Soviet-Era Murder Mystery In Vampirella/Red Sonja #1
by Josh Davison
[*Mild Spoilers Ahead!]
The year is 1969, and there have been gruesome murders in the Dyatlov Pass in the Soviet Union. This has attracted the attention of Vampirella, who plays the part of reporter in order to investigate the murders. There are many theories: government assassination, serial killer, yeti, and even connections to the Soviet space program. Vampirella is skeptical of all of this and tries to go in with an open mind. After interviewing the locals, she decides to go to Dyatlov Pass and investigate firsthand.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #1 brings together two of Dynamite Entertainment’s most popular and beloved characters for a Russian adventure at the height of the Cold War. The comic can’t be accused of taking the most direct route of uniting these two women (not that I’m sure what that would even look like), and it certainly is an interesting premise.
Admittedly, I was hoping for a swifter meeting between Sonja and Vampirella. They do see one another in this issue, but it takes a long time for that to happen. That said, I do like that the story is situated in the year and era in which Vampirella made her first appearance in the real world.
The murder mystery plot isn’t bad, mind you. It reads true to Vampirella that she would investigate something this remote and grisly.
Drew Moss’ artwork is very good. He masters the fashion of the time and has a hell of a rendition of Vampirella and Sonja. The texturing is solid too, and it feels like you really could reach out and touch this world and know what it would feel like. There’s also a cartoonishness to the style that really helps bring it to life too. Rebecca Nalty’s color work is vibrant and well-balanced to boot, bringing home the aesthetic of this book.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #1 is a solid if somewhat disappointing comic. The meeting between these two characters doesn’t really happen in this comic. We don’t get much of Red Sonja in this book either. However, the story is still solid and fairly entertaining, and the art is quite good. As such, I can still give this one a recommendation. Feel free to pick it up.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #1 comes to us from writer Jordie Bellaire, artist Drew Moss, letterer Rebecca Nalty, letterer Becca Carey, cover artist Terry Dodson with Rachel Dodson, variant cover artists Julian Totino Tedesco; Babs Tarr; Leonardo Romero with Jordie Bellaire; and Drew Moss with Rebecca Nalty and Frank Frazetta.
Final Score: 6.5/10