Vampirella versus Purgatori #1

Vampirella versus Purgatori #1

Dynamite Entertainment 2021

Written by Ray Fawkes

Illustrated by Álvaro Sarraseca

Coloured by Slavatore Aiala

Lettered by Tom Napolitano

The unholy alliance you prayed would never happen! For countless generations, the fight between good and evil has been fought, as much behind the scenes as in plain view. Unbeknownst to the world at large, one force has stood as a safeguard against the potential triumph of evil and the unleashing of the apocalypse: The 36. Now, someone is after them, a creature of evil known as Purgatori, and the only thing standing in her way is Vampirella. So with all of existence hanging in the balance, what could possibly bring these two enemies to join forces? Hint: Whatever it is, it must be really bad.

The moment this was announced I was terribly excited for this. I’ve been a fan of Purgatori since her debut and I have to say that a crossover with Vampirella is a dream come true. I will say one thing surprised me more than any other and that’s Vampirella being Lilith’s daughter because in all honesty I would’ve expected that to be reversed. Regardless I have the utmost respect for Ray so now I’m anxious to see where he’s going to take this. Already we are seeing something happen here that I cannot wait to see explored further and of course it all starts with a celebration, a birthday and boy oh boy.

I am enjoying the way that this is being told. The story & plot development that we see through how the sequence of events unfold as well as how the reader learns information is presented beautifully. Just the way that we are introduced to the players and how we learn just who is who and what’s going to be happening it has this amazing feel to it. The character development is interesting and while Lilith is new to me the others feel familiar and fresh & new at the same time. I’m excited to see the sassy quips and comebacks out of these women as they navigate the story as they act and react to the circumstances and situations they encounter. Plus the outright attempts at manipulation and misdirection being utilised is rendered with aplomb. The pacing is superb and as it takes us through the pages you can feel yourself building a connection to the story which to me is rather quite impressive.

I am enjoying how this is structured and how the layers within the story take shape and grow as the intrigue and interest factors expand exponentially through them. The way that we see everything working together to create the story’s ebb & flow is absolutely delightful.

The interiors here are absolutely gorgeous! The linework that we see and how it’s varying weights and varying techniques that are being utilised to create this wondrous detail work captures the imagination of the reader. I really wish we’d see more and better backgrounds being utilised throughout as they really enhance the story, the mood, the tone and the feel of it. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a talented eye for storytelling. The colour work is beautifully rendered. How we see the various hues and tones within the colours being utilised to create the shading, highlights and shadow work is rather quite impressive.

Dynamite is very quietly putting out some top notch quality books like this one right here. The story is complex and interesting full of those moments that make you stop stare and your mind is engaged by what it’s seen. With an infinite number of possibilities regarding these two women and the kind of relationship they can have would rival Vampirella’s with Red Sonja and to say and think that shows the true talent and skill of these fine folks.