DC Vs. Vampires: All Out War #6 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR No. 6, February 2023

For those readers who have followed Alex Paknadel and Matthew Rosenberg’s six-issue mini-series from the start, this “grand finale” probably took them on an emotional roller-coaster of a ride through several waves of disconcerting depression. However, such negative vibes are not in any way connected to the well-penned plot provided, as the likes of Booster Gold and Deathstroke bravely tackle an utterly homicidal Man of Steel head-on. But rather that its conclusion fatally ends the enthralling adventures of several significant cast members who have done everything asked of them in order to keep Humanity’s hopes of salvation alive; “The blizzard’ll last a little longer. It’ll cover him real good, I promise. It’ll cover all of ‘em.”

Naturally, most comic book fans will be pretty certain as to who should win a contest between a deranged Superman, Slade Wilson, and the Twenty-Fifth Century Gothamite. Yet, this publication’s plot still manages to throw in several shocks, courtesy of its collaborative storytellers utilising John Constantine’s covert partnership with Deadman to catch both the vampiric Kryptonian and the vast majority of bibliophiles completely off-guard at the last minute. In addition, there’s some surprising humour to be found within the twenty-four-page periodical, such as when an abandoned Midnighter returns to life having literally been torn apart by Baron Cinder and asks if anyone from the ”Suicide Squad” is still there.

Adding an extra edge of horror to all these pulse-poundings proceedings is Pasquale Qualano and Nicola Righi, whose blood-soaked grey-scale panels repeatedly reinforce just how frighteningly murderous Kal-El has become since joining the legion of Nosferatu. The artistic pair are particularly good at highlighting the colossal physical powers in play when Mary Marvel downheartedly decides to go toe-to-toe with Clark Kent’s alter-ego after witnessing him kill Deathstroke with a single punch, and should certainly cause many within this publication's audience to give a momentary cheer when she opens up her attack with a mighty wallop to the chops.

Just as enthralling is this comic’s “backup” tale written and drawn by Mirka Andolfo, which focuses upon what happened to Poison Ivy once she was turned into a vampire. Initially slaughtering her undead brethren due to her need for “snacks”, Doctor Pamela Isley soon succumbs to an overbearing lust for fresh sustenance, which causes her to both suck dry the prisoners she potentially was intending to rescue, as well as extend her deadly vines throughout the metropolis like some giant lethal web of red-coloured vegetation.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR" #6 by Alan Quah

DC Vs. Vampires: All Out War #5 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR No. 5, January 2023

Recited as if taken from a veteran soldier’s war journal, Alex Paknadel and Matthew Rosenberg’s scintillating script for Issue Five of “DC Verses Vampires: All Out War” must surely have hooked its audience straight from the start with Deathstroke’s thoughts and actions concerning the mercenary’s past few days. For whilst Slade Wilson’s ruminations as to Azrael’s gratuitous death at the hands of some bloody thirsty vampires eventually gives way to a more straightforward way of storytelling, the flashback sequence definitely delivers a gut-wrenching message as to just why his team’s surviving members are so disheartened despite miraculously reaching the Flash Museum in Central City.

Furthermore, there’s plenty for this twenty-four-page publication’s plot to hold the attention once Marv Wolfman’s co-creation has miserably failed in his plan to resurrect the vampiric Weather Wizard, as everything shifts focus upon “a Marvel Family showdown at the end of the world”. Indeed, perhaps this comic’s biggest draw is the titanic tussle between a deranged Billy Batson and his sister, Mary Bromfield, as the two “gods” go toe-to-toe above the Missouri metropolis; “I don’t recognise you at all. Which is fine, actually… It makes this easier.”

Similarly as sensational are the layouts by Pasquale Qualano, Francesco Mortarino and Nicola Righi, which persistently assault the senses with their ferociously fast fisticuffs and sense-shattering scarlet-hued panels. Together, this creative team genuinely provide Shazam with a mind-blowing entrance worthy of one who wields “the powers of superhuman strength, speed, flight, and other abilities.” In addition, the trio repeatedly remind the reader as to the grisly nature of the planet surrounding the central cast, with even little details like a trail of melting snow or some graffiti scrawled over Barry Allen’s beheaded stone statue giving the impression that they’re actually made out of blood.

Rounding off this periodical in a thoroughly enjoyable way is the sadly short-lived yarn "Dead Cities" by Danny Lore and Haining, which enthrallingly explores what happens to a super-hero who is symbiotically linked with the city he's in – and that municipal has been overrun by the living dead. Half man and half Nosferatu, Jack Hawksmoor’s attempt to assassinate his team’s corrupted leader, Jenny Sparks, provides an intriguing insight into just how The Authority has fared during the dark days of the (new) Vampire King’s reign.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR" #5 by Alan Quah

DC Vs. Vampires: All Out War #4 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR No. 4, December 2022

For those comic book fans who enjoy an unremitting assault upon their senses straight from the opening panel, coupled with a publication’s artistic team fervently throwing buckets of body fluid over every other illustration, Issue Four of “DC Verses Vampires: All Out War” must have landed incredibly well. In fact, it’s debatably hard to find any fault at all with Alex Paknadel and Matthew Rosenberg’s twenty-four-page periodical as the Midnighter, Mary Marvel and Booster Gold dive head-first straight into the Baron’s formidably ferocious vampire knights “whose blades are every bit as bloodthirsty as they are.”

To begin with absolutely nothing is guaranteed due to this action-packed pseudo-Elseworld’s plot quite merrily ending its cast’s lives without so much as a moment’s notice, and in as gratuitously grisly a manner as this magazine's “Ages 13+” certification will allow. Such wanton death genuinely makes each and every scene a ‘must read’, as it’s never certain just who is going to survive what blow, nor even who can actually be trusted – Cue Vic Sage’s appearance as a vampiric Question who later on will doubtless catch many a bibliophile off-guard just as a certain cowled member of Stormwatch appears to have saved the day without even raising a finger to defeat the tactical super-computer built into his opponent’s “stupid [expletive] helmet.”

Likewise, penciler Pasquale Qualano and colourist Nicola Righi provide a mesmerising experience with their disturbingly dark illustrations, which are predominantly only lit by splashes of unnerving eldritch lighting and galleons of spilt claret. Indeed, it’s incredible just how much evisceration takes place during this comic’s ensuing melee, with various so-called super-heroes (and villains) having either their heads explode in a fountain of ruby froth, or their innards spattered all over the floor; “You can heal from this, right? I mean, you’re Midnighter!”

Similarly as well-received should be Matthew K. Manning’s “backup” tale entitled “Kill The Messenger”. This Black Lightning-centric storyline still contains an incredible amount of death, courtesy of its blood-drinking ghouls ill-advisedly entering Jefferson Pierce’s blessed abode. But due to Acky Bright’s much more clean-looking, self-taught drawing style, as well as his choice of a surprisingly sombre blue palette, the short-lived yarn provides an enjoyably enthralling contrast to the maniacal mayhem of this book’s main adventure.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: ALL OUT WAR" #4 by Alan Quah

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

Bat-Mite #4 - DC Comics

BAT-MITE No. 4, November 2015

It is certainly clear with Dan Jurgens’ script for Issue Four of “Bat-Mite” that he “really wanted a different head space as a writer” when the American author settled down to pen “The Gold Standard”. For whilst the twenty-page periodical contains plenty of pulse-pounding pugilism two thirds of the way through the comic as Booster Gold sets about laying a serious smackdown upon the villainous Gridlock, the vast majority of this book’s set-pieces try to be much more tongue-in-cheek than a bibliophile might ordinarily expect from one of the creative team behind “The Death Of Superman” in 1993.

Indeed, Jurgens has previously gone on record to explain that he was “up for an anything goes type of series” at the time he accepted the job from “DC Comics” and that he felt the meddling imp offered “a good, fun, romp.” Sadly however, such a sense of amusement doesn’t arguably project from this particular book’s narrative, with Bill Finger’s diminutive co-creation coming across as an utterly dislikeable troublemaker as opposed to the well-meaning, slightly endearing nuisance who simply wants to emulate the good deeds of his hero, the Batman; “You ruin everything! You imbecile! You’re responsible for this disaster!”

True, the reality warping gremlin eventually makes everything he’s done wrong right by reversing his preposterous decision to makeover Michael Jon Carter, his super-powers, costume and name into something “more Batmanish!” But having already unsuccessfully tried to claim the glory of putting out the fiery remains of Reagan Bennington’s beloved photo album, and subsequently attempted to cause Booster Gold to plummet to his death when he mistakenly thought the Justice Leaguer was a deadly Silent Sentry, it’s difficult to imagine many readers had any patience left with the egotistical, ultra-frustrating meddler.

Debatably this publication’s sole salvation therefore may well rest upon the shoulders of Corin Howell, whose cartoonish reimagining of the titular character certainly helps imbue Bat-Mite with plenty of personality. The “red-headed" artist also does a great job of portraying the truly-palpable exasperation the rest of this comic’s supporting cast feel whilst interacting with the so-called “Champion of Justice”, especially Regan when she storms out of her department having realised her unwanted ‘magical’ flat-mate actually expected praise for destroying her aforementioned highly sentimental book.

Writer: Dan Jurgens, Artist: Corin Howell, and Colors: Mike Atiyeh