Written By: Mark Henely
Vampirella 1969 is an expensive comic. At $7.99 (the price of two Marvel comics), Vampirella 1969 really has to bring something good to the table to justify the price tag. Fortunately for readers, at 40+ pages, there is a lot to like about this comic.
Vampirella 1969 is an anthology of new Vampirella stories that take place in the year 1969 (the same year that Vampirella was created). The five stories are done by different creative teams and they are all pretty good. This comic actually serves as a decent introduction to the character. You get to see Vampirella being a badass, kicking ass, and being a hero. Readers that are willing to throw $7.99 down for this book will come away liking the character.
The best story in the anthology is the first. “’69” by Nancy Collins and Fritz Casa, is essentially Vampirella vs. Charles Manson. Immediately after landing on Earth, Vampirella meets a fictionalized version of the Manson family. They take her to their leader (“the Guru”, a bearded Satanist with a symbol tattooed onto his forehead) and a bloodbath ensues. The plot moves way too fast and the exposition is delivered in a very clunky way, but I think that works in the stories favor. It utilizes the pacing of old comics and marries it with the violence and values of a modern audience. It utilizes an old format and brings the story to places the old stories could never go. There are parts of this story that are gory and gross and it kicks the anthology off to a strong start.
The other stories don’t disappoint either. The art is beautiful and the stories are engaging. In one of the stories Vampirella goes to a church in Louisiana and fights KKK Werewolves. That’s right, Vampirella grabs a machete and fights a chapter of the Klu Klux Klan that also happens to be werewolves. If that isn’t worth the price of admission for the pure WTF factor alone, I don’t know what is.
Rating: 7.8 out of 10
***Mark Henely is a stand up comedian, podcaster, and comic book fan. He went to Rutgers University where he officially studied English Literature and unofficially studied Marvel and DC Comics. Now he has a podcast where he reviews the first appearances of Comic Book characters. It is called “Introducing… The First Appearance Podcast” and you can check it out on iTunes and Stitcher. https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/introducing…the-first-appearance/id993523477 ***
