DC Vs. Vampires #1 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 1, December 2021

Predominantly telling the tale of Andrew Bennett’s fantastic flight from the vampire-infested headquarters of the Legion of Doom, this comic's lengthy flashback sequence arguably grips its audience straight from the get-go, and simply doesn’t let up until its very end when a grim-faced Alfred Pennyworth explains to a perturbed Bruce Wayne that “Lex Luthor might have just saved the world.” Indeed, even this twenty-three page periodical’s opening sequence, depicting the murdered Queen of Blood’s lover desperately attempting a flesh-sizzling daylight visit to the Hall of Justice contains plenty of intriguing hooks to keep the reader locked into James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s engrossing narrative.

Perhaps however this book’s biggest draw is the startling revelation that the blood-drinkers who have turned the likes of the Scarecrow, Gorilla Grodd and Edward Nygma into some seriously scary supernatural killers, have also already infiltrated the Justice League of America. This shocking eye-opener is genuinely alarming, especially considering that the sharp-toothed traitor was previously depicted rescuing Bennett outside under the sun, and leads to a truly grisly demise for the annoyingly enthusiastic, yet ultimately heroically-hearted, Zan inside a giant-sized, emerald-coloured meat-grinder; “Usually I prefer fresh blood, but on special occasions I don’t mind a smoothie.”

Similarly as surprising is this publication’s conclusion, which surely must have wrong-footed many a bibliophile who thought the vampire uprising had successfully silenced Andrew’s brave attempt to expose their fast-growing threat to humanity. Throughout the entire comic it seems abundantly clear that the badly-bandaged ‘creature of the night’ is talking to Green Lantern. However, Batman’s swift return to the Batcave, courtesy of Alfred’s “cryptic message”, soon establishes that this book’s writers have merely been narrating the words of a letter penned by Andrew and left earlier at Wayne Manor for the Dark Knight’s urgent attention.

Undeniably adding plenty of gory chill to this mini-series’ storytelling is Otto Schmidt’s pencilling and vibrant colours. The illustrator does a first-rate job of imbuing all the panels set around the Legion of Doom’s headquarters with a truly demonic atmosphere, thanks largely to a wonderfully crimson palette and frenzied-looking “hyper-intelligent telepathic gorilla.” Whilst the nerve-jangling ‘holier than thou’ look upon Hal Jordan’s face when he divulges his ‘evolution’ is debatably only matched by the disbelieving horror of Zan as he’s about to literally be minced alive.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #1 by Otto Schmidt