REVIEW: Vampirella #1

Vampirella #1

Writer: Eric Trautmann 

Artists: Wagner Reis

Colors: Inlight Studio

Letters: Marshall Dillon



$3.99 / 32 pages / Dynamite Entertainment

I think it was David Brent who once said of Dolly Parton,

My first human crush was a girl named Bridget. Brown hair. Brown eyes. Complete disinterest in whatever it was I was about in the late 80s, doing my best to color inside the lines there at St. Cecilia's kindergarten. Just apathy incarnate, this girl. Which was probably part of it. But Bridget, milestone that she was, wasn't my first crush overall. No, that title goes to the schlocky, smutty vampire queens of B-horror, best personified by Elvira and Vampirella. One existed only on late night television and the covers of VHS boxes down at West Coast Video. The other, in a pair of crisp, yellowed comics from an assortment I'd either inherited from my cousins or found amongst a pile of Swamp Things at a farmers' market. The cleavage was one thing–well, a couple of things–but I suppose there was the allure of evil too. I was well on my way to becoming a quintessential altar boy.

Traditionally, Vampirella is considered a sex bomb. A product of the late 60s, she was a natural progression of the lurid stuff Bram Stoker was peddling way back in the 1890s. A confluence of taboos. Sex and death and very little in between. But instead of polarizing it as many adaptations had done, pitting a sniveling Max Schreck against a lusty damsel, the creators of Vampirella distilled the whole of the metaphor into one character. Like Hammer films in comic form, this was the kind of stuff kids stashed in tree houses and under matreses for fear of parental retribution. Vampirella is the touchstone for all the "sexy _______" costumes that populate Facebook galleries today. Certainly not one of the industry's happiest legacies, but proof of a robust cultural influence the medium once enjoyed. Me, I don't look on those old comics with any real kind of shame. I think there's more danger in puritanical prudishness than reveling in the adventures of a scantily-clad extraterrestrial vampire lady. It's fluffy, but it's also kind of inventive. Plus, I dig the Bettie Paige bangs. Sue me. 

What I like about Eric Trautmann's revamp (No, I will not apologize) is the risk. More comic readers could probably pick out Vampirella's iconic costume from a lineup of 50 than tell you if she's good or bad. Few other people can pull off a swimsuit with a starched collar, but Trautmann has done just that. Literally pulled it off. Unless you want to pretend she's wearing it under the new ensemble, consisting of a comparatively conservative blouse, pants, and black trench coat. The Vampirella diehards–and there are dedicated message boards–are probably a little peeved. But they've got their reprints coming, which is probably all they really want anyway. As a more casual, perhaps hypothetical, fan of the character, I think it's a wise choice for a reboot. On this week's Don't Miss Podcast, Trautmann talked about his approach being more in line with a modern procedural. This take is perhaps best classified as urban fantasy, a pretty popular subgenre in both prose and comics these days. Fans of Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs ought to take note, because this is very much in their wheelhouse. Whatever Vampirella was before, wherever she was from and what kind of memories may or may not have been implanted in her mind over the years, she's as much or as little of those things as you want her to be. For new converts, it's pretty simple. This is an attractive female vampire detective living in Seattle. She's good and will help you if you're in trouble. She doesn't get on too well with other vampires, and there's a lot of history there. This is street level stuff with just enough cosmic and historical and Weird presence to get your engine going. And I think the author said it best himself in that interview. "Smart is still sexy. Competent is sexy."

In this first issue we get a smart and simple introduction to the character and a nice overview of the horrors lurking in her world. What elevates it is Trautmann's script, which is just the right shade of purple. Yes, it's a street level and modern interpretation of the character, but it doesn't betray its roots in B-horror. Vampirella's interior monologue is embellished, dramatic. It doesn't veer all the way into Robert E. Howard or EC comics territory, but it's heightened just enough to get those old grindhouse scores growling out of your memories. I think he nailed the voice, maintaining the balance between nostalgia and something much more vital. The same goes for artist Wagner Reis. Costume and character designs straddle the line between retro and new. It's not the best homage to vintage Vampirella material, but I think it's the color that distract from Reis' pencils.

I like what Dynamite is doing here. Vampirella is one of those names that most comic readers probably know. Now it's time to get to know the character. 

Story: 4 / Art: 3 / Overall: 3.5

(Out of 5)