. And Sta. Maria’s art isn’t afraid to show bloody (and fiery) death in all its glory for everyone who deserves it.

Score: 9.5/10