DC Vs. Vampires: All Out War #2 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR No. 2, October 2022

Sporting more grisly beheadings than a history book about the French Revolution, the sheer savage violence on show throughout Issue Two of “DC Vs. Vampires: All Out War” must surely have made this twenty-four page periodical a huge hit with its audience. Furthermore, the gratuitously bloody nature of Alex Paknadel and Matthew Rosenberg’s narrative isn’t simply present just to appease the gore fans either, but rather to reinforce just how desperate the plight is of this comic’s surviving cast following the “horrifying vampire attack” upon them in the previous instalment.

Such dire despondency is particularly typified by the beleaguered super-heroes' evident terror at having to face one of their deadliest foes in the shape of an entirely homicidal Wonder Woman, who effortlessly begins whittling down their already low numbers just as soon as she enters the fray. Seldom has the Amazon’s Lasso of Hestia been shown slicing through the necks of her opponents with such utterly lethal abandonment, and yet that is precisely what William Marston’s co-creation does whilst confronting a couple of Talia al Ghul’s guards in a blatant demonstration of the blood-drinker’s sadistic nature; “I only ever need to follow him from a discreet distance and a banquet always presents itself.”

Helping to make the sacrifices, slaughter and ever-growing body count even more memorable are Pasquale Qualano’s delightfully intense layouts, and Nicola Righi’s disconcerting penchant for splattering every possible panel with as much claret as the colourist can muster. Such eye-catching visuals genuinely help reinforce the brutally grim carnage occurring, and also adds an extra dramatic element to the genuinely sad demise of “the most dangerous… fella in Metropolis”, when Jimmy Olsen is suddenly bitten by Diana Prince’s alter-ego completely out of the blue during the heat of the battle.

Far less as ferociously fast-paced, though just as enthralling, is Emma Vieceli’s dialogue-driven short story “Dark Birth”. Well-drawn by artist Haining in a Manga-like style, this tale rather intriguingly features a pre-apocalypse Dick Grayson inadvertently stumbling upon the vampiric plot by the Acolytes of Shadow to assassinate Mary, the False Queen, and seemingly sets up just how Nightwing would surprisingly be revealed as this limited series’ shock central antagonist.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR" #2 by Alan Quah