Wow. Dynamite is finally doing the kind of job I was hoping for when they purchased Vampirella. I'm blown away by how much Eric has done with what is still the 1-D Harris Vampirella. I'm REALLY looking forward to each new issue. I know this is probably just a kickass vacation and soon we'll have to return to the bleak reality imposed by said 1-D Vampi, but for now I am very happy with this.

This entire arc has been top form, even the issues I wasn't that impressed with at the time. Here's what I like:
  • The adept linkage to the old Harris stories, and in a way that makes them fresh (and using the cards could have been a nice bit of head faking (think Queen of Hearts), if the Previews ads hadn't given things away)
  • Good prose
  • Realistic dialog. I played with some of that comic-writing software a few years ago for entertainment and couldn't believe how hard it was to deal with those damn balloons! I have great respect for anyone who can tell the story, keep the dialog real, and not cover up the action!
  • The art was spectacular, the perfect compliment to the writing. Berkenkotter is a great horror artist and I'm sure he'll be lured away to greener pastures far too soon.
  • The return of a top shelf villain. This is truly exciting & a little nerve-wracking; I hope VK isn't as harsh to Vampirella as he was in the past - she's been through enough!

Speaking of harsh, that pretty much sums up my past criticisms of Eric's work. For that I sincerely apologize (though I have to say, where were you?!). Writing this story would be enough of an accomplishment, but to do it while also writing Red Sonja is particularly impressive. Bravo!

The only thing that could make this better is if the covers actually tied into the storyline. I've seen the explanation for why Dynamite uses generic covers but If they release a trade paper compilation of this - and they should - they should commission a custom cover.

And one last thing -- this really wouldn't have worked without the costume! };->