It All Comes Together And Falls Apart: ‘Vampirella #9’ Reviewed
by Josh Davison
Mild Spoilers Ahead
We return to Dr. Chary waking up at his Atlanta home readying for another day of helping the mentally unwell. In Hunting Park, California, a young girl makes her escape from her abusive foster parents with guidance of a talking rat. At LAX, the Blood Red Queen takes over for a shift at air traffic control. Vampirella and Benny are on that fateful flight. Von Kreist is beginning to stir in his tomb while Nyx flirts her way onto the flight attendant staff. Mother Mary visits Victory at her home as she is worried that Vampirella is in grave danger. Unfortunately, Mother Mary was followed by her sisters; they know what she’s been doing with Vampirella.
All paths are converging at last with Vampirella #9. We are back to the flight that crashed and landed Vampirella in therapy. We see how Kreist, Nyx, and the Blood Red Queen’s plans have come together. We see where the story of Victory and Mother Mary are headed. We also get a grasp on the tragic importance of Benny the Witch who looks like Adam Driver. We also get the delightful return of Dr. Chary, who is awesome and looks like Samuel L. Jackson.
We’re introduced to a new character in the foster child with the talking rat. I say she’s new; seasoned Vampirella fans may have a clearer idea of who she will turn out to be.
Christopher Priest stories are often winding tales with countless moving parts and they can sometimes be a little exhausting. That said, there is a unique delight that results when you see the synchronicity in all of those moving parts. I definitely got that feeling of delight in reading Vampirella #9.
Ergün Gündüz impresses once again in this issue. His detailing and texturing are often stunning. There are some moments where his style can wander into the uncanny valley, but there’s no doubt that he can make a gorgeous panel. His color palette is explosive too; that similarly can become too bright and washed-out. However, that also works far more often than it doesn’t.
Vampirella #9 is bringing the stories of the previous eight issues together in a brutal climax that lays Ella low and threatens to beat her down even more. It’s a damn good read with plenty of memorable scenes and it earns a recommendation. Feel free to give it a read.
Vampirella #9 comes to us from writer Christopher Priest, artist Ergün Gündüz, letterer Willie Schubert, cover artist Lucio Parillo, and variant cover artists Guillem March; Fay Dalton; and Ergün Gündüz.
Final Score: 8.5/10
