Vampirella Revived
Written by Paul Cornell
Art by Jimmy Broxton and Travis Lanham
Cover price: $0.25
Release Date: February 1, 2017
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Review by: Jeremy Daw
Zero issues are odd things, really. They tend to be disposable: not connected closely enough to the first issue proper to be indispensable for understanding the main plot; not involving enough to be interesting as a story in their own right. Not having read the first issue of Vampirella yet, it’s impossible to say with any certainty just how important this issue is in terms of the new series’ overall narrative, but I can say that, in Vampirella #0, writer Paul Cornell and artist Jimmy Broxton have crafted a tale that is, indeed, engaging on its own terms - even as it acts as an intriguing teaser for the main series.
Paul Cornell and Jimmy Broxton take a fresh look at the scantily clad vampiress from Drakulon in this 0 issue of Dynamite’s new series, and offer intriguing hints about her future.
The first half of the story follows three characters (two men and a woman) who are trudging through a snowswept wilderness that, we are told, is one of the “vast empty places” of “paradise”, a word that here refers more to a physical locale than a transcendent mental, spiritual or emotional state. Our characters are nearing the end of a quest. They have a map and enough doubts about what they’re doing to necessitate an intriguing conversation that reveals a little more about the society against which, it would seem, they are rebelling. It would seem their “paradise” is not all it’s cracked up to be.
Love, apparently, is not easy to find and, although their lives were “a luxury” back where they came from, there’s a grim fatalistic determination about them that suggests that, whatever they expect to find at the end of their journey, they’re prepared to sacrifice their lives in their pursuit of it. That goal is described by the group’s apparent leader as a “snake” that she wants to “plant” in paradise presumably to shake things up. Throw in a really quite intimidating flock of silhouetted flying creatures that could be either angels or demons as an impending threat and you have enough of a mystery and an immediate sense of danger to make for a pretty compelling story.
While one of the group stays behind to fend off the approaching threat, the other two press on, entering an underground vault that contains their prize: the tomb of Vampirella. In a desperate effort to wake our slumbering vampire princess, the two characters cut themselves and drip their blood onto her mouth, ultimately sacrificing themselves to wake her up.
And wake up she does. Rather spectacularly, if truth be told. I’ve not mentioned Jimmy Broxton’s art yet, but now’s a good time to do so. It’s excellent. In the opening pages the lines are reasonably thin and clear; faces are expressive and poses naturalistic. For the pages in which the two characters navigate the subterranean tunnels leading to Vampirella’s tomb his layouts and use of shadow are just superb. It’s very atmospheric – and unnerving – stuff. For the moment of Vampirella’s resurrection… well, I don’t think ‘visceral’ really cuts it. She awakens with a primal rage that is evoked magnificently and her vitality and determination as she climbs up and out towards the light are palpable. It really is exceptionally impressive stuff.
As for Cornell’s script, it’s very engaging and contains just enough hints about the world in which Vampirella has awoken to make this reader very intrigued to see how things pan out. My enjoyment of Cornell’s work goes way back to his Doctor Who New Adventures novels for Virgin in the 90s. Cornell was instrumental in infusing those novels with a post-modern playfulness that was rooted in pop culture and celebrated the show’s own status as an affectionately-regarded cultural touchstone, while at the same time delivering the requisite cleverness and horror with which the show has always been traditionally associated. A similar mingling of gothic sensibilities and self-conscious storytelling is present here. Throughout the comic the artwork is accompanied by a strip of narration at the bottom of each page.
For the most part, that narration is in the kind of pink 60s balloonish font you might expect to see on a Beatles cover; it comments on the action in a lyrical, playful way. This changes once Vampirella wakes, however. The font becomes a more urgent red on black; the narration changes to first person and suggests a subtle (and, for this character, somewhat troubling) vulnerability.
Perhaps most intriguing of all is the book that Vampirella’s ‘rescuers’ have left for her – a confusingly comprehensive and contradictory collection of origin myths and stories, as well as prophecies about her future that Vampirella instinctively pushes against. This is a Vampirella who does not want to be pigeonholed or coerced into fulfilling some kind of destiny, even if that coercion comes from people to whom she owes her newfound active state.
Bits and Pieces:
On the whole, then, this issue does its job very well. As a prologue to the main series, it gives the reader enough detail about the new world in which Vampirella finds herself to encourage further reading. It also introduces the character clearly and sets her moving without too much pointless introspection. In short, it certainly is an involving story in its own right and, at only a quarter, is well worth a punt.
8.0/10
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