Vampirella: Masters Series, Vol. 2: Warren Ellis

Vampirella Masters Series #2

by Warren Ellis, Jimmy Palmiotti (Illustrator), Amanda Conner (Artist)

Vampirella has always been associated with some of the greatest names in the industry and for the second volume of the Vampirella Master Series, Dynamite Entertainment collects Warren Ellis' vision of Vampirella in a gorgeous tradepaperback. Originally from the Vampirella Lives limited series, comes Warren Ellis' unique vision for the sexy vamp, who ventures to the city of Whitechapel to find a mausoleum dedicated to her mother Lilith. Warren Ellis is at the height of his powers here along with the creative talents of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti, this series redefined Vampirella for a modern audience. This edition collects Vampirella Lives #1-3, a short story from the Vampirella 25th Anniversary Special, a rare 10 page story called "Necromance" from Vampirella/Dracula The Centennial with art by Mark Beauchum and an all star roster cover art gallery featuring the work of Joe Quesada, J. Scott Campbell, Adam Hughes and Amanda Conner.

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

107 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 7, 2010

About the author

Warren Ellis is the award-winning writer of graphic novels like TRANSMETROPOLITAN, FELL, MINISTRY OF SPACE and PLANETARY, and the author of the NYT-bestselling GUN MACHINE and the “underground classic” novel CROOKED LITTLE VEIN, as well as the digital short-story single DEAD PIG COLLECTOR. His newest book is the novella NORMAL, from FSG Originals, listed as one of Amazon’s Best 100 Books Of 2016.

The movie RED is based on his graphic novel of the same name, its sequel having been released in summer 2013. IRON MAN 3 is based on his Marvel Comics graphic novel IRON MAN: EXTREMIS. He is currently developing his graphic novel sequence with Jason Howard, TREES, for television, in concert with HardySonBaker and NBCU, and continues to work as a screenwriter and producer in film and television, represented by Angela Cheng Caplan and Cheng Caplan Company. He is the creator, writer and co-producer of the Netflix series CASTLEVANIA, recently renewed for its third season, and of the recently-announced Netflix series HEAVEN’S FOREST.

He’s written extensively for VICE, WIRED UK and Reuters on technological and cultural matters, and given keynote speeches and lectures at events like dConstruct, ThingsCon, Improving Reality, SxSW, How The Light Gets In, Haunted Machines and Cognitive Cities.

Warren Ellis has recently developed and curated the revival of the Wildstorm creative library for DC Entertainment with the series THE WILD STORM, and is currently working on the serialising of new graphic novel works TREES: THREE FATES and INJECTION at Image Comics, and the serialised graphic novel THE BATMAN’S GRAVE for DC Comics, while working as a Consulting Producer on another television series.

A documentary about his work, CAPTURED GHOSTS, was released in 2012.

Recognitions include the NUIG Literary and Debating Society’s President’s Medal for service to freedom of speech, the EAGLE AWARDS Roll Of Honour for lifetime achievement in the field of comics & graphic novels, the Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2010, the Sidewise Award for Alternate History and the International Horror Guild Award for illustrated narrative. He is a Patron of Humanists UK. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Essex.

Warren Ellis lives outside London, on the south-east coast of England, in case he needs to make a quick getaway.

Reviews

[L. McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Damn. It’s official, Vampi is underrated as hell!

What’s it about?
Vampirella has to stop a vampiric apocalypse from happening.

Pros:
The story is fun and interesting. I think a major appeal of this character is the way a lot of the stories are things that are fairly common in superhero comics but with a vampiric horror twist to make it unique. Like this... superhero tries to stop the world from ending, not very original BUT when you add the supernatural horror elements and mix them it makes something really cool.
The art is bloody fantastic (see what I did there?).
The main character, as I said in my previous review, is probably my favorite female superhero now. She’s a wonderful mix of strong, beautiful and sweet. She has a wonderful personality and shows a lot of emotion that many superheroes (including some I’m a huge fan of) unfortunately lack.
The action scenes are fantastic! Fans of Vampirella know to expect superhero action but with much more blood, as someone who’s a huge fan of superheroes and horror I love it.
I kinda already mentioned it but I gotta give this book the points for bad-ass horror that it has earned! The art in this volume helps by making the gory, monster filled scenes pop!
There’s a bit of comic relief in some moments.
Feminism is done well in this book! Seriously, this story fits in feminism and female empowerment themes using a strong, sex-positive female lead. Notice how I say it “fits”. That’s part of why I enjoy older comics that approach subjects like this even though I often find myself having to rant about more modern books that tackle social issues by beating a dead horse and replacing personality with commentary, glad this comic doesn’t do that.

Cons:
This story though fun, is predictable.
The theology in the religion related bits of the story don’t make much sense. I don’t mind some stuff added for a fun fiction book with spiritual themes, hell I would possibly do that, but in this it’s just bonkers.
The ending of the main story, while I think I understood it, is confusing.
The Vampirella/Dracula one shot is pretty bad. Just poorly written, cheesy and tries too hard to be edgy. Let’s just say that I like a lot of comics from the 90s but it’s stuff like this one shot that gave 90s comics a bad look.

Overall:
This book while not a masterpiece is pretty damn cool. Sure, there may be a few problems but it’s a fun story with bloody action, fantastic art and a bad-ass main character.
Recommended for fans of the character.

4/5

[Vikas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one covers a story arc and then a couple of single issues. Story arc had the same drawing style and the single stories had a different drawing style. I liked this one too and I like Vampi and I have other volumes to finish as well. But maybe I shall read another book in the meantime and then pick up another issue.

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

[JL Shioshita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this one right after the previous one and then read the 3rd volume immediately after that. All three sorta blur together now. I think I liked this one a little more than the previous one. If your're into sexy vampire action via superhero comic tropes, then you'll probably like it.

[Chadwick Saxelid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now that six years have passed since I last reviewed a Vampirella story, I figured it was time to pull Vampirella: Masters Series Volume 2 from my ever growing To Be Read stack and give it a thumb through.

There's a woman who can kill you with her mouth.

Vampirella is resurrected, to rid the world of the evil vampire spawn of Lilith, her mother.

Although I do have memories of seeing the odd Vampirella comic stuffed in the magazine racks (always stuck in with the issues of Creepy, Eerie, and Heavy Metal) at the various markets and/or stores I frequented as a child, I was not a reader of "those kinds" of comics.

Looking back on it now, it amazes me that, not once, did I ever pick up an issue of a Vampirella comic, despite my falling in the very center of the series demographic sweet spot. I was a pubescent boy (i.e. I had ceased trying to avoid girls "cooties" and, almost overnight, had become fascinated with catching said "cooties") with an obsession for all things horror. I watched horror movies, read horror novels, collected both horror movie soundtracks and horror movie memorabilia, and, seeing that the late 70s and early 80s were also the Golden Age of Pornography, I also enjoyed looking at quite a few "girlie" magazines, too.

Yet, somehow, I never got around to reading Vampirella. W? T? F?

So it goes, I guess.

Having no sense of connection or nostalgia for the character of Vampirella, I had no problem whatsoever with horror writer Warren Ellis reinventing her as a mythic supernatural being of vengeance, rather than keeping her as an alien visitor from the vampire planet, Drakulon. (You can just smell the seventies on that name, can't you?)

What I found interesting about the change was how Ellis introduced it to both the reader and the character. Vampirella, after having been killed by the evil Mistress Nyx, in what I guess had been a "shock ending" for the "first" series, meets her mother, Lilith, in Hell. It is Lilith who reveals to Vampirella the truth about her lineage. She also gives her child a new mission for her afterlife. Vampirella is ordered to rid the world of the vampire scourge that her mother created when, after being ejected from Eden, for refusing to obey Adam, she had sexual congress with countless demons, and gave birth to thousands of vampire spawn.

Lilith expels Vampirella from Hell and returns her to Earth. She is resurrected in a small cemetery near the town of Whitechapel, which turns out to be less a town and more of a holding pen for humans. Lots of blood soaked shenanigans ensue. Even though the tale is over the top to the point of its almost becoming silly, it still works. The only down side to the story is the needless overstating of Vampirella's reinvention as a supernatural entity. That she is not an alien, but an actual supernatural being, is explained to the reader three times, at least. It got old fast and made the story seems repetitive to the point of becoming tiresome.

A bonus short story follows and it is the better tale, by far. Titled Necromance, it concerns a police officer's investigation into a strange and grisly death. His investigation uncovers a bizarre, nightmarish, and addictive secret. I thought it was a terrific horror story. One that could best be described as Seven, only with Vampirella replacing Kevin Spacey. Reading it made me wish that the longer tale it had been paired with could have been half as good. If that had been the case, then I would be able to recommend this anthology to more than just the average Vampirella fan. But it wasn't...

So it goes.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great re-imagining of Vampirella's return. Enjoyable story and art.

[Christopher (Donut) · Rating 3 out of 5]

More proof that Warren E. can't hold a candle to Grant M.- Not that either's claim to fame is his work on (checks..) Vampirella.

[Michelle Morrell · Rating 2 out of 5]

The dialogue was wretched and the story was meh ... I expected more ... .

[Robert Bussie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The core of this book is a story re-envisioning of the origin story of Vampirella set against the subplot of having her stop an entire city of vampires. In this version of her origin story writer Warren Ellis takes Vampirella's original beginnings on the planet Drakulon where it rains blood and explains that this place is actually not a planet at all, but a place in hell. Lilith was cast into hell for refusing to submit to Adam, so god sent her to hell where she fornicated with countless demons and created a hundred vampire children a day. Her favorite off spring is Vampirella who is trying to do good by killing vampires in-order to repent for her mother's evils....This origin story has some interesting ideas, but is unnecessary.

Why change the origin story? The original origin story is intriguing. A planet of vampires where it rains blood. Cool idea. The new origin story is unnecessarily complicated with religious and emotional meanings. Also, if Lilith refused Adams advances then why was she so willing to whore it up in hell? This is a big contradiction.

Besides the origin story issues the back ground story of a the city of Whitechapel being built around vampires so that the blood they drain of the people goes down into an underground area where the blood in collected is actually pretty good. The art work is drawn by Amanda Conner and is the highlight of this book. I really liked how she drew the underground lair of the vampires. The architecture details are cool and interesting. This is early Amanda Conner art work, so her faces are not as amazing as they are in her later work, however it is still very good.

The two remaining stories continue the new Vampirella origin ideas. The last one is dark with moody art work. Neither story is great.

So, buy or even better check this book out from your local library to see Amanda Conner's art work and gloss over the stories.

[Guilherme Smee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claro, não dá pra se esperar grandes coisas de histórias da Vampirella. Um personagem que é símbolo das "bad girls" e das "comic babes", que sempre foram mais sinônimo de autoagrado do que de boas histórias. No meu caso é mais um guilty pleasure. Eu sei que a história não vai ser lá grandes coisas, mas a curiosidade é maior. Nesse encadernado temos Vampirella escrita por dois "Grandes Mestres". Warren Ellis ao lado de Amanda Conner e Jimmy Palmiotti - num estilo irreconhecível - dá uma nova origem para a vampira dos anos 70, mesclando suas duas anteriores. Assim, além de alienígena, ela também é filha de Lilith e daí seu poder de sedução (o que explica o maiô-peça-única-estilo-Borat que ela usa). Depois, temos as histórias de Millar, com a arte realista de Mike Mayhew, em que Vampirella conhece uma cidade interiorana toda feita de vampiros (mas não são todas?). A cada roteirista que passa, a qualidade de histórias vai decaíndo, até culminar no terror (no sentido da qualidade do roteiro e não no teor ou gênero da história) que é a parte escrita por John Smith, mas que dá continuidade à bela arte de Mayhew. Chega a dar vergonha da trama. E assim, encerrei a leitura desse guity pleasure, que como vocês puderam ver, talvez carregue mais guilty do que pleasure. =/

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second Vampirella book I have read, the first being the first volume of Dynamite's 'Vampirella Masters Series'. The first thing to note is that the story in this book actually directly precedes the main story arc in Vol 1. I know the Masters Series is supposed to be a sort of 'best of' and is not necessarily chronological but maybe they should have made this Vol 1?

The main story, Vampirella Lives, is only OK. It seems this story came after a massive retcon and Ellis is now trying to re-establish Vampirella's character and motivation. As such there's a lot of continuity references and quite a few exposition-laced flashbacks which help explain the situation. This helps new readers from feeling lost but also bogs the story down a bit. Amanda Conner is on pencils so, of course, it looks great.

There is also a back-up short story called Necromance. It has a dark, supernatural-noir charm and is a very enjoyable read. It's painted by Mark Beachum and looks amazing.

Overall I don't think this volume was as good as vol 1 but is certainly not bad.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Warren Ellis' Vampirella is much darker than the Grant Morriso/Mark Millar version. It is much more steeped in horror, especially in the main three-issue story of Whitechapel. While there is still some of the hypersexuality of the characters (especially overarching antagonist Lady Nyx), it is much subdued below the focus on horror and violence. When Vampirella is resurrected by her mother Lilith (for the last time), she and an occult investigator find themselves facing down a massive vampire menace. The main story is powerful and disturbing, but the secondary stories are even more impressive - Ellis' retelling of vampire mythology across the world and woven into a single story is intriguing and well illustrated. And the final story, Necromance is a dark and disturbing short about another predator who crosses paths with Vampirella. It isn't the deepest story, but it helps with the entire dark tone of the book. Stories like these help justify Vampirella as more than just a sex symbol.

[Timo · Rating 1 out of 5]

After the Master Series Volume 1 I was eager to read more modern Vampirella adventures, so I ordered this from Amazon.
And was disappointed.
Ellis has never been a big hit in my books and this story really does not make me think anything else.
Story bounces around too much and after it finished, I was left with a feeling: "Was that it?". Even so much pointless was it that even Ellis himself found out that he did not manage to fill all the pages given to him in the single issue format. He had to rustle together a sorry "Epilogue" too.
But the art was somewhat nice, although not the most dazzling I have seen from Conner.
Also, there was and extra 10 pager. Nice picutres, not enough story.
Maybe Vol. 3 will be better?

[Jose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found it a little weird that this book seems to take place before the 1st TPB of the Master Series. Either way, this was decent. Art was great. Vampirella showed a lot of heart and emotion, moreso than Volume 1 of this collection. The one-shot at the end is totally skippable and unnecessary, in my opinion.

[Timothy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like Warren Ellis, but this didn't do much for me. This was maybe a little too gross for me.

[Maegan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was marginally better than Volume One of the Masters series. Still not a character I'm really into.

[Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many reviewers here on Goodreads apparently, this is my second foray into the world of Vampirella, with read these Masters Series books.

I've gotta say, contrary to most readers here, I actually like this volume a bit better.

Warren Ellis did more (in my opinion) to build a mythology around Vampirella, to immortalize her... There was a lot less hollowness in this volume... This also FEELS like an Ellis work whereas volume one didn't necessarily feel like a Morrison or Millar work.

Sadly, my opinion of the artwork here didn't much increase. Still to cartoony, with ridiculously exaggerated lady parts. Not really my bag.

Even with this volume of the Masters Series being a bit better, I'll still say that two of my favorite writers were unable to make a staunch Vampirella fan of me.

[Jason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps my expectations were too high because I'm a fan of Ellis's writing, but I was really disappointed in this. The story didn't really seem fully formed, and the rivers of blood required a bit too much of a suspension of disbelief. Maybe overall it's hard to take a character like Vampirella seriously regardless. I read the first masters volume and it was okay, but Moore and Millar weren't at the top of their game either. I've got one more (vol. 4) as a part of the humble bundle I bought. Let's hope that's a little better.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well at least this volume had a vaguely decent attempt at storytelling thanks to Warren Ellis?

[Steven · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am Warren Ellis' complete lack of interest in this assignment.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me, the highlight of this collection was the backup story at the end. It had the feel of the old Warren horror stories.

[thom hamilton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy the series I would recommend the book to anyone, who likes to read, this kind of book.