DC Vs. Vampires: World War V #5 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V No. 5, February 2025

There can surely be little doubt that Matthew Rosenberg’s revelation towards the end of this twenty-four page publication’s plot had its readers genuinely gasping in revulsion at “the horrifying secret” behind how the vampires were still defeating the human resistance. In fact, many a bibliophile will probably find themselves unable to move along from Green Arrow’s discovery and its “shocking connection to the Speed Force” without at least re-visiting the disturbing scene a couple more times; “They’re doing something with all that food they grow. If they’re not feeding a large group of people. What are they feeding.?”

Impressively though, this eye-opener isn’t the only surprise Issue Five of “DC Vs Vampires: World War V” has in store for its audience, with the comic’s American author clearly still having a few more trump cards tucked up his sleeves. Foremost of these disclosures is probably Big Barda’s sudden emergence from out of a dark, winter night’s sky to absolutely clobber the blood-drinking fiends intent on murdering her husband (and potentially harm their infant baby). To say Jack Kirby’s creation completely annihilates the likes of a heavily-fanged Power Girl and Raven is a massive understatement, and genuinely helps imbue this comic with some truly palpable energy at a time when its other simultaneous story-threads are undeniably dialogue-driven.

Likewise John Constantine’s ill-advised visit upon the convalescing vampire queen, Barbara Gordon, doesn’t pan out quite as some onlookers might have expected – albeit the Hellblazer is seemingly a little too cocksure for his own good when it comes to antagonising Gorilla Grodd. In fact, the anti-hero’s decision to visit the dark heart of the Nosferatu Empire appears suicidally insane straight from the start, largely due to him not actually having anything tangible with which to bargain for his life.

Prodigiously pencilling all these sense-shattering shenanigans is Otto Schmidt, who really imbues Big Barda with all the momentous muscle a member of the New Gods is expected to wield. Furthermore, the Siberian-born artist does an incredible job of capturing Batgirl’s myriad of emotions using just her eyes and mouth - a talent which is particularly impressive considering that the undead creature’s entire body is covered with unsightly burns and blemishes, so it must have been extra hard providing the figure with even the smallest of facial expressions.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V" #5 by Otto Schmidt

DC Vs. Vampires: World War V #3 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V No. 3, December 2024

Haphazardly throwing its audience all over the show with a twenty-four page plot that arguably rarely reaches any sort of conclusion with its various sedentary scenes and action sequences, Matthew Rosenberg’s storyline for Issue Three of “DC Vs Vampires: World War V” probably struck many readers as being something of a mess. Sure, the American author does a fairly solid job in progressing Aquaman’s attempt to put an end to Damian Wayne’s unruly rebellion against the now dead Vampire Queen Barbara Gordon. But even this ambush is debatably hamstrung by its events suddenly being cut short by an unlinked, dialogue-driven interlude concerning John Constantine and the Black Canary back at the Headquarters of the Human Council.

To make matters even more bemusing though, apart from the comic’s opening, which presumably depicts the creation of the mysterious “Miracle Child” ten months ago, there isn’t a great deal of direction as to just how much time passes in between set-pieces. These time jumps cause the likes of Arthur Curry and Dinah Drake to seemingly pop up all over the place, with Green Arrow’s partner in particular appearing to be knee-deep in snow and blood-drinkers on the streets of Newark, New Jersey one moment, and then almost randomly appearing alongside an inebriated “Hellblazer” to give him some sort of earful in the next; “I didn’t know you could do magic drunk.”

Resultantly, it’s possibly only this publication’s aforementioned focus on Robin and his heavily-bandaged renegades’ battle against the vampire army which properly holds the attention. However, having witnessed Batman’s former protégé being saved at the last minute from Cassie Sandsmark’s clutches by Batwoman bravely sacrificing herself, any engaged onlooker is then left wondering exactly what happened next, as the story suddenly shifts elsewhere, and when it does return, Damian is strangely hiding alone from Black Adam deep inside a snow-laden forest somewhere.

Perhaps somewhat discombobulated by all these somewhat senseless shenanigans is Otto Schmidt, whose pencilling occasionally appears to be surprisingly rushed and undisciplined. Furthermore, the illustrator’s layouts debatably don’t tell the entire tale, such as when a blood-drinker somehow manages to wrestle from out of Ted Grant’s grip so as to slay a “traitor” spilling his guts, or Zealot apparently turns upon a horde of biters unwisely stalking her down some streets so as to slay them.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V" #3 by Otto Schmidt

DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods #2 - DC Comics

DCEASED: WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS  No. 2, November 2022

Containing one of the most gruesome deaths imaginable for a major antagonist of the “DC Comics” universe, along with a sense-shattering assault upon the planet Korugar, Tom Taylor’s penmanship throughout Issue Two of “DCeased: War Of The Undead Gods” must surely have bewitched many a bibliophile within this book’s audience. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine a more spell-binding ride than the one which this particular twenty-two-page periodical provides, as super-powered parents grieve for their lost son and Soranik Natu witnesses the cataclysmic fall of the mobile weaponized satellite Warworld.

True, part of this comic does get a little bogged down with a somewhat lengthy conversational piece between Guy Gardner, Superman and Brainiac on Earth-2. But even this sedentary, wordy-heavy moment of exposition arguably proves to be incredibly enthralling, courtesy of the ex-Baltimore policeman turned intergalactic law enforcement officer demonstrating all the conceited, childish personality traits which have supposedly made him “the most despised” of all the Burbank-based publisher’s Green Lanterns; “I’m an eleven on the Guy Gardner greatness scale. And the scale only goes up to six. That’s how good I am.”

Just as arrogant though is Kyle Raynor and his medically trained wife, who together inadvertently thwart Sinestro’s Yellow Lantern Corps from inflicting a devastating opening salvo upon the unliving Darkseid. This utterly unfounded hubris is genuinely infuriating and may well have caused the odd reader to smirk with some misplaced sense of satisfaction when Ganthet’s protégé gets his clock well and truly cleaned by an insanely rabid Supergirl. However, such a feeling was probably fleeting at best, as the horrendous blow subsequently leads to the grisly demise of Korugar’s numerous would-be rescuers.

Helping to instil a palpable sense of threat and fear throughout all these pulse-pounding proceedings are Trevor Hairsine’s layouts, which do a tremendous job of depicting the unsettling ‘Elseworlds’ like environment within which this mini-series’ narrative is set. Whether it’s the heavily damaged Home of the New Gods, complete with death-dealing Boom Tubes, or Natu’s overwhelmed planet, the British artist’s pencilling conjures up all manner of nightmarish events – not least of which is the sticky fate of Hal Jordan’s arch-nemesis.

The regular cover art of "DCEASED: WAR OF THE UNDEAD GODS" #2 by Trevor Hairsine & Rain Beredo