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 #2 - DC Comics

DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V No. 2, November 2024

Containing such an impressive variety of twists and turns that it might make even the most ardent of fairground ride fans somewhat queasy, Matthew Rosenberg’s script for Issue Two of “DC Vs Vampires: World War V” rather cleverly still makes this comic’s complicated narrative extremely accessible, courtesy of simply telling the story in sequence as events take place. In fact, with the exception of Mister Miracle’s all-too brief plot thread, each incident is arguably handled in its entirety before the reader is moved on to a new development somewhere else within this mad Elseworld.

Just as notable as this pulse-pounding pacing though is the intriguingly palpable presence of the planet’s truce between humanity’s survivors and the blood-drinkers who at one point appeared destined to conquer the Earth. This political nightmare, supported by the likes of Lois Lane and apparently despised by Black Canary, permeates almost every panel, and leaves the audience in absolutely no doubt that just one move by either side will probably result in another massive battle between the two sides; “Don’t take it personal. Some people only understand war.”

Easily this twenty-four page periodical’s highpoint however, has to be Wonder Woman’s rule-breaking incursion into a League Of Shadows safehouse, and the undead Amazonian’s utterly wicked skirmish with Talia al Ghul. The gloves really are off for this particular conflict due to the American author imbuing the dread Princess Diana of Themyscira with a truly disconcerting adoration of sickening violence. Such a dramatically different incarnation of William Marston’s co-creation is incredibly intriguing to see, as is the writer’s shock conclusion when Alfred Pennyworth desperately attempts to thwart the inhuman killer by donning the late Hal Jordon’s Green Lantern ring.

Adding plenty of visual plausibility to all these blood-curdling confrontations and divisive arguments are the pencils of Otto Schmidt and colours of Pierluigi Casolino. Together the two artists really manage to make this publication a feast for the eyes by somehow bringing the stark light of day to the streets of Dakota City, and freezing chill to the snow-covered roads criss-crossing Johnstown in Pennsylvania. Furthermore, it’s difficult to imagine a more terrifying yet seductive version of Wonder Woman patiently picking apart the Daughter of the Demon's Head or calmly enquiring with Bruce Wayne’s former butler just how he wants her to kill him.

The regular cover art of "DC VS. VAMPIRES: WORLD WAR V" #2 by Otto Schmidt

Titans #5 - DC Comics

TITANS No. 5, January 2024

Very much living up to “DC Comics” pre-publication promise of “The Titans are going green” in this twenty-page-periodical, Tom Taylor’s plot for “Out Of The Shadows” still probably dissatisfied a number of its readers with its super-wordy narrative. Indeed, even the titular super-group’s battle against “the new and improved Demolition Team” is resolved via Beast Boy angrily giving one of the villains a considerable tongue-lashing, as opposed to transforming into one of his famously flamboyant animal forms; “Gar. They’re subdued. The town and the people are safe. It’s done.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean for a second that this book’s “New York Times bestselling author” doesn’t later depict Changeling in a multitude of guises as Logan impressively transmutes into a mass of butterflies, dung beetles and then ladybirds in order “to heal the Borneo rainforest”. But these marvellous, multi-bug makeovers are included simply to show the extent of the former Doom Patrol member’s special powers, as opposed to exciting the audience during the aging sidekicks’ stand-off against numerous criminals “with a construction motif”.

Arguably much more involving, though just as dialogue driven, is Nightwing’s last minute deduction that the Flash’s future murderer is actually Wally West’s alien-possessed wife. This well-penned revelation is already known to any bibliophile familiar with the ongoing series. Yet the shock generated by the investigative journalist nonchalantly attempting to detonate a Qwardian Doomsday Weapon inside the Titan trophy room on Mars is still somewhat palpable, due to the reactions of both Dick Grayson and the Scarlet Speedster as Linda impotently taps the neutralised device’s activation button repeatedly.

Perhaps slightly discombobulated by this comic’s inaction is Nicola Scott, whose sketches of Swamp Thing seemingly make the Avatar of the Green appear disconcertingly thin and utterly unimposing. In fact, the protector of plant life is regrettably difficult to spot in many a panel, due to the peaceful yet supposedly powerful giant’s lack-lustre stature, and some of colourist Annette Kwok’s dark-hued palette choices. Happily however, the Australian artist doesn’t disappoint when it comes to Beast Boy’s aforementioned insect-based transformation sequence, with the depiction of the protagonist willingly losing a tiny part of himself whenever one of his green-hued creepy crawlies dies probably being the highlight of the book.

Writer: Tom Taylor, Artist: Nicola Scott, and Colorist: Annette Kwok

DC's Terrors Through Time #1 [Part Two] - DC Comics

DC'S TERROR THROUGH TIME No. 1, December 2022

Supposedly depicting “the story of the Gotham City Sirens’ first sorta true meet-up”, Peter V. Nguyen’s "The Pueo Promise" possibly pleased some within this anthology’s audience with its abundance of “Scooby-Doo” flavoured antics and girl-powered high jinks. But considering that the Honolulu-born writer pens a story featuring the “fourth pillar” in “DC Comics” publishing line there arguably isn’t much for Harley Quinn to do except scowl from the side-lines whilst both Poison Ivy and Selina Kyle take the lion’s share of the tale’s limelight; “Pamela, wake up! We need you in this fight -- Catwoman won’t last long out there…”

Furthermore, due in part to the author’s lavish art style, many a bibliophile would debatably have been utterly bemused as to what is actually going on within this yarn’s narrative, especially towards the end of the adventure when there’s the distinct suggestion the three anti-heroines are battling an army of undead ‘somethings’ who are all under the thrall of some Greek-looking deity. Such a scenario probably made a lot of sense to Nguyen considering his background in Hawaiian folklore. But for those unfamiliar with the Owl Prince and just how the god somehow conjures up ghosts from one moment to the next, the premise of Kyle subsequently having to relocate “roughly two million cats” to Gotham City in order to save the day is a real head scratcher.

Similarly as bizarre, though much more followable, is “Half-Life” by Zac Thompson, which follows the exploits of two survivors eking out a living in a post-apocalyptic Washington Exclusion Zone. Wary of eating radioactive berries, the pair inadvertently wander into the lair of a truly-mutated Chimera and are only saved from a gruesome death by the Swamp Thing bravely allowing himself to be eaten instead.

Pencilled by Andy McDonald, this ten-pager’s artwork definitely provides the futuristic fable with some pulse-pounding pace, as the multi-headed crocodilian crashes through a man-made shelter in its eagerness to consume human flesh, and subsequently slices Alec Holland’s alter-ego to pieces using the aeroplane rotor engine it inexplicably has lodged in its chest. The design of so grotesque a creature really is highly memorable, so it’s something of a shame that the grisly brute is finally only laid low by getting old, and having its mechanical maw defeated by one too many entangling vines.

The regular cover art to "DC'S TERRORS THROUGH TIME" #1 by John McCrea & Mike Spicer

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

Batman/Superman [2019] #15 - DC Comics

BATMAN/SUPERMAN No. 15, February 2021

As self-contained, single edition long stories go, Joshua Williamson’s “Snow Fight” probably pleased many within the ongoing series’ audience with its thumpingly good tension and interesting take on Alfred Bester’s co-creation Solomon Grundy. But whilst the twenty-two periodical’s plot certainly does a solid job of squaring off this comic’s titular characters against the Secret Society of Super-Villains, it arguably does so due to its California-born writer having to force a few illogical leaps of faith.

For starters, just why Superman can’t simply convey the suddenly radioactive zombie to Slaughter Swamp on his own is never convincingly expounded upon, especially when the accepted alternative to the Man of Steel flying him in his arms is supposedly Batman placing the highly explosive prisoner in the Bat-Wing and piloting his bound passenger through a terrifyingly turbulent snowstorm. The notion that Kal-El’s super-speed may well detonate a volatile Grundy makes sense, however surely a simple alternative would therefore be for Colonel Marie Jonas to just ask the Kryptonian to fly a little less fast, and perhaps even go as so far as to encase Solomon in some sort of protective containment vessel first..?

Likewise, the pair’s mission to transport the white-skinned living corpse has seemingly only just been conceived, and yet Poison Ivy already knows that the plan has somehow miraculously reached the ears of The Secret Society of Super-Villains. Such an incredible breach of security is implausibly explained away by Pamela Isley as being due to information leaving “Arkham so quickly that you’d think it was an inmate”. Yet that doesn’t explain how word got back to a seemingly incarcerated “Doctor Green” that the criminal group plan to use the zombie as a weapon of mass destruction, or why Deadline’s attack squad know precisely where to intercept the Dark Knight during a blinding blizzard..?

Disappointingly, even Andrei Bressan’s artwork isn’t without its flaws either, despite the Brazilian illustrator certainly proving his worth when it comes to Superman, or even Solomon for that matter, laying a serious smackdown upon their ever-arrogant opponents; “The Society didn’t give me all the details, Lady Vic. But if we get Grundy, we get paid! Take ‘em down!” Sadly, Williamson’s script seemingly ends with the highly proficient penciller still needing to populate a fair few more panels, and the resultant snowball fight disconcertingly depicts a decidedly impressionable Bruce Wayne taking on a facially very similar-looking Kal-El.

Writer: Joshua Williamson, Artist: Andrei Bressan, and Colorist: Alejandro Sanchez

Justice League Dark Annual #1 - DC Comics

JUSTICE LEAGUE DARK ANNUAL No. 1, September 2019

Although Ram V was absolutely correct in his pre-publication publicity that this comic contains “a story about Swamp Thing and The King of Petals and the greater events of The Justice League Dark storyline”, the “award winning author” was arguably doing his narrative to the thirty-eight page long “A Carious Bloom” something of a distinct disservice. For whilst “this one-of-a-kind story” unquestionably features plenty of Alec Holland’s horrific-looking alter-ego, as the anthropomorphic mound of vegetable matter ponders the fall of the Parliament of Trees and exchanges barbed comments with a somewhat disconcertingly all-knowing John Constantine, it is undoubtedly this book’s fascination with the emotionally draining fate of Doctor Oleander Sorrel which provides it with a hook few perusing bibliophiles could surely resist..?

Indeed, rather than simply being a tale concerning the super-heroic exploits of a monstrously transformed swamp monster, an edgy "supernatural advisor", a member of the Bureau of Amplified Animals and an Amazonian Princess, this “Justice League Dark” Annual instead provides its audience with a completely compelling, yet equally chilling, literary journey involving an agonised parent’s worst nightmare. Certainly, it is hard not to feel overwhelmed with emotion for Natasha at the loss of her young son to cancer, or the grim fate of the woman’s distraught husband when “his walking grief” wants to spend time at her sisters and seemingly never returns to therapeutically mourn their dead child with him; “I poured myself into work after that. Hours spent planting strains into the ground. I did not eat. I did not sleep.”

Just as enthralling as this comic’s tearful plot is Guillem March’s beautiful storyboards, which go a long way to help pace out the despair-laden drama across such a sizeable, well-populated periodical. Frantically panelled one moment to depict the quick-fire banter between Swamp Thing and the Hall of Justice’s most recent addition, as well as infer the panic of Oleander’s beating heart as he races through his home looking for his upset wife, the professional illustrator from Spain also occasionally slows things down to a much more settling, sedentary pace courtesy of a lavishly-sketched flashback sequence showing a grim-faced, bespectacled Sorrel experimenting upon his blessed flowers all on his lonesome, or a fantastically-colourful and well-detailed drawing of the short-lived King of Petals, eerily stalking full of bloom through the undergrowth of his former life’s garden.

Story: James Tynion IV & Ram V, Art: Guillem March, and Colors: Arif Prianto

Swamp Thing #40 [The New 52] - DC Comics

SWAMP THING No. 40, May 2015

As encouragements to cause a comic book collector to make an impulse buy go, the Jesus Saiz front page illustration to the fortieth and final issue of “Swamp Thing” ‘The New 52’ really does ‘tick all the boxes’. It is a tremendous piece of artwork by the “DC Comics” penciller and inker, which portrays all of the Avatars of the past, even those from Prehistoric times, grimly marching alongside the current incarnation of Len Wein and Berni Wrightson’s co-creation. Unfortunately though the hopes for the enthralling read such an impressive piece of cover art creates in the mind’s eye are disappointingly dashed, once the first few pages of Charles Soule’s writing have been digested and the elemental entity leads his band of followers out from the watery depths of the Green back to our World.

Admittedly without a cumbersome ‘foreword’ at least providing the reader with a brief summary of past events, picking up the story during the last instalment of such a long-running series is always going to be a tough ask. But actually the New York Times best-selling author manages to do a reasonably good job of ‘naturally’ bringing everyone ‘up to speed’ as Swamp Thing is forced to brief his former selves as to what has previously occurred in order to convince some of them to accompany him in the grand battle against the mechanical Rithm.

Surprisingly it is the American attorney’s haphazard pacing of the climatic confrontation between vegetation and metal itself which causes this book to become so bitter an experience. One moment the “muck-encrusted mockery of a man” is telling his predecessors that they must fly to the North “near the Pole” in order to face the Machine Queen, and then a turn of the page later the reader is faced with a double-splash in the Gobi Desert as the Green’s army charges into that of both the Machine Kingdom and the Rot? Worse there is little in the way of explanatory dialogue provided by the characters concerned for the remainder of the comic, just a lot of flowery poetic prose, which is delivered almost as if it were a soliloquy.

The plot also abruptly halts mid-way through the battle, as Swamp Thing, close to being overpowered by a horde of robots, is suddenly and bizarrely sent crashing through the window of a library in Philadelphia? Besides this turn of events allowing the humanoid plant to become composed entirely of written pages, and the story be progressed by way of a double-page spread consisting of plain text, it isn’t really clear what is going on.

Yet somehow “the Swamp Thing, strengthened by his strange sojourn”, is suddenly transported back to “the battle in the desert against the forces of the Rithm”, allowing Soule to then narrate the briefest and hastiest of conclusions for the fight… as well as the purification of the Rot’s poison from the Grove.

Incomprehensibly, the material’s madness does not end there as having defeated and dismantled the Machine Queen, Alec Holland leaves the remainder of the Rithm’s essence contained within a small robot cat and simply plugs it into a shed wall socket before departing for one hundred years of solitude…

Equally as confounding is a similar departure in quality regarding the artwork of Saiz, who’s standard of pencilling seems to noticeably drop, along with the writing, as soon as the battle starts. Indeed by the time Swamp Thing has inexplicably been whisked away to the Paper Kingdom mid-fight, the artist’s panels have dishearteningly become little more than a pale shadow of the wonderfully rich and detailed drawing style found on the magazine’s attractively illustrated front cover.

Writer: Charles Soule, Penciller: Jesus Saiz, and Inks: Jesus Saiz with Javi Pina