DC Vs. Vampires #3 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 3, February 2022

Considering just how many different super-heroes, despicable villains and pulse-pounding plots James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg manage to cram into Issue Three of “DC Vs. Vampires”, it’s arguably a credit to the collaborative pair’s penmanship that this periodical is only twenty-two pages in length. Yet whilst such a ‘tight squeeze’ might have caused other lesser-skilled authors to take a few short-cuts with their storytelling, the narrative to “Trust No One” seemingly does no such thing, and simply moves from scene to scene in an enthrallingly comprehensive manner; “We were meant to stay away from you Bat-people. But I can just lie and say this was self-defence.”

Indeed, the comic’s pacing is spot on, with even some of the more dialogue heavy sequences, such as “Batman’s investigation into the disappearance of Andrew Bennett” beneath the Hall of Justice sewers, and Black Canary’s visit to Oliver Queen’s Truck Stop hideout to discuss whether Damian could be one of the “undead plague”, doing little to slow down the speed of the vampires’ lightning fast attacks upon the hapless inhabitants of Gotham City’s streets. Naturally though, it is this book’s central thread of Green Lantern slowly increasing his hold over the Justice League which probably holds the most interest, even when Hal Jordan himself isn’t even actually present.

The fanged infiltrator’s fake anguish at the demise of the Flash is cringeworthy enough to make any bibliophile’s skin crawl at his murderous hypocrisy, especially when John Broome's co-creation instantly takes charge of the group’s investigation into Barry Allen’s cold-blooded killing and clearly directs the likes of Aquaman and Superman away from anything which would possibly link him to the crime. But the inter-galactic policeman's presence is still enthrallingly palpable during the Dark Knight and Jayna's subsequent grim discovery of Zan's light-shredded mortal remains.

Likewise, there’s a lot to enjoy with the tense patrols taking place throughout the dark, suddenly all-too deadly thoroughfares of Bruce Wayne’s home metropolis. Otto Schmidt does a first-rate job of pencilling just how dangerous even a low-life vampire can be when one surprises Bat-girl and Nightwing during one of their routine patrols. However, it is most likely Oswald Cobblepot’s shockingly brutal death beneath the pointy-teeth of an infected Zatanna which is going to haunt this comic’s readers for some time to come, due to the blood-sucking magic user’s callous desire to simply “eat some junk food” for a change.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #3 by Otto Schmidt