After a one-month gap and a special one-shot, DC vs. Vampires: World War V returns this week with issue #7. The midpoint of the maxiseries lives up to the title as an all-out war consumes the latest issue. The war isn’t between human heroes and vampires, but the coming of Darkseid! It’s a third enemy in a war that already had both sides running thin on soldiers, which amps up the war, to say the least.
DC vs. Vampires: World War V #7 opens with a quiet moment at an undisclosed location. L-Ron is nursing a cup of something while looking at monitors when an alarm goes off. We’re then given a double-page splash of all sorts of iconic DC machines that Cyborg is repairing. Right off the bat, writer Matthew Rosenberg is adding even more elements to an already robust list of characters in this series.
From there, the battle rages between parademons and what’s left of Batgirl’s vampire army and heroes who were nearly ready to come to blows. The parademons add a whole new element as they are not who they kill amongst the Earthers. Otto Schmidt keeps the action chaotic and, at times, nearly incomprehensible on purpose to convey the chaos of the battle. At times, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was looking at, but for the most part, it took only a few extra seconds to figure it out, save for a panel or two.
What a fun page.
Credit: DC Comics
A nagging negative element of this fight is the repetitive nature of motivations. It’s either “Where’s the queen?” or “We have to go back,” over and over. Without any clear goals in the chaos of battle, everything hangs on those elements.
The chaos of war eventually devolves into a fight between Wonder Woman and Darkseid, which has a few great moments. Seeing Darkseid shake Wonder Woman as if she’s a ragdoll is just one of the cool visuals. The creative team makes it quite clear Darkseid is far more powerful in fighting than we’ve come to see in the main universe. He also seems bigger.
As far as plot progression, a new character enters the fray to help redirect the “good guys” while Mister Miracle’s goals get a new lease on life. If you’re looking for deaths, there are a couple, as this series is always good at doing.
This issue also features part 2 of Joey Esposito and Pasquale Qualano’s “The Hunger” backup story. It features Animal Man, who is a bit lost and unsure of what is going on. Esposito takes the concept of the Red and twists it into a vampire world. It’s a compelling concept that is as dark and twisted as the horror series. One can see it wouldn’t sustain a full series, but as a backup it’s a nice cherry on top.
While DC vs. Vampires: World War V #7 thrives on sheer action and high stakes, it occasionally struggles with clarity and redundancy, but it remains a thrilling and brutal entry in the series.
You must be logged in to post a comment.