Vampirella Volume 1: Crown of Worms

Vampirella 2010 #1

by Eric Trautmann, Wagner Reis (Artist)

Dynamite Entertainment is pleased to reintroduce readers to the scourge of the undead, Vampirella - and she's all that stands between us and the end of the world Vampi's back and hot on the corpse-strewn trail of her nemesis, Vlad Dracula It's a darker world for Vampirella, and something more sinister than vampires lurks in the shadows... something even Dracula himself has cause to fear Collects the first seven issues of Dynamite's hit ongoing Vampirella series, and features a complete cover gallery by Alex Ross, J Scott Campbell, Jelena Kevic-Djurdjevic, Joe Madureira, and others.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Vampires, Fantasy, Fiction, Action

144 pages, Paperback

Published July 26, 2011

About the author

Eric Trautmann is a comic book writer, editor, and graphic designer.

For several years, Eric was a writer and editor for West End Games' acclaimed Star Wars roleplaying game line. After leaving dice-and-paper gaming behind, Eric then moved into videogames, an early recruit into Microsoft Game Studios' nascent entertainment licensing apparatus.

While at Microsoft, Eric wrote and edited in-game dialogue, story bibles, marketing materials, and original fictional content for the web.

Among the titles that Eric helped develop were the smash-hit HALO: Combat Evolved (including editing chores on the first three HALO novels for Ballantine / Del Rey, as well as writing The Art of HALO, also for Del Rey); Crimson Skies (creating a strongly immersive in-universe website for the pulpy, two-fisted adventure setting; editing weekly serialized online pulp novellas; and editing and contributing to Del Rey's mass-market paperback fiction anthology based on the setting); MechWarrior 4; and Perfect Dark Zero, acting as a story consultant to the property and helping to develop a fiction publishing program in support of the game.

In addition, Eric has consulted on videogame properties for EPIC (drafting a story bible for the Gears of War franchise), story development for Radical Entertainment, and delivering talks on the craft of writing in games to various publishers (notably, Blizzard Entertainment).

After leaving Microsoft, Eric wrote a six-issue miniseries for Perfect Dark (titled Perfect Dark: Janus' Tears), published by Prima Games, as well as editing and lettering an original graphic novel prequel to the hyperviolent videogame Army of Two, titled Army of Two: Dirty Money (written by John Ney Rieber and illustrated by Brandon McKinney).

While developing Perfect Dark Zero's novel program, he edited Perfect Dark: Initial Vector and Perfect Dark: Second Front, scribed by Greg Rucka (and published by TOR). The collaboration proved fruitful, and Eric was later invited to write a fill-in issue of Greg's DC Comics superhero/espionage title, Checkmate (which led to a half-year stint as co-writer on the title, ending his run with issue #25).

Checkmate led to several other DC Comics projects (as both writer or co-writer), including Final Crisis: Resist, JSA Vs. Kobra: Engines of Faith, The Shield, Mighty Crusaders, Adventure Comics and others.

Eric currently writes the continuing adventures of classic sword-and-sorcery heroine, Red Sonja, for Dynamite Entertainment.

In November 2010, Eric's debut issue of a revitalized Vampirella (also published by Dynamite Entertainment) was released to widespread critical praise and excellent sales (Vampirella #1 was the best selling non-premier publisher title for Diamond Comics Distribution in the month of its release).

In addition to writing comics, Eric is a graphic designer and marketing consultant, through his Fedora Monkey Studio, which offers (among other services) logo and branding design, intellectual property development, and viral marketing (such as the infamous "Montoya Journal" to promote the DC Comics' series The Question: The Five Books of Blood).

Eric splits his time between Raymond, Wa (where he resides) and Lacey, WA (where his wife runs the best comic shop ever).

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

The strong prey on the weak, isn't that right?

How does it feel to be the prey, children?

If you're one of my friends, you're probably looking at that cover and thinking "Christopher, what are you reading? Couldn't you find something more sexist to read? /s" To which my reply would be "uhm... of course I could. Did you forget we're on the internet?"

But that cover isn't how Vampirella actually looks in this series. Instead, we get this:


The old school non-there outfit does make an appearance, but I'd have to explain plot to explain that, so 'eh'. It's kind of nice that, not counting the covers, which are all the old outfit, they were willing to not target the 13 year old boy market and actually let her wear jeans and a jacket. Sidenote, can you believe the outfit on the cover was created by a woman? Anywho...

This is the beginning of the 2011 reboot by Dynamite Entertainment and it is surprisingly good. Our story is set in a modern day city with vampires lurking the in shadows murdering people. Our hero Vampirella hunts vampires (and is a vampire herself, in case you don't know who the crap she is even though she's been around for over 50 years). While hunting down random vampires in the city, she stumbles upon an ancient evil threatening to destroy the world!

Of course.

Along the way she picks up a plucky human sidekick to give us readers someone to relate to. And Dr. Acula himself even makes an appearance, actually playing a major role in the plot.

There's nothing to fear, human. These are merely whelps...

...children that need reminding exactly who rules the night.

Of particular importance is that this feels like a world that is lived in. This isn't an origin story. Vampirella has been around for hundreds of years. Dracula is even older. They obviously have a past, but beyond passing mentions, they don't dwell on it beyond making it clear that she wants him to die. In fact, there is very very little in the way of flashbacks or info dumps, with the notable exception of one for her sidekick, but even that isn't until the very very end of the last issue in this volume.

I didn't come into this with high expectations, but it is certainly better than I was expecting. If vampires are your thing, you could do much worse.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I appreciated that this graphic novel reboot offered a more empowered (and clothed) version of this vampire hunter. I also liked that these panels were much darker terms of both tone and artwork. This is a good alternative for readers looking for a less scantily dressed version of this franchise.

[Tyler Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew nothing about Vampirella going into this. I assume those who are already into Vampirella would get more out of this but I was never confused. It's its own story in its own right. That cover? Makes it seems like it's something it's really not. I mean it is adult but that outfit doesn't feature much. Also the introduction told me it was designed by a feminist woman, which honestly I never would have guessed, but awesome.

As for the story I wasn't expecting much but i'm loving it so far! That last issue nearly had me in tears with Sofia's story and character. It seems to be an interesting story line with a giant worm with tentacles (not fun), gods, vampires, human monsters, and I can't wait to see where it goes! I want to say more but I don't want to spoil it.

CW: Death, blood, gore

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vampirella is a vampire that hunts other vampires and is always hot on the trail of her old nemesis Vlad Dracula. As she tracks a new army of vampires, what she presumes is a sickness is in fact a new threat to vampires that is looking for a host. She holds the key to stopping this takeover but must battle her own demons before she can make things right.

I'm not familiar with the Vampirella storylines and as this was a reboot of an old series I feel I'm missing out on a lot of back story. That being said I really enjoyed the volume, it was an interesting mix of vamps and cosmic horror which is not something I've come across before.

Vampirella is a fairly engaging character although some more back story would have been great to set her up a bit better. This could also be said of Dracula who only gets a couple of panels where it's shown his history. It didn't detract too much from the read but I think it would have added something if included.

I have to comment about Vampirella's costume, for most of the comic she was dressed in clothes suitable for fighting vamps but the costume she is famous for, several strips of cloth that just barely cover her chest and bottom, look both impressive and kinda ridiculous, (impressive in that it actually stays in place).

A fun comic that I'm definitely going to read more of.

Read from Scribd.

[Cosmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a ride! I loved everything about this. I'm sorry but it's going to be kind of hard to be objective about this, so I'm not even going to try. I love comics and I love stories about vampires, and when you combine the two it's hard to come up with something that I don't like.

It's my first time reading something with Vampirella and I have no idea why it took me so long. Actually I think there is only one other comic series that I've read with vampires, American Vampire, Vol. 1. I've read some mangas of course, but this is the first comic.

From what I understand this story happens right after Vampirella's lover dies, so we don't find her in a very happy place. This feeling is translated very well into the story, we have a very dark atmosphere, emphasized mainly by the art. It uses a lot of dark tones and it fits the story very well. Add to this the first person narration, and I get a very noir feeling from the story, which of course is another plus .

Another thing that I liked is the cover gallery. From what I can tell, ever since it's inception back in 1969, Vampirella has always had very beautiful drawn covers, and this volume stays true to that. At the end of the volume we get a cover gallery of all the variant covers of all the issues from the volume and most of them are really beautiful.

So Vampirella has gained a fan today, I'll probably read all I can get my hands on with her.

[Katrine Austin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid story arc, strong female heroine, artwork varied between gorgeous and occasionally awkward especially on smaller panels where it distracted me a little. But I do want more.

[C. Varn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Changing one retro for another

Trautmann's Vampirella is a blood and angst protagonist that has little to do with the classic Vampirella's classic camp. The bad girl attitude that Dynamite's take here has seems to retro-90s view to "up-date" Vampirella. It's action filled but the characterization is lacking.

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the start of Vampirella's run at Dynamite Entertainment. Vampi starts with a new look in Seattle, but soon, we see her iconic costume and the story gets underway, with Dracula also playing an important part. I enjoyed the Vampirella covers and art volumes I just read, so I thought that it was high time to read these now, and here we are. This is a nice start to a new run, and we also have a world-destroying danger being part of the story. Also, there's a great cover gallery at the end with more than 25 covers to enjoy. Okay then let's see how soon I can continue through the series and let's Keep on Reading.

I have always loved comics, and I can and I have. I love comics to bits, may the comics never leave my side. I loved reading this and love reading more. You should also read what you love, and I hope you will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics, Diamond Comics, or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics as I just want to Keep on Reading.

[47Time · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork is complex, but too dark to make out a lot. It seems to be straight out of a 90's comic. The story is just a series of fights around an artifact that can destroy the world. It's only worth reading if you're into Vampirella, Dracula, eviscerations or vampire stuff in general. It's the first Vamiprella story for me and, as an intoduction, it sucks.

Vampirella is hunting vampires when she finds a nest of them led by Le Fanu, one of Dracula's lieutenants. The latter owns an artifact that puts Vampirella into a trance-like state where she has nightmares of a strange dimension where she talks with her scantily-clad self. It is a dimension parallel to our own that must be stopped before it destroys humanity.

Vampirella eventually meets Dracula himself who asks for her help against his rebellious army. She refuses, but a sudden attack from Le Fanu's followers prompts her to reconsider. During the fight Dracula places the artifact on Vampirella's head. This makes her scantily-clad self take control of her body. And also switches her costume, oddily enough. She is chosen queen of Yag-Ath Vermellus, the being inhabiting the other realm. It wants to devour our world by consuming hope and light. Dracula's plan is revealed when he once again uses the artifact, but to give Vampirella the power to defeat Yag-Ath in its own realm, thus saving out world.

[Elena Marmiroli · Rating 2 out of 5]

L'unica parte interessante è arrivata circa a metà del libro ed è terminata prima che finisse. I quadrati con la narrazione sono tediosi e a livello grafico il libro non mi ha preso più di tanto.

[Elyrria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fantastic art, forgettable story.

[James Haresign · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's been a long time since I read Vampirella. I tried back in my teenage years because of out of control hormones and Millar and Morrison having a stab at the vampire princess. It was good, but a second dip into older material felt almost at odds what the two Scots had done, and made their run seem like it was good thanks to the calibre of the writers.

This is the start of Dynamite's attempt to reinvent the character, although the plot seems very much a continuation of previous series.

There's no denying Vampirella's look is one of the most ridiculous in all of comics, but here Dynamite make it make sense. Her traditional costume is exactly that. Traditional, something with great meaning to the vampires, but for the majority of the story she's wearing a pretty sharp red and black suit, and the costume only turns up in two sequences. One in a vision as Vampirella tries to find herself, and again when Dracula dresses her up as Queen of the Vampires.

That said, the storyline is a bit light on a few character moments. Vlad Dracula could have done with a bit more exploration, Eric Traughtman seems to take the approach that just calling him Dracula should be enough, but then have him rely on Vampirella to save him suggests that maybe we needed a bit more depth there. The human sidekick adjusts to this new life a bit too quickly, though the last issue sort of addresses that in retrospect, it just feels wrong as it's happening originally.

I had enjoyed Millar and Morrison's take years ago, and this continues that with not so out there take, but the same vampire hunting vampire sensibility. I'd briefly read the next issue after this a long time ago, and combined with this, I'm very much interested in where this is going.

[T.L. Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh!

It was okay. Lots of big boobed women with little clothes and an even smaller story line. Definitely a graphic novel for adolescent teen boys. I picked it up because I like vampires and monsters.

[Anja · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*
This was entertaining, but idk, Vampirella was so overtly sexualizied, even if the 'real' V didn't wear her revealing outfit for most of the book. I mean, yeah, she is very hot, but.. come on, every woman was super skinny with huge boobs, which felt very icky :s

[Keeloween · Rating 3 out of 5]

definitely interesting but idk if I'll continue

[Shirley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing story more of a 3.9 for me!
The start did not really convince me at first but it got more interesting towards the middle.
The artwork was great

[C.T. Phipps · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crown of Worms is the first attempt by Dynamite to introduce the character to modern audiences in 2010. It's not the most current Vampirella (Hollywood Horror) adaptation, which I've read and will review the graphic novel coming out in November, but it does give an idea what Dynamite thought were the fundamentals of the character. Specifically, the idea Vampirella was really-really angry all the time.

With more than a passing familiarity with the character, I should note Vampirella is traditionally a semi-humorous character. The character as envisioned in 1969 is a funny, flirtacious, compassionate goofball who doesn't treat the situations she finds herself in all that serious. How could she, she's a frigging vampire from space. The Crown of Worms character has a personality which consists primarily of snarling and scowling.

The Bad GrrlTM of comics is a common problem where writers confuse strong with angry. This isn't to say female protagonists shouldn't be allowed to be as angry or upset as their male counterparts but one-dimension is one-dimension across genders. The writing for Crown of Worms is better than this and we have a justification for why Vampirella is really upset: her long-term love interest Adam Van Helsing is dead and this has caused her to give up on the human race.

Crown of Worms opens with a really effective black comedy where a bunch of thugs are beating up a homeless man, Vampirella rescues the homeless man, the homeless man tries to get her to murder his attackers then insults her when she won't, only for her to get attacked by (vampire) cops all in the space of five minutes. It's a kind of absurdist situation which nicely sets up this is a world where Vampirella is one of the few good people left in the world and that really makes her mad.

What follows is a Lovecraftian story about how Vampirella attempts to track down the nest of vampires which sent the cops but finds herself in the middle of a plot to summon a Cthuluean god which was responsible for the creation of vampires. This results in her fighting against mutated vampires with worm tentacles and their leader Le Fanu, a French prostitute turned vampire who Vampirella is more annoyed than threatened by. Dracula, Vampirella's fellow alien vampire and longtime enemy, offers to help her overcome the monster but only if she risks insanity by confronting her dark side.

I liked some of the characters introduced in the book, Sofia Murray, in particular. She's a Goth girl Vampirella rescues and proceeds to follow her despite the Queen of Screams not giving her any reason to do so. It turns out she's been desperately searching for a purpose in life and the opportunity to be Vampirella's Renfield/sidekick is something she's all too eager to jump into. There's an issue devoted to her mundane pre-Vampirella life at the end which I really enjoyed. I hope the character sticks around but, sadly, she's not in the 2016 reboot.

Most of the book is fight-scenes and while Vampirella's outfits is surprisingly demure inside the book, she isn't that way on the cover for those worried about reading in public. The art in the back is actually my favorite part as there's some truly beautiful full page photos and pin-ups. Unfortunately, the fight scenes tend to drown out softer characterization and the book is somewhat humorless.

In conclusion, The Crown of Worms is an okay book but trying a bit too hard. It wants Vampirella to be taken seriously as a character but it removes any edges from her personality but sharp. Even so, I'm glad I picked up a copy on Kindle and am going to pick up the second in the series as well.

8/10

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had limited exposure to Vampirella aside from the odd single issue comic here and there, as a result, I wasn't sure what to expect from the 2011 series iteration by Dynamite. Volume 1 of the series, Crown of Worm, comprises the first 7 issues and is chock full of fight scenes and reads more like an action based story rather than the pulp-horror story the character lends herself to.

The story picks up Vampirella as a hero well entrenched in her quest for vengeance following the presumed death of her partner Van Helsing as she hunts down her fellow vampires and proceeds to steadily eradicate them.

There are some interesting and well written characters introduced in this volume as well as Dracula himself but the one who I most enjoyed reading (Vampirella aside) was Sofia, a human in the wrong place at the right time who is quickly established as a faithful sidekick. Issue 7 provides the reader with a greater inside into her character and is a highlight of the story arc.

The artwork is great and fits the tone of the book very well. The characters are sharp and the backgrounds are detailed. The coloring captures the night-time feel and Vampirella's costume really pops and is an eye catcher, as intended.

My rating: 3.5/5. I think this iteration of Vampirella is still trying to decide what kind of series it wants to be. There are some horror, action, paranormal, superhero and sci-fi elements all floating around without any taking hold of the story at this stage. I picked this up as part of the recent Humble Bundle offer and wasn't disappointed.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first thing I have to say - Vampirella spends the majority of this collection dressed more conservatively (aside from the covers), which is a bit of a relief. She's still a powerful character with charm and style, but it's more about her attitude than her attributes. And considering who she's battling, that's where the focus belongs. Instead of vampires, Vampirella spends most of the collection battling children of the Worm, a creature that looks a bit like it stepped out of Dune (albeit only on an alternate plane of existence - her material form is fighting in a relatively accurate depiction of Seattle). She crosses paths with Dracula and picks up a new associate in Sofia, who adds a human perspective (and a relatively fragile target) as Vampirella fights both body and mind to defeat the coming of the worm. It makes for an interesting story, with some decent action scenes against vampires, and then a fair bit of over-stuffed confusing scenes against the worm people. It's not bad, but it's not particularly memorable either.

[Barry Hammock · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent mixture of gothic horror meets superhero adventure.

[Marcelo Soares · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vampirella num domingo de manhã, hein?
Eu devo admitir que sempre que aparece qualquer coisa da Vampirella na barateira, eu leio , esse foi grátis, então... É um daqueles prazeres culposos, tu sabe que é uma porcaria, mas é uma porcaria tão divertida.
Eu considero a Vampirella uma subcelebridade no mundo das HQs; explico.
Existem os grandes heróis; Batman, Superman, Homem-Aranha, Mulher-Maravilha e mais uma meia dúzia; aqueles que até a tua mãe que nunca leu um gibi na vida tem um entendimento básico deles, as celebridades no seu sentido mais amplo. Temos o time B; Homem de Ferro, Jonn Jonzz, Arqueiro Verde, Demolidor e mais uns 30 personagens; são reconhecidos pelo público em geral, tem uma ou outra história legal e a popularidade impulsionada por algum fenômeno transmidiático - filme, série, desenho - trouxe eles a um público um pouco maior. No time C temos o pessoal que não afunda, mas não boia; muitos anos atrás houve uma única grande história e, mesmo daqui muitos anos, eu vou ler a próxima HQ do Homem-Animal, do Monstro do Pântano ou do Questão por causa disso, é a subcelebridade, ela sobrevive de glórias passadas. O time D são aqueles personagens que ninguém se importa; o Espectro, o Doutor Druida ou coisa do gênero.
A Vampirella é uma subcelebridade, geralmente reconhecida por usar poucas roupas - tipo aquela guria do Instagram que tu segue porque ela sempre posta foto de biquini -, nunca fez sucesso de verdade, mas nunca deixaram de publicar de verdade também.
A Vampirella começou a ser publicada no fim dos anos 60 e foi até o início dos 80, quando a Warren faliu - quando a subcelebridade sai pelada na Playboy, vira madrinha de bateria de escola de samba e depois sai pelada de novo na Sexy, porque já não é mais tão relevante.
Os direitos da Vampirella foram para a Harris Comics que publicou várias minisséries - a subcelebridade agora é ousada, sai na página central do Diário Gaúcho, enlouquecendo os veranistas da praia do Cassino, e afirma que seu sonho é apresentar um programa infantil - até o início dos anos 2000.
Agora na Dynamite - a subcelebridade cansada e com frio começa a usar roupas de verdade e talvez vire evangélica -, Vampirella enfrenta agentes rebeldes de Drácula que querem trazer a Grande Minhoca para festar no sangue dos humanos, ela também ganha uma sidekick, Sophia Murray, porque todos nomes de uma história da Vampirella, obrigatoriamente, tem alguma referência ao livro do Bram Stoker, e quebra o pau geral com minhocas gigantes, vampiros, minhocas menores, vampiros que minhoca por tudo que é lugar, a quantidade de minhocas é realmente impressionante; claro, também há uma jornada de auto-conhecimento no mundo encantado da minhoca que traz a Vampirella de volta e ainda mais forte para enfrentar o mal do mundo e aquela papagaiada toda.
É um gibi divertido, não tem nada de mais, o roteiro é uma briga que dura umas 06 edições ou uma noite, vai saber; a arte até não é tão sexualizada como se pode imaginar e tem algo que eu nunca tinha visto antes; Vampirella usando calças.
Essa história é de 2010, e, desde então, já houve pelo menos mais dois relançamentos que mudam, novamente, as origens da Vampirella e dos vampiros; eu não sei exatamente o que mudou, mas a minha favorita sempre será a que ela é a princesa do planeta Drakulon - se isso não é o roteiro de um filme B dos anos 80, o que é?
Ah, falando disso, tem um filme da Vampirella, de 96, que é fabulosamente ruim.

[Ondřej Halíř · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tohle přesně patří do takové té kategorie těch komiksů alá Spawn, které byli všechny kreslené uppe stejným stylem, bylo tam mrtě akce a hromady vnitřních monologů.

Fakt mi je líto že se to v téhle atmosféře nese, protože podle mě tahle formulka začne už být únavná po asi dvou sešitech. Abych tedy ještě uvedl na pravou míru, tak tohle je moje první Vampirella vůbec. Už dlouho jsem viděl na různých stránkách či v reklamách ukázky na její komiks a když už v nové Dynamite sérii má crossover s Army of Darkness, tak jsem si řekl proč ne.

Bohužel i když mě to poměrně bavilo, tak mě to nijak extra neoslnilo. A ne není to tím že je to enormní béčko, s tím já počítal a doufal jsem v to, jen se to na můj vkus bere poměrně vážně což je škoda, když je tohle prakticky Xena, akorát s tím že ty humorné prvky co z toho dělali něco více tu nejsou.

Každopádně, Vampirella je ochránkyně lidí před upíry a snaží se zabít Draculu, jenže brzy se nachomítne k mnohem větší problému a to k nějaké vesmírné chapadlové zrůdě, která si bere mysl upírů a skrze ně se živí.

Yep, prostě dobrý béčko, kdyby TO KURWA NEBYLI JEN ZASRANÉ MONOLOGY Vampirelly. Jako sorry tohle mohla bejt super blbost Upíři vs Kosmické zlo, jenže ta zábavnost se z toho vytrácí když už čtete druhý sešit plný monologů o tom samém. Naštěstí je tu hromada kvalitního góru, který si mě vždy získá v příběhu a i pár docela dobrých momentů a suchých hlášek.

Takže jako jo, je to fajn, ale mohlo to bejt lepší. Tak snad příště budu u jiného dílu více na větvi.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Start sets tone for re-invention of classic character

This new series sets the tone for a new - i.e. modern - take on Vampirella. Here she is focused, tough, relentless, vicious and unforgiving. Basically, she is like any number of current syfy heroines without all the gloomy Canadian backdrops. This book takes place in Seattle so the malice is there but this story has a lot of twists and it's own energy. I like most of the plot developments including a new sidekick and the umpteenth time Dracula has returned from the dead. The story itself was a little light involving a conquering worm and vampire cult but it was not bad in any way. Also there were a lot of artists who dipped their ink into this project but the books artwork remained consistent and uniform throughout. My two big problems was in the writing. First, there were too many thought panels in the book and they often repeated the same information. They overwhelmed both the artwork and the action in some parts. Secondly, the writing was too heavy and the book lacked some of the campiness that would have have the characters some added punch. Other than those complaints, it good to see a series that gets away from the self-involved superheroes and creates it's own universe.

[Rose Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think that this little edition here definitely deserves a three. While it has some interesting story beats and some great Lovecraftian horror threads to boot, some of the art and cliches keep it from moving beyond a three.

The story was actually pretty good, where we get to see mainstay villain Dracula, though the real threat is an ancient hate-worm threatening to devour the world as we know it. Some of the shots that we get are really great, especially for the small-time villain Le Fanu. Seeing her half-taken body and the purple worms reaching out is a great sight.

I'd say my biggest qualm would be some of the other art though. The art does great for some of the urban or abandoned scenery, and we get some great urban-gothic moods, but I'd say some of Vampirella's visions could have used some more inspiration. The worm-spirit ended up looking a little more cartoonish than imposing, and the scenery of a wasteland was both too bland to take in but didn't do enough to really sell the desolation. One shot that really does it well is the last scene of The Void, so it can be done.

Overall, it was certainly a pleasant little ride. I'm not going to be singing its praises, but I'm happy that I have one more volume available to read.

[Carey Healy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Let me start off saying I have no history or attachment with the Vampirella comics. The only other one I read was Roses of the Dead. In which my primary two criticisms were that her outfit was distracting from the plot and the art should have had a darker tone to match the story. In Crown of Worms, both these criticisms are resolved. Vampirella has abandoned her outfit for something more practical, and the art is darker.

The story itself is very plot driven opposed to character driven which worked for me. Some additional character moments would be nice, but the idea here is that Vampirella is an established character. I did like how the plot started off at a small level, but hints and develops into a large scale and perhaps even Lovecraftian horror. The epilogue didn’t work as well for me.

The art is suitably dark with heavy inking and shading. The art even includes some horror elements that compliment the story. Use of color is reserved, but when used, the bold reds and sickly pale greens were effective. My biggest criticism is that I found a lot of the layouts to be too busy with too many small panels or weird shapes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this comic as an action-horror story. I don’t know if it is true to the character, but I really enjoyed it as a new start to a series.

[Josh Burkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my introduction to Vampirella and maybe I should have picked something a little bit older. The character has been on my radar for a while. Eric Trautmann's take on the character was slightly underwhelming. The storytelling is fine and everything. Maybe publications like DC and Marvel have spoiled me with their constant ability to reboot their characters every five or six years. I felt like I needed a lot of prior knowledge about the character that I didn't have to have the story that Trautmann was telling truly have an impact on me.

The art by Wagner Reis, Fabiano Neves and Walter Geovani is also fine. Nothing special or remarkable, unfortunately. I will say it was refreshing to have one of the bride of Dracula be the primary antagonist here. I understand that this is the entry point into a larger, overarching story but the narrative just seems to end fairly abruptly. I don't know, maybe I need to read another era of the character to better understand the cult status of this horror icon.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I was expecting this to be cheesy what with a name like Vampirella but honestly the remake (I think this is, or a new version or something) was really good. I liked the portrayal of women in it, yes there were some cheesy costumes that mightn’t be everyone’s taste but there was no trashy ‘I’m tough and a woman’ type BS that you get in some superhero films. Each female character was tough as anything without their sex being brought into it. They could just be tough in a way a male character can be without sex being mentioned.

My only gripe is, that the storyline is a little overdone. The Lovecraftian style monster was being ‘controlled’ by Dracula but overpowered him blah blah blah, seen that a million times and oh wait, mental fortitude is what will win the battle because the biggest demons are the ones in your own mind, type thing. Regardless I really enjoyed it for what it was and the Bram Stoker Dracula referenced were on point, and will for sure continue the series.

[Helene Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read Vampirella comics before so I don’t know what she originally was like. I just ended up liking this edition more than I thought I would and decided to write my review before I’d read other, negative, reviews.

The art was unique, almost a bit messy, but once again, reading on the Kindle made it harder to actually understand what was going on. A lot of the panels are designed to be read in unison with the entire page. Plot-wise it was standard, but the writing was something else. Vampirella’s thoughts surprised me multiple times and they are quite sophisticated for a comic.

Vampirella is portrayed as a strong leader wearing leather jackets and stilettos. The sexualised costume on the cover does appear throughout the book, but the author makes a point to establish the main character as an independent woman.

We don’t get to see much vampire biting but a lot of fighting. Dracula appears and an ancient demon. We also briefly hear about Van Helsing. Read it on Kindle Unlimited!

[vakilo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ein Vampir als Superheld in knapper Montur?! Klar warum nicht. Plot? Gute Frage. Die Story ist sehr wirr, es passiert sehr viel und gleichzeitig überhaupt nichts.

Vampirella ist auf der Suche nach Dracula um Rache auszuüben. Dabei wird sie dir Braut eines "Wurms" und erlangt mehr Macht...
Nein, ich hab die ganze Handlung nicht verstanden und das Heftchen erweckt in mir auch kein Interesse mich mehr über die Comics zu informieren.
Und dann die Vampire die in ihrer Hand einen Wurm/Tentakel haben und andere damit kontrollieren? Was zum...Sry, das versteh ich nicht einmal, wenn ich nicht nüchtern bin.

Einzige Pluspunkt ist das tolle Artwork zwischen den Kapitel und am Ende des Hefts. Die sind tatsächlich ein Hingucker.

[The Adaptable Educator · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun on many levels

I'd encountered Vampirella back in the 80, on a search through some old used book shop (The Labyrinth). The place was in a constant state of chaos and disorder... Which somehow made every day 60s era pulp mag I found that much more exciting. It felt like fate to find black and white print mags of this unlikely hero. To my teen aged mind, she was taboo and kept hidden for decades as fantasy. Reading this, now in my 50s, revealed to me how complex a character she is. The author did the one thing I feel provides the most compelling characters: showed them all as flawed with both good and evil at the same fine.
Vampirella is no pin-up poster subject... She lives in these pages and brings you into her experiences. Look forward to reading more.