Vampirella #9
Written by Eric Trautmann
Art by Fabiano Neves
Letters by Marshall Dillon
Colors by Marchelo Maiolo
Covers by Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Paul Renaud, Fabiano Neves, Ale Garza
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 31, 2011
Cover Price: $3.99

First off, let me be honest. I’m not a consistent reader of this character, but I used to be. I was happy to be able to read and review Vampirella #9 since it used to be one of my favorite comics. Over the years, Vampirella has had major upheavals to her origin story, so much so that it got a bit confusing at times. Eric Trautmann has been very mysterious about his version until this book. I got a few glimpses but no detailed information which, truthfully, is intriguing. Fabiano Neves brings a starker image of Vampirella than many artists have in the past…quite a few have given her a more bimbo-like appearance, but I was happy to see her dressed to kick ass, not for a lingerie shoot.

The first thing I noticed about this incarnation of Vampirella is that Dynamite Entertainment has really separated themselves from former publishers by making her more, well, vampire-ish. Not the blood and gore we see in horror movies, but more like (don’t  kill me for saying this, please) the vampires portrayed in True Blood. Human-like, but not quite the same. Though she doesn’t have the weaknesses of those television vamps, she does seem to have their super strength, speed, and endurance. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not crediting the show for this characterization…hell, Anne Rice was doing this in the early ’80s. I just wanted to give you a point of reference.

Her newest adversaries are the Sisters of the Crow, three badass demoness assassins who imply they are linked to her in some way. Fast and strong, they actually manage to outmaneuver Vampirella many times during their fight with her. They gain some respect for her but show no fear, just relentless pursuit. I’m also pretty sure they created some motorcycles out of dirt, which would be a pretty cool power if it came right down to it.

While preparing for their last stand, Vampirella and the human she has with her, Sofia, are talking and my favorite quote enlightens the reader quite a bit: “I’m not one of you…” So much can be taken from this comment and I really hope the next few issues help to solidify Vampirella’s sense of self and how it affects the work she is doing. Having missed a lot of the issues, I found this to be a decent place to start the series again. Hopefully I won’t drop the ball again and forget to buy them because this series shows a lot of promise still. Besides, the final battle with those three evil demonesses is in the next issue and I’ve got to read that!