DC Vs. Vampires #2 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 2, January 2022

Significantly upping the scales as to just who does and doesn’t know that “the war for the very survival of the human race has begun”, James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s script for Issue Two of “DC Vs. Vampires” definitely crams an awful lot of deadly dynamic action, blood-curdling betrayals, and even some tongue-in-cheek humour into its twenty-two pages. In fact, the pacing of this periodical is seemingly so ‘spot on’ that even a somewhat dialogue-heavy sequence featuring the World’s Greatest Detective slowly explaining just how deadly the situation actually is to the rest of the Bat-Family absolutely flies by; “The truth is that after a week of investigating… I have no idea who we might be facing.”

Arguably foremost of this comic’s biggest thrills however, is the way in which the treacherous Hal Jordon goes about his business slowly murdering any meta-humans who might pose a threat to his mysterious master’s grand scheme for planetary conquest. This book’s opening is a great example of this, where the Green Lantern savagely “kills the powerful necromancer Anton Arcane” without a moment’s hesitation, and does a terrific job in setting up the writing duo’s shocking conclusion when the merciless, ring-powered vampire fatally ‘sucker-punches’ his long-time friend, the Flash.

Enjoyably though, “Blood And Sand” isn’t just about depicting a chilling escalation in the destruction of the Justice League either, but also incorporates some distinctly dark moments of comedy too. No readers could be blamed for literally laughing out loud when Oliver Queen nonchalantly reveals Everyman to be a creature of the night much to the aghast astonishment of Star City villains Brick, Cheshire, and Cupid. Whilst young Damian Wayne’s suddenly violent outburst when he believes his father has poisoned his hot cocoa with holy water is masterfully penned.

Complimenting all these well-authored antics are Otto Schmidt’s layouts, which do a truly tremendous job of illustrating all the drama taking place within the “DC Comics” universe, such as when Barry Allen suddenly realises that his fully-trusted comrade-in-arms means to slaughter him. Yet the Siberian-born artist also does a stellar job in pencilling the emotional impact of this sweeping storyline’s events upon the likes of a tearful Wonder Twin Jayna, who is very concerned over her sibling Zan since he went missing several days ago.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #2 by Otto Schmidt