Vampirella vs. The Superpowers #1 // Review
There are a few guys from S Division who are investigating a multiple homicide. There’s reason to suspect that superpowers may have been involved. (Some of the chalk outlines are drawn on the ceiling.) There is reason to suggest that there may be some kind of related activity at a local nightclub. Things are about to get messy for the owner of that nightclub in Vampirella vs. The Superpowers #1. Writer Dan Abnett opens a story set in a gritty Golden Age. The story is brought to the page by artist Pasquale Qualano and colorist Ellie Wright.
It’s Los Angeles, 1948. It’s a world where superpowers have shifted the course of history. Some genius thought it might be a good idea to create a drug that could induce superpowers in people to battle the threat of...people with superpowers. (That’s the S Division.) Now, there’s a black market for the drug. That black market has burrowed its way into Red Menace: a nightclub run by a certain vampire diva. The S Division comes knocking on her door. She’s not going to have a great deal of difficulty with them. The dealers, on the other hand? THEY might be a bit of a challenge. They have ready access to drugs that produce superpowers. What could possibly go wrong?
Abnett crafts a perfectly respectable retro 1940s superhero world. It feels logical and well-thought-out. The fact that the main character in the series is a vampire diva is a fairly minor detail in a story that rests quite firmly in the complex politics of a reasonably sophisticated, superpowered late 1940s Los Angeles. Sadly, none of the characters outside of Vampirella’s immediate reach seem all that intriguing as of the end of the first issue. Abnett is really trying to develop a big, sprawling ensemble. Vampirella and those directly interacting with her seem more interesting than any of the surrounding story, which is a pity as Abnett is spending a great deal of time rendering them and their world.
Visually establishing the setting is a big part of firmly establishing a retro series. Qualano’s artwork keeps the setting at a distance, which robs the setting of its effect. His work is pretty satisfying in the foreground. Wright’s colors lend extra impact to the superpowered world that Vampirella is going to be inhabiting over the course of the series. The action hits the page with tremendous force at times. The drama is well-executed too. It’s just too bad that L.A. in the 1940s isn’t a bit more present 0n the page.
Abnett is trying to do A LOT with the series. Vampirella is quite present on the page, but she’s lost in so much worldbuilding. Abnett has many other characters to introduce. They all make it to the page with enough presence to register a very complex world. Given the right amount of time, Abnett should make them all as interesting as they deserve to be. Hopefully, he can do so without pulling Vampirella too far out of the center of the panel.
