Vampirella returns in Vampirella #1, written by Christopher Priest with art and colors by Ergün Gündüz. She faces her greatest challenge ever: motherhood! Having rescued her infant son Cicero from her “sister” Draculina, Vampirella faces many sleepless days and nights, alternating between caring for the baby and prowling the city for the blood of gangsters, meth heads and other seedy criminals who prey on the innocent.
It’s not all diapers, bottle feeding, and blood sucking, though, as a mysterious man appears in Vampirella’s apartment, very interested in Cicero and setting Vampirella off on a fiery quest to find out who he is as she rages across the city. Could it be her mother Lilith taking a new form to torment her? And why couldn’t she sense him coming?
It’s great to see Ergün Gündüz continue with Vampirella. He has been my favorite Vampirella artist for years. His mastery of facial expressions is equal only to Kevin Maguire and he gives Vampirella a sleek sexuality and sophistication. Where other artists draw Vampirella with grotesque proportions that no plastic surgeon could mold in the real world, Gündüz depicts her like a beautiful woman you could easily pass on the street (of course, you’d have to be walking the street after midnight, because Vampi doesn’t do daytime strolls).
Christopher Priest’s writing is equally excellent. His Vampirella stories always go deep, using her vast history to roll out plot lines that mix grindhouse horror with the best action thrillers and none of it is ever predictable. You really don’t know what’s going to happen when you turn the page and these days, and that feels wonderfully refreshing.
Dynamite
Vampirella’s stress and anxiety emanate off the pages throughout the issue, especially in a scene where her paranoia catches up with her and she attacks her babysitter. The scene is proof that Vampirella isn’t perfect; she’s flawed, and isn’t against straddling that gray line between morally wrong and right to keep peace in her life. This is what makes Vampirella such an interesting character. She’s a study in contrasts, neither totally good nor evil. Later in the issue, she does one for the angels when she violently takes out a lecherous music mogul in an extremely satisfying scene. It seems like a Terminator-style time travel story is beginning here, and promises to yet again throw Vampirella up against forces she’s never faced before.
There’s nothing like having a great writer/artist duo working on a book, especially when they do a long run (see Wolfman/Perez on New Teen Titans, Claremont/Byrne on X-Men, and Levitz/Giffen on The Legion of Super-Heroes). Consider Priest and Gündüz members of that elite club also. Pick up this first issue and jump aboard the Priest/ Gündüz Express – it’s going to be another amazing ride.
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