DC Vs. Vampires #12 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 12, February 2023

Bringing most of its planet wide sub-plots to a semi-satisfying ending James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s “cataclysmic final issue of the bestselling series” quite surprisingly does actually end with both the promised “bang and a whimper!” Indeed, despite the highly anticipated confrontation taking place between the blood-drinker’s King and Barbara Gordon’s costumed alter ego, many of this twenty-three-page periodical’s readers will almost certainly be clamouring for a thirteenth instalment; “The war is over. I was the last casualty. And when I died so did the last thing Humanity had left to cling to… Hope.”

Foremost of these ‘dangling threads’ is that despite the heroic demises of Duke Thomas, Captain Cold and numerous unnamed prisoners at the Smallville blood farm, the Vampire’s domination of Earth arguably appears to be as formidably strong as ever. True, the narrative to “Dawn” does contain the grisly death of the aforementioned food farm’s supposedly immortal “real big one”, as well as the successful resurrection of Supergirl following Leonard Snart’s creation of “a sort of polar vortex in the upper atmosphere.” But what will actually come of these enthralling events has clearly been bookmarked for another day and potentially, a second mini-series.

Likewise, the last gasp efforts of Black Canary, Frankenstein and Damian Wayne battling a small army of sharp-fanged fiends in the streets of Gotham City disconcertingly disappears from sight once Signal has sacrificed himself so that Batgirl can make her way to Dick Grayson’s throne room reasonably unmolested. So sudden a departure is perhaps understandable given that the comic’s main focus primarily shifts across to Nightwing’s attempt to have the late Commissioner Gordon’s daughter join his side. However, like Green Arrow’s success in Superman’s hometown, nothing is actually finalised and is simply left up in the air for a subsequent publication.

Perhaps this book’s most agreeable asset therefore lies in the art and colours of Otto Schmidt, Francesco Mortarino and Pierluigi Casolino, who together deliver all the savage violence and depressing darkness of a DC Universe ruled by murderous vampires. Furthermore, the creative team do an excellent job of imbuing the smart-mouthed Harley Quinn with some incredibly funny moments, such as when the high-spirited fighter is evidently intimidated by the presence of an all-powerful Wonder Woman, and later traumatised by Barbara’s suggestion that Dick drink her blood.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #12 by Guillem March

DC Vs. Vampires #11 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 11, January 2023

Potentially beguiling their audience like a circus performer with three simultaneous storylines, James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s juggling act for Issue Eleven of “DC Vs. Vampires” certainly mixes all-out, adrenalin-fuelled action with stealthy, nerve-jangling shenanigans as Batgirl leads a seemingly suicidal assault upon Gotham City’s vampire army, Green Arrow initiates a prison break in Smallville and John Henry Irons desperately attempts to smuggle Supergirl onto an orbital rocket ship. Yet whilst some lesser writing teams might struggle to keep a perusing bibliophile hooked handling so many ‘balls in the air’ at once, “Our Finals Hours” arguably manages to do just that with admirable ease; “Sometimes you gotta learn the hard way not to mess with the main man, Martian Lady.”

Foremost of these ‘hooks’ has to be John Constantine’s supposedly doomed squad revealing themselves to King Nightwing’s blood-drinking cohorts and straightforwardly spanking them in their droves within an inch of their undead lives. This frenzied battle is absolutely spellbinding throughout, whether it be during its early stages when surprise is definitely on the fiery Bat Family’s side, or later on, when the super-heroes leap upon a number of motorcycles so as to make a headlong dash for the safety of the Huntress’ ultra-violet Bat-Signal.

Just as engaging is the admittedly much less violent and distinctly quieter infiltration of the Tamala space centre in Australia. Somewhat disconcertingly throwing the brash and ultra-loud Lobo into a supposedly covert penetration of extra-terrestrial collaborators definitely ramps up the tension to this sub-plot, with the duplicitous, gun toting Czarnian likely to let his new partners’ disguises slip at any moment and resultantly rob Humanity of its last chance to bring Kara-El before the energy-restoring light of the Earth’s sun.

Equally as impressive as this twenty-two-page periodical’s penmanship are its layouts, with Otto Schmidt, Francesco Mortarino and Pierluigi Casolino doing a first-rate job in depicting all its dynamic drama and sense-shattering shenanigans. Indeed, perhaps one of this comic’s biggest draws is the sheer sense of despair and world weariness which is persistently pencilled upon the faces and bodies of its formidably sized cast, as the few surviving meta-humans frantically fight against their insurmountable foes with little hope, but still plenty of bravado and deadly determination.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #11 by Guillem March

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

DC Vs. Vampires #5 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES No. 5, April 2022

Deftly delving between a fantastic, action-packed punch-up deep within the Batcave and a similarly as sense-shattering fistfight featuring the Suicide Squad inside the Joker’s deserted hideout, the furious pace to Issue Five of “DC Vs. Vampires” arguably doesn’t stop until the comic’s nail-biting cliff-hanger. Yet whilst some writers may make the mistake of simply using non-stop violence to pad out a potentially weak script, James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg’s narrative for this twenty-two-page periodical requires no such nonsense, with the battles positively brimming with enthralling character development and thrilling plot devices; “Batman. We know what happened. It’s an infection in the blood. You’re sick. You have to know that. Deep down, somewhere. But we can cure it.”

Foremost of these ‘hooks’ must be the excellent teamwork displayed by Bruce Wayne’s alter-ego and Oliver Queen, who bravely manage to beat down the rest of the Justice League of America by the skin of their (non-fanged) teeth. However, despite the pair clearly being stretched to their uppermost limits in tackling the likes of Superman and a vampiric Wonder Woman, this book’s authors still manage to include plenty of one-line wisecracks, as well as plenty of examples of the super-heroes using their brains, not brawn, to overcome their formidable foes.

Likewise, the same can arguably be said for Amanda Waller’s criminally inclined black ops team, who initially, foolishly believe themselves capable of taking down the Clown Prince of Crime in his own headquarters. Intriguingly, Hayley Quinn’s “puddin’” doesn’t actually make an appearance though, with the writers instead having the Black Spider being killed by one of his fellow team-mates, following the revelation that the ‘super-team’ has also been infiltrated by ghoulish, blood-drinkers.

Helping to separate these two simultaneous storylines with an incredible amount of dynamism and energy are the distinctly different-looking layouts of mini-series regular artist Otto Schmidt, and title newcomer Simone Di Meo (who prodigiously pencils those sequences involving the Suicide Squad). Neither illustrator skimps on the sheer savagery of the fighting taking place, nor lets the script’s intense speed ever falter, even when there’s a momentary pause in the mayhem for Cyborg to rationalise Batman’s seemingly erratic behaviour, or Batgirl to make a dramatic entrance just as Savant is about to fatally bite Quinn.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES" #5 by Otto Schmidt

Superman [2018] #1 - DC Comics

SUPERMAN No. 1, September 2018

Proudly proclaimed by “DC Comics” as “a bold new chapter for the greatest superhero of all time”, yet disconcertingly only the fifth best-selling comic book in July 2018 according to “Diamond Comic Distributors”, Issue One of “Superman” must have disappointed many of its 133,703 fans with its tantalisingly fleeting glimpses of Clark Kent’s alter-ego battling prehistoric monsters and giant astronaut gorillas on the moon. Indeed, just why Brian Michael Bendis instead frustratingly focused upon a dialogue-heavy tête-à-tête between the titular character and the Martian Manhunter which runs for half the entire length of the publication is anyone’s guess, and disappointingly results in the Cleveland-born author arguably squandering precious space within this twenty three-page periodical on Kal-El pondering the fact that “we’re going to be part of this galactic conversation soon and someone is going to have to lead us there” rather than providing his readers with a far more detailed account of the Man of Steel’s epic tussle with the entire Dominator Armada “headed right for earth”..?

Sadly, the five-time Esiner Award-winner’s infuriating ‘stop and start’ story-telling approach persists throughout “The Unity Saga” and whilst initially slightly amusing, as the Metropolis Marvel suspends J'onn J'onzz in his “lovely” sympathies surrounding “the shocking truth behind your home planet’s demise” so as to ‘punch-out’ a Doomsday-like dinosaur rampaging close to London’s St. Mary Axe, the interruptions soon become incredibly unfunny and additionally hint at Superman having some far more interesting interactions with the likes of a NASA-suited Gorilla Grodd or bravely defying the heat of another towering inferno in order to rescue a building full of children. These action-packed interludes are far more sense-shattering than anything the green Martian’s deadly dull discussion produces, especially when its revealed at the end of his conversation when the Big Blue Boy Scout unsurprisingly turns down the offer to “lead the world”, that the Justice Leaguer “knew this would be a hard sell” anyway.

Fortunately, this “looking at the world through new eyes… with new ideas” publication does contain a few highlights of note, such as the Kryptonian’s establishment of a new Fortress of Solitude hidden amidst the waters of the Bermuda Triangle. Incredibly well-pencilled by Ivan Reis, this double-splash of “crystal technology created light-years from the Earth and its yellow sun” appears a far more unfriendly, formidable looking “place of solace and mediation” than the one ‘borrowed’ from Henry W. Ralston’s co-creation Doc Savage. In fact, considering that the structure supposedly houses “a museum of all of Kryton’s history, an alien zoo, laboratories, technologies and rooms dedicated to all sorts of relics and trophies of his past adventures”, it’s a pity Bendis didn’t decide to have the titular character linger a while within its corridors rather than rush off to disappointingly debate with the Martian Manhunter.

The regular cover art of "SUPERMAN" No. 1 by Ivan Reis, Joe Prado & Alex Sinclair