Vampirella #2 // Review
This is where Vampirella's story starts to get wild. Writer Christopher Priest, artist and colorist Ergün Gündüz, and letterer Willie Schubert take Vampirella on an adventure that can only be described as bizarre and bloody. Very bloody. What more would you expect from an alien vampire?
To try and start living a less boring life, Vampirella teams up with The Six Mary's (nuns from the Catholic Exorcism Initiative Office). They hunt down creatures like demons, zombies, and vampires. The nuns know she's a vampire, but they have a tentative alliance since Vampirella is fighting on their side. In an effort to bust up a wannabe satanic cult run by the demonic wolf Armadyl.
Vampirella's story still feels like it's missing something. Everything started because her mom told her she was wasting her life; so she started trying to date, started fighting with the nuns, but how does this connect to the plane crash from the previous issue? And how does Vampirella keep running into the same the goth guy? On the plane, at the club, and at the cult meeting? He might become the one unifying thread between these seemingly unrelated events, but right now that's just another loose end.
This issue really kicked up the gore level. There's a lot of blood. In addition to Vampirella drinking blood, there's a pool full of blood at a Satanic cult meeting. A pool full of blood with limbs from people who were ripped apart floating in it. If you aren't comfortable with gore, you should skip out on this story. Gündüz created a very distinct look for the Six Mary's; they wear the traditional habits of Catholic nuns, but they paint their faces in style halfway between members of a black metal band and Juggalo and have bloody crosses painted on their veils. They also tote machine guns. It's a strange look, but it really fits a group of demon-slaying nuns.
There's a lot of potential for a solid and cohesive story, but nothing seems to connect in a way that makes sense just yet.
