It’s difficult to take Vampirella seriously with that costume. Even though writer Nancy A. Collins does come up with a decent plot and a couple good twists (and a lame soft cliffhanger), the costume hurts the comic quite a bit. It just says, “We aren’t that serious.”

Another big problem is how Collins paces out the narrative. There’s a prologue with a family in danger, then Vampirella coming to investigate and then an action sequence and then, finally, Collins taking the time to establish the character. Collins uses third person narration for it; while lamely presented in a text box, the narration itself is good.

Strangely, even though the comic doesn’t seem to have much promise–the art from Patrick Berkenkotter and Dennis Crisostomo is adequate if uninspired mainstream stuff (too slick to be scary)–the comic’s still compelling. Collins’s two good twists are excellent, making Vampirella a definite curiosity.

C 

CREDITS

Writer, Nancy A. Collins; penciller, Patrick Berkenkotter; inker, Dennis Crisostomo; colorist, Jorge Sutil; letterer, Rob Steen; editors, Hannah Gorfinkel, Molly Mahan and Joseph Rybandt; publisher, Dynamite Entertainment.