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Elvira Mistress of the Dark The Classic Years Omnibus Vol.1
The Elvira Mistress of the Dark Classic Years Omnibus is the first volume reprinting the highly sought-after tales originally published by Claypool Comics. With this deluxe volume, fans can turn back the clock to 1993. Bill Clinton was president, Jurassic Park ruled the box office, and just like today, Elvira was her legendary horror host self.
In these beloved adventures Elvira must contend with teen werewolves, killer clowns, aliens, a high school reunion, pro wrestling, and more! Plus, special Halloween, Christmas, and Easter stories.
The book covers 26 issues, rounding out to a massive 600-page tome and Dynamite is sneaking in extra bonuses amounting to .666 of an issue. That's right gals and ghouls, 26,666 comics in one massive book! Spooky!
A bountiful bevy of talented creators contributed to these adventures. Known for his love of the macabre and the flirty, Paul Dini of Batman fame lent his hand. While this first volume also compiles all of the plentiful pages written by Kurt Busiek (Avengers, Astro City). Claypool head honcho Richard Howell (Vision & the Scarlet Witch) and Frank Strom also contributed writing. While on the art side, Tom Simonton is beloved by Elvira fans for his early contributions to the series, as well as John Heebink. X-Men fans will thrill to the lines of Dave Cockrum on stories, and Dynamite's Vampirella fans will love to see Louis LaChance. Other stars inside include Dan Spiegle, Fred Hembeck, and Neil Vokes.
Collecting ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1993) #1-27.
In these beloved adventures Elvira must contend with teen werewolves, killer clowns, aliens, a high school reunion, pro wrestling, and more! Plus, special Halloween, Christmas, and Easter stories.
The book covers 26 issues, rounding out to a massive 600-page tome and Dynamite is sneaking in extra bonuses amounting to .666 of an issue. That's right gals and ghouls, 26,666 comics in one massive book! Spooky!
A bountiful bevy of talented creators contributed to these adventures. Known for his love of the macabre and the flirty, Paul Dini of Batman fame lent his hand. While this first volume also compiles all of the plentiful pages written by Kurt Busiek (Avengers, Astro City). Claypool head honcho Richard Howell (Vision & the Scarlet Witch) and Frank Strom also contributed writing. While on the art side, Tom Simonton is beloved by Elvira fans for his early contributions to the series, as well as John Heebink. X-Men fans will thrill to the lines of Dave Cockrum on stories, and Dynamite's Vampirella fans will love to see Louis LaChance. Other stars inside include Dan Spiegle, Fred Hembeck, and Neil Vokes.
Collecting ELVIRA MISTRESS OF THE DARK (1993) #1-27.
616 pages, Paperback
First published October 30, 2021
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37 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 2, 2025
3.5/5 ✩
“A nice sudsy shower always perks me right up! Looks like it does the same thing for my male readers, too!”
QUICK SUMMARY
For fans of the Elvira character, the Classic Years Omnibus is sure to entertain. This ongoing series embodies all of the familiar humor and macabre fun that one expects of the Mistress of the Dark, and that entertainment value is well retained from screen to page. Though I found that the stories were often a little too wordy - with speech bubbles that were filled to the brim sometimes - they are still a charming read if you just want to pick one up here or there.
R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 8/10
E: 7/10
A: 8/10
D: 5/10
S: 6/10
Total: 6.80/10.00
“A nice sudsy shower always perks me right up! Looks like it does the same thing for my male readers, too!”
QUICK SUMMARY
For fans of the Elvira character, the Classic Years Omnibus is sure to entertain. This ongoing series embodies all of the familiar humor and macabre fun that one expects of the Mistress of the Dark, and that entertainment value is well retained from screen to page. Though I found that the stories were often a little too wordy - with speech bubbles that were filled to the brim sometimes - they are still a charming read if you just want to pick one up here or there.
R.E.A.D.S. SCORE
R: 8/10
E: 7/10
A: 8/10
D: 5/10
S: 6/10
Total: 6.80/10.00
January 9, 2022
Elvira Mistress of the Dark: The Classic Years Omnibus Vol. 1 collects Elvira #1-26 from Claypool comics.
While I was aware Elvira hosted DC's House of Mystery comic for a short time, I had no idea she later starred in a comic published by Claypool for something like ten years.
In the twenty six issues contained in this omnibus, the titular (get it?) character deals with such menaces as paying her rent, a corrupt station manager, vampires, werewolves, mummies, zombies, aliens, and all sorts of other things. The creative teams have her look and voice down perfectly. The innuendo-laden dialogue rings true to the horror hostess.
Elvira is in fine form, with artists like the great Dave Cockrum handling the art chores on some issues. Some of the artists are unknown to me but Marvel stalwart Jim Mooney also does a few stories. In fact, the creative team features artists on their way down like Cockrum and Mooney, and writers on their way up like Kurt Busiek and Paul Dini. It's a good mix.
I don't have a lot to complain about this. It's an Elvira book so you pretty much know what you're getting. The horrors hostess bounces from one adventure to the next, making chokes and outwitting the bad guys. I guess one complaint I have is that Monster Beach Party did not feature a surf contest.
Was Elvira: Mistress of the Dark one of the best licensed books of the time period that didn't feature Bill Mantlo or Larry Hama? Probably. Three out of five stars.
While I was aware Elvira hosted DC's House of Mystery comic for a short time, I had no idea she later starred in a comic published by Claypool for something like ten years.
In the twenty six issues contained in this omnibus, the titular (get it?) character deals with such menaces as paying her rent, a corrupt station manager, vampires, werewolves, mummies, zombies, aliens, and all sorts of other things. The creative teams have her look and voice down perfectly. The innuendo-laden dialogue rings true to the horror hostess.
Elvira is in fine form, with artists like the great Dave Cockrum handling the art chores on some issues. Some of the artists are unknown to me but Marvel stalwart Jim Mooney also does a few stories. In fact, the creative team features artists on their way down like Cockrum and Mooney, and writers on their way up like Kurt Busiek and Paul Dini. It's a good mix.
I don't have a lot to complain about this. It's an Elvira book so you pretty much know what you're getting. The horrors hostess bounces from one adventure to the next, making chokes and outwitting the bad guys. I guess one complaint I have is that Monster Beach Party did not feature a surf contest.
Was Elvira: Mistress of the Dark one of the best licensed books of the time period that didn't feature Bill Mantlo or Larry Hama? Probably. Three out of five stars.
November 12, 2025
Silly, inconsequential, brainless fun. Some of these writers have a pretty good voice for the Mistress of the Dark, though. I could practically hear Cassandra Peterson's dry delivery.
November 20, 2024
Didn't finish
Good artwork but the plots and pacing weren't for me. The actual printing of this book is great though. Nice thick stock and glossy pages. This might be the heaviest book I've ever read
Good artwork but the plots and pacing weren't for me. The actual printing of this book is great though. Nice thick stock and glossy pages. This might be the heaviest book I've ever read
February 21, 2022
Elvira being in comics makes almost too much sense. As a character she bodies sex appeal, campy over the top humor, and classic horror tropes. It all works really well in the comic book world.
This collection gathers the first stabs at Elvira's comic life. It contains 27 issues, published in the early to mid 90s. It is chock full of 90s references, so if you lived through the decade you'll have a heaping helping of nostalgia. It might be lost on younger readers. Also of note, is that because so much of the humor is using classic tropes, not all of it aged well. Like when they parodies Godzilla, they might draw the Japanese humans in a way that would not go over well today. It doesn't feel entirely mean spirited, but they are tropes that we are really abandoning now adays.
The comics themselves are pretty silly. If you don't mind hamfisted humor you might really enjoy this. There are pretty clunky parodies of famous figures of the 90s. There are lots of silly takes on classic horror villains. There are lots of funny cameos of characters in the background doing nothing that just may resemble someone famous.
Of course then there is Elvira herself. She is drawn super sexy you would expect. The art is generally pretty good. It's all done in black and white. The writers do capture the spirit of the character generally.
The book is plenty thick. There are 27 issues and most (if not all?) Issues contain an A and a B story. The plots do get a little thin towards the end, but I might just have been a little exhausted from reading it all. It must have done will, because I believe over 150 issues from this series were eventually published, going into the mid to late 2000s.
If you lived through the 90s and love Elvira, you'll probably enjoy this collection.
This collection gathers the first stabs at Elvira's comic life. It contains 27 issues, published in the early to mid 90s. It is chock full of 90s references, so if you lived through the decade you'll have a heaping helping of nostalgia. It might be lost on younger readers. Also of note, is that because so much of the humor is using classic tropes, not all of it aged well. Like when they parodies Godzilla, they might draw the Japanese humans in a way that would not go over well today. It doesn't feel entirely mean spirited, but they are tropes that we are really abandoning now adays.
The comics themselves are pretty silly. If you don't mind hamfisted humor you might really enjoy this. There are pretty clunky parodies of famous figures of the 90s. There are lots of silly takes on classic horror villains. There are lots of funny cameos of characters in the background doing nothing that just may resemble someone famous.
Of course then there is Elvira herself. She is drawn super sexy you would expect. The art is generally pretty good. It's all done in black and white. The writers do capture the spirit of the character generally.
The book is plenty thick. There are 27 issues and most (if not all?) Issues contain an A and a B story. The plots do get a little thin towards the end, but I might just have been a little exhausted from reading it all. It must have done will, because I believe over 150 issues from this series were eventually published, going into the mid to late 2000s.
If you lived through the 90s and love Elvira, you'll probably enjoy this collection.
August 4, 2023
As Elvira would say: "Good evening darlings and welcome to my book review." I am a huge Elvira fan, so going into this book I already had high hopes and excitement. I would have been very disappointed if it was done poorly. However, this book delivers on capturing Elvira's humor with Fantastic art work and zany stories. The art is done by different people, but does not stray to far from each other with a fun cartoony look that captures the stories perfectly.
When the stories are lampooning pop culture, comic books, Hollywood, movies, etc. it shines highly. There are a few stories that seem way too wordy and drags a bit, but overall Elvira fans will love this book.
My advice is not to try and read this huge omnibus all at once. When the stories seem to get boring I read something else and then came back to it and loved the stories again. It is a case of too much of a good thing. This book is more of a pick up and read a chapter or two and put it away for later.
As Elvira says: "Good Night and Unpleasant Dreams".
When the stories are lampooning pop culture, comic books, Hollywood, movies, etc. it shines highly. There are a few stories that seem way too wordy and drags a bit, but overall Elvira fans will love this book.
My advice is not to try and read this huge omnibus all at once. When the stories seem to get boring I read something else and then came back to it and loved the stories again. It is a case of too much of a good thing. This book is more of a pick up and read a chapter or two and put it away for later.
As Elvira says: "Good Night and Unpleasant Dreams".
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews