DC Vs. Vampires - Hunters #1 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES - HUNTERS No. 1, July 2022

Guaranteeing “a blood-soaked one-shot tale of vampire violence”, Matthew Rosenberg’s narrative for “The Promise” certainly provides its readers with a fair amount of death, most notably when Robin goes on a headlong killing spree through the former Wayne Tower in a desperate effort to reach Alfred Pennyworth before the butler is immolated. But whilst such sense-shattering shenanigans are undoubtedly the highlight of this twenty-two page periodical, it is arguably the edgy relationship between the Son of Batman and the freshly-installed Vampire King which proves the most enthralling.

Indeed, the American author’s ability to capture the confident arrogance of Richard Grayson, seemingly heightened by his ascension to immortal omnipotence, is incredibly well-penned, and particularly comes to the fore at the very end of comic, when Dick demonstrates both his strong love for his former Butler, as well as a glimmer of compassion for his ‘brother’ Damian, by letting them leave the Seat of Power of the Vampire Kingdom unmolested despite the pair having tried to eliminate him; “No game. If I let you both walk out of here, you won’t get another shot at me. No matter how long you live or how hard you try.”

Ultimately however, what the vast majority of this book’s audience will probably be interested in is the vicious, closely fought battle between the central antagonists, and Rosenberg doesn’t debatably disappoint either. It’s clear straight from the start that Bruce’s boy is badly outmatched by his older, stronger and much more experienced opponent. But it also soon becomes apparent that the anger-fuelled adolescent has been trained as a deadly assassin for most of his life, and “always knew I’d be better than you when I got older.”

Similarly as strong as this publication’s script are the layouts by Neil Googe, which imbue all of its panels with plenty of energy. The British artist absolutely excels when it comes to depicting the pulse-pounding pugilism of Robin’s bout with a leather-clad Nightwing, as well as with the Martian Manhunter’s fracas against the fully-fanged Gorilla Grodd, Victor Zsasz and Wonder Girl. Yet it is probably the illustrator’s nice touches such as Damian cleaning his teeth with a dagger blade, or the Black Skull’s facial expression when he finds Pennyworth trapped inside a holdall which also help bring this comic’s considerable cast to life.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES - HUNTERS" #1 by Jonboy Meyers