Review - Savage Tales Vampirella One-Shot (@DynamiteComics)


"She can't fight all of us!"

Vampirella is pretty long in the tooth when it comes to being a familiar character. She's also long in the tooth physically seeing as how she's got some vampire in her. In Savage Tales Vampirella One-Shot from Dynamite Comics, her experience and ability combine to wreak havoc. "Savage Tales Vampirella" is written by Erik Burnham, illustrated by Anthony Marques, J. Bone, Fernando Ruiz and Daniel Hor, colored by Mohan and lettered by Tom Napolitano. "Valaka" is written by Doug Murray, illustrated by Lui Antonio, colored by Inlight Studio and lettered by Simon Bowland.

A dead city in the middle of a world filled with violent barbarians is the last place Vampirella would expect to find herself, but here she is -- and there's no time for introspection, because someone is out for her blood! She may be lost in a kill-or-be-killed world filled with swords and sorcery, but she still knows how to hold her own...and when she finds out who has it in for her, she's going to prove it.

Burnham isn't shy about pitting Vampirella against all sort of opponent in "Savage Tales Vampirella." Most of the issue is written from Vampirella's perspective as she seeks to get to the bottom of being in a strange world where everyone seems intent on killing her. As the issue unfolds, Burnham taps into the core of what makes Vampirella who she is: an extremely powerful being who doesn't like to see unnecessary suffering. "Valaka" was originally published in Savage Tales Vol. 1 #19 & #20 and Murray offers up a lot of similarities to the events in the first story. Valaka is also a strong, female character looking to right wrongs and there's no less violence on display in the the story than the first, giving Murray plenty of opportunity to present her as a fierce combatant.

The artwork in both stories is different than one another which allows both artists to accomplish different feats. In "Savage Tales Vampirella," Vampirella and the other players are drawn with a style that somewhere between cartoonish and anime. It makes the violence seem a lot less impactful than it would be otherwise, which the artists use to pretty solid effect throughout. "Valaka" is a bit more cleaned up from an illustrative standpoint, with Anotonio relying on cleaner and more defined lines throughout the issue to give a more mature take on the action and violence. The colors in the former story are more vibrant, while the colors in the latter story are more muted.

Savage Tales Vampirella One-Shot offers Vampirella in a very similar situation as past stories. Vampirella is determined to find out what's going on and why people are suffering, even if she has to disembowel some people along the way. Burnham's script in "Savage Tales Vampirella" is clean and fast-paced; Murray's script in "Valaka" is equally as smooth. The illustrations by all the artists capture the essence of Vampirella well, demonstrating both her beauty and viciousness at the same time. Savage Tales Vampirella One-Shot is a strong one-shot that doesn't tread new ground with Vampirella, but it reminds readers why she is who she is.

Savage Tales Vampirella One-Shot is available May 9.

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