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Dynamite Entertainment

Aliens / Vampirella #1 Review

03 Thursday Sep 2015

Posted by Paul Bowler in All, Dynamite Entertainment

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Alien, Aliens, Aliens / Vampirella #1, comics, Corinna Bechko, Dark Horse, Dynamite Comics, Horror, In LIGHT Studios, Javier Garcia-Miranda, Mars, Sci-Fi, Vampirella, Vampires, Xenomorph

Aliens / Vampirella #1

Review by Paul Bowler

When it comes to attention grabbing comic book titles, Aliens / Vampirella #1 with its eye catching cover by Gabriel Hardman, instantly screams out to be read if you are a fan of either Vampirella or the Aliens franchise. Humans have set up a base on Mars, where they have discovered an ancient mystery underground. Vampirella has been sent to help the crew investigate, but it soon becomes apparent monstrous creatures await them in the shadows deep below the surface, horrors that should never have been disturbed…

Aliens / Vampirella #1, is a brand new six part series from Dynamite, by writer Corinna Bechko, featuring art by Javier Garcia-Miranda, and colors by In LIGHT Studios, certainly has a very interesting premise.

There is a lot of potential here; the tantalizing idea of having a character like Vampirella squaring off against the acid-blooded Xenomorphs on Mars is certainly appealing. Corinna Bechko gets things off to a good start with a fittingly blood-drenched, acid-splattering, flashback that quickly established past events. From here, the pace slows somewhat as we flash-forward to Vamperilla’s arrival on Mars, where she meets the crew of Mars Base One, and learns that the base they’ve found beneath the surface could well be tens of thousands of years old.

Aliens Vampi 1CovAHardman

The familiar themes of the Aliens franchise are all present and correct, there’s a group of humans on a distant world, lots of dark spooky corridors to wander down, and even a chamber full of rather gooey looking eggs. Yes, you know the drill. While it ticks all the boxes, this issue first doesn’t really do anything new with these tried-and-trusted themes. Sure, it sets the scene well enough, but even the crew seem indistinguishable from what we’ve seen many times before, and Vampirella gets no real chance to put her abilities to much use either.

Javier Garcia-Miranda’s art is really good, all the characters are well rendered, and Vampirella looks stunning. However, it’s the flashback at the beginning where Javier Garcia-Miranda’s art really stands out, as we witness the full savagery of the Xenomorph in action. The detail in these pages is phenomenal, and the raw power and brutality of Alien is captured perfectly. Once we flash-forward to the Mars base its all cool metallic corridors, with some wandering around, before Vampirella and the team descends into the underground base where dark shadows, long-dead corpses encased in the walls, and a slimy Alien egg chamber await them. Colorist In LIGHT Studios really shines here in these underground scenes, where the blackness is punctuated by flickering torch beams, and cool blue and green hues heighten the tension even further

Fortunately, after a rather mundane mid-section, this first issue gradually builds to a blood-splattered climax. Corinna Bechko uses some ingenious plot twists here, particularly an unsettling face hugger experience / vision that provides us with further clues about what happened, and the closing moments are both shockingly visceral and violent.

Vampirella fighting the Xenomorphs is an uncanny mash-up of themes and ideas. The Aliens franchise has always had strong female lead characters, so Vampirella is a perfect choice to battle the Xenomorphs. Although Aliens / Vampirella #1 gets a bit bogged down with too much exposition initially, it does begin to measure up to the potential of its premise towards the end of the issue. Corinna Bechko and Javier Garcia-Miranda have done a great job with issue #1, but future issues of this Dynamite mini-series will need to be a bit less formulaic where the Aliens are concerned and make a lot more use of Vampirella if it is to really impress.

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Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4 Review

05 Friday Jun 2015

Posted by Paul Bowler in All, Dynamite Entertainment

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Blood Queen, Blood Queen Vs Dracula, Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4, comics, Dracula, Dynamite Entertainment, Elizabeth Bathory, Kewber Baal, Kirsty Swan, Marshall Dillon, Troy Brownfield, Vampires

Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4

Review by Paul Bowler

The showdown between the notorious Elizabeth Bathory and the Lord of the Vampires reaches its blood-drenched conclusion in Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4, as this new four-part Dynamite mini-series written by Troy Brownfield and illustrated by Kewber Baal, with colors by Kirsty Swan, and lettered by Marshall Dillon, sees these iconic horror characters locked in mortal combat as their enemies close in to attack them.

We’ve seen the opening gambits between the Blood Queen and Dracula, tensions and passions have run high, there’s been treachery on both sides, assassins have been vanquished, and now we have the final battle between the Blood Queen and Dracula! Surrounded by foes on all sides in her own castle, Elizabeth’s dark powers will be put to the greatest test of all, for even if she can defeat her peoples enemies, the Blood Queen must still find the strength to resist Dracula’s will if she is to avoid becoming the Lord of Vampires dutiful servant…

BQvsDrac04CovAAnacleto

The final issue of this four-part mini-series enables writer Troy Brownfield to bring all the plot threads involving the Blood Queen, Dracula, and their common enemies in the Otterman Empire, together for one last brutal fight to the end. The world is indeed painted blood in this action-packed finale! Until now we have only seen the minor skirmishes. Here we finally see the Blood Queen and Dracula really cut loose, no quarter is given between them, and their battle becomes a whirlwind of magic, transformation, stone, bloodshed, and even steel!

Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4 is lavishly illustrated by Kewber Baal. Indeed, Baal’s exemplary work on this mini-series has brought this stunning world to life in exquisite detail. Castle Nadasdy in the Blood Queen’s kingdom of Varanno is the setting for this final confrontation, it provides a perfect battle ground for Elizabeth and Dracula to uses their powers to the full, and Baal ensures every moment is captured in vivid detail. The rich colors by Kirsty Swan also imbue every scene with added textures, providing subtle flourishes and tones, as blood, twirling mist, and crimson magical energies tear across the pages between these two powerful combatants.

When the Ottoman forces led by General Serhan’s brother, Burak, a magic wielding Sihirbaz, launch a surprise attack on castle Nadasdy at the height of Elizabeth’s battle with Dracula, the Blood Queen and the Prince of Darkness must set aside their differences and unite against their enemies. Troy Brownfield ensures the action doesn’t let up for a moment. The cutting banter the Blood Queen and Dracula shared throughout their combat quickly spills over into this stand-off against the Otterman’s and the vengeful sorcerer, making for a deliciously witty, violent, and decisively blood-soaked finale. But once the dust has settled an unexpected proposal is made, a new alliance is forged, and we are left with a tantalising coda that could well spark a rematch between the Blood Queen and Dracula at some point in the not too distant future…

Blood Queen Vs Dracula #4 brings this Dynamite mini-series to an exciting and immensely satisfying conclusion. Troy Brownfield’s dramatic storyline has built into a sweeping blood-splattered epic, its been great to see two horror icons like the Blood Queen and Dracula clash while their Ottoman enemies rise against them, and the excellent art by Kewber Baal has immersed us in every glorious moment of visceral bloodshed while the power struggle between Elizabeth and the Lord of Vampires thundered towards its climax. This new Dynamite mini-series has been a firm favourite of mine over the last few months, it delivered on every level, and I certainly hope we get to see the Blood Queen and Dracula cross swords again one day.

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