DC vs. Vampires: All-Out War

DC vs. Vampires

by Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Paknadel, Emma Vieceli

One of the last secret, underground human cities is facing total annihilation and its leader—John Constantine—must plan a suicide mission to assassinate a key lieutenant in the vampire empire!

The survivors of a horrifying vampire attack, led by Deathstroke, take shelter with Talia al Ghul. With intel from a hero recently saved from vampirism, John Constantine prepares them for a (suicide) mission, while Midnighter goes through every scenario in his head and finds out the dark truth. Meanwhile the mysterious vampire Lord Cinder has become aware of their plans and prepares a surprise...

You won't want ot miss this thrilling companion collection to DC vs. Vampires!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Dc Comics, Horror, Batman, Graphic Novels Comics, Superheroes

128 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 4, 2023

About the author

Librarian note:
There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name

"I haven’t always been a writer. My parents are writers and my brother is a writer, and I resisted that as long as I could. When I was 17, I hopped in a band’s van and I went on tour for a summer, and that was it, that was what I wanted to do. I ran a record label for 10 years, a small indie punk label. I did everything in music that you can do that doesn’t involve having musical ability. Eventually the music business, probably in a similar way to comics, will just start to break your heart, and I realized one day that I kind of hated music. I was resigned to thinking, if I’m going to be involved in music forever, I’m going to hate it for the rest of my life. I just stopped. I stopped having any sort of business with music, any involvement.

I read comics my whole life, so I just naturally fell back into another medium that is marginalized and hard to make a living in."

Source: http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles...

Writer of comics WE CAN NEVER GO HOME, SECRET WARS JOURNAL, OUR WORK FILLS THE PEWS, 12 REASONS TO DIE, & MENU.

Reviews

[Shaun Stanley · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC vs Vampires: All-Out War is two volumes collecting DC vs Vampires: Hunters 1, DC vs Vampires: All-Out War 1-6, and DV vs Vampires: Killers 1. The collections are written by Matthew Rosenberg, Alex Paknadel, Guillaume Singelin, Emma Vieceli, Matthew K. Manning, Danny Lore, and Mira Andolfo with art by Pasquale Qualand, Neil Googe, Guillaume Singelin, Haining, Francesco Mortarino, Acky Bright, Mira Andolfo, Mike Bowden, and Eduardo Mello.

Mostly set between the events of DC vs Vampires issues 6-7, the stories in these two volumes focus on a group of human heroes and villains who have come together to capture the vampire Weather Wizard in order for him to clean the skies over Australia so that Supergirl can recharge her solar based powers and give humanity one last shot of survival. The main players in these two books are Deathstroke, Azrael, Mary Marvel, Booster Gold, Batwoman, Midnighter, and Bane versus a whole bunch of evil vampires.

In addition to the main story, we get two one shots. In Hunters (the best story in the books in my opinion), Damian Wayne has been turned to a vampire, but is still fighting on the side of humans and attempting to assassinate King Vampire Dick Grayson. In Killers, Harley Quinn is given the vial of Lex Luthor’s blood that can’t be turned into a vampire. She is tasked with sneaking it out of the vampire kingdom of Gotham City and into the hands of the human resistance.

I actually enjoyed parts of these books more than the main series, but it definitely dragged on too long. All-Out War could have easily been trimmed down to three issues. While the two one shots are in full color, the All-Out War issues are in black and white with red accents. At times it can be really hard to decipher who is on the page or what is going on. These books could be easily skipped as they basically only mentioned in passing in the main series but can be fun reads for completionists.

[Eli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty unnecessary, in my opinion. Going to read volume 2 when it comes out only for continuity’s sake. I do really love the main series. This spin-off just didn’t clarify much for me. Also I didn’t dig the coloring of the All-Out War issues. It was just black and white with red accents, which could have been alright. Just didn’t love the combo of that with the plot and dialogue.

[Sarospice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the side adventure to the main event of everyone becoming vampires in the DC universe. It's mostly a mess. DC really is trying to make these black and white comics happen. They'll need better art. Still, it was more interesting to follow Deathstroke and Midnighter and this crew than the main title.

[Khurram · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, more filling in the blanks between the issues of DC vs. vampires.

The first story was a battle between Damian and the King

The next arc is in the Black, White and Red style. Slade leads a desperate mission, but things do not go quite to plan. Then get worse from there. Then, a short story of a survivor in Gotham snd the birth of the Vampire King.

It's a good book that definitely adds to the main story. I do think the Black, White, and Red German works well for the main part of the book. The book finishes with a varient cover gallery.

[Bill Riggs · Rating 3 out of 5]

The black, white, and red art was very annoying at first but it kinda grew on me. This is a nice addition to the main DC vs Vampires storyline but it is not necessary overall. It was a great group of characters to follow on their side quest and was enjoyable, just not as much as the main series.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.6 stars

[Pranay · Rating 2 out of 5]

Last year , I read the amazing first two volumes of DC vs Vampires  set  in  Elseworld and became an instant fan. Continuing the story with the third volume , I did not enjoy the art at all. Mainly because it's just too rough with the limited use of colours, it's difficult to understand who is who and what 's going on exactly. Also the characters seemed very one dimensional.

The only one that I really liked was Alfred, the man does not give up in spite of all the chaos and massacre.

[Matthew Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t enjoy this series/spin-off as much as the original title. The story in this one was mostly good, but often felt a little too clustered or all over the place, but the art really just kind of threw me off with the black, white, gray, and red coloring. It made these stories feel a bit disconnected from the mail book.

[Peter Derk · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of those books where the art makes it hard to know what’s going on. I stared at a few panels trying to decipher the action to no avail.

That last sentence sounds like something from a letter home from the Civil War or something. This is MY crisis: comics that are somewhat difficult to parse. Pray for me.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unnecessary side quest of a title. Another group of survivors runs around on a Earth controlled by vampires. The art is all black and white with the only color is red. DC keeps trying to force these black and white comics on us. There's a bunch of backup stories featuring different DC characters as well.

[Cícero Azevedo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Esse quadrinho final da triologia com certeza é o mais fraco, e meio sem razão de existir considerando que o plot principal já é resolvido no final do segundo volume. Confesso que antes de começar a ler achei que a história fosse se focar na barbara porque é isso que o volume anterior dá a entender, mas a continuidade é meio que arremessada pela janela.
De qualquer jeito é bem divertido acompanhar o deathstroke nesse mundo pós apocalíptico onde absolutamente tudo da errado. Uma das minhas coisas preferidas dessa série é que tudo sempre vai ser exatamente o oposto do que os personagens querem, porque é sobre o sadismo do fim do mundo.
Outro ponto negativo são as historinhas paralelas finais do quadrinho, porque é necessário um bom roterista pra fazer com que heróis virando vampiro não fique vergonhoso, e o tynion e o paknadel são uns dos poucos que sabem fazer isso.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

not sure why this is mostly in black and white. idk if it adds anything

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great continuation of the DC vs. Vampires series. It was also great getting to see some prequel stuff!

[Nickttttttt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto divertente!

[Cazadora De Mundos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un comic dificil de leer si como yo sos nueva en este mundo porque no reconoci a muchos personajes por otro lado esto mismo me ayudo a conocer a un par. Esto me mereo un poco pero que puedo decir es mas culpa mia que otra cosa.
por otro lado me gusto este grupo de idiotas suicidas que intentan hacer las cosas bien y no les sale.
Mary Marvel es simplemente espectacular y ese final con Deathstroke me encanto.
Midnighter rd un personaje que me llamo la atencion y funciono muy bien en el equipo, tambien es la primera ves que realmente me toca leer a Booster Gold y no se si aca sea diferente pero no parece el idiota que todos odian (bueno mentira se que es diferente porque lo dicen en su primera aparicion) pero oye realmente no me cayo mal.
Constantine no se porque tengo la sensacion de que siempre disfruto de tus apariciones pero que se te leo en tus propios comics no los voy a disfrutar, de todos modos increiblemente idiota y genial como siempre. me gusto el final con su compacion por Mary.
en cuanto al arte limitado pero bueno con blanco, negro, gris y rojo se logro un espectaculo muy interesante pero un poquito perdido en las escenas de batalla donde si no prestas mucha atencion te podes llegar a perder algo entre el fondo y la accion.
Por ultimo ame la historia del origen del Rey vampiro, se lo ve vastante realista en cuanto al personaje, pero sigo sin estar del todo combencida sobre la forma y lo rapido del cambio de perspectiva sobre la humanidad, la historia de Black lightning super inconclusa y la de Poison Ivy de para mucho, literal todo un arco.

[Chris Lemmerman · Rating 3 out of 5]

DC Vs. Vampires was an unexpected hit for DC, and as a result, here comes a tie-in mini-series to flesh out the world and focus on a few characters we didn't get to see very much in the main book.

This is...okay, I guess. It's nothing massively special, and the story it tells doesn't really matter to the conclusion of the main series (which I had a whole different set of problems with but I've mentioned those in more appropriate places), but it's clever with its storytelling, and the back-up stories are kinda neat too, especially the Nightwing focused ones.

I'm not sure why DC decided to split this series into two trades other than 'because people will buy them' - volume 1 collects the first three issues and the Hunters one-shot, and the second volume finishes it off with the Killers one-shot. GoodReads doesn't have separate entries for the two books yet, but this review kinda covers both of them anyway.

The decision to have the art in black and white is an odd one; I guess it's to be in line with the whole Black, White, and Red thing they've been doing in other books. There's a lot of blood (it's a vampire book, so...duh), so we get some mileage outta the red crayon at least.

All-Out War isn't strictly necessary, to read or to exist, but if you liked DC Vs. Vampires, I'm sure more of that will appeal.

[Richard Pulfer · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a big fan of DCeased, I think I've figured out what irks me about DC Vs. Vampires. In Tom Taylor's DCeased, the heroes act intelligently in the face of a Anti-Life zombie apocalypse that only gets worse. In DC vs. Vampires, on the other hand, heroes often act foolishly in order to make the vampire apocalypse worse. (This isn't always the case, but it does seem DC Vs. Vampire is flying off the seat of its pants).

DC Vs. Vampires is a mixed bag for me, and it's spin-off is also a mixed bag. It's nice to see the vampire apocalypse from a large lens, showcasing the likes of Deathstroke, Ms. Marvel, Deadman, Azarael and more as they battle the vampires. The art in the later stories - told in black, white and red - is particularly strong, although sometimes the action can be a bit too fast, particularly when characters change allegiances from human and vampire far too quickly. One other issue is that one story involves Batwoman as part of a rescue mission to free Starfire. The issue is that both characters' hair appears blood-red, making it a big difficult to tell them apart beyond the dialogue.

Otherwise, it's still a guilty pleasure for me. It's fun and fast-paced, even if there are a few head-scratchers from time to time.

[Sonikz Comics · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really wasnt sure what id think of this going into it but i liked the main series enough to see what else this world had to offer.

This is a side story taking place around issue 6-7 of the main run following a random team of heroes and villians on a suicide mission lead by Deathstroke & John Constantine.

The art caught me off guard at first as i wasnt expecting the Black, White & Red style but it grew on me as the story progressed.

The story itself did add to the world a bit but really wasnt a necessary read and could easily be skipped if you didnt want to read beyond the main run.

The Hunters One-Shot on the otherhand was a great read focusing on Damien Wayne working with the Resistence to Kill the Vampire King.

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💙💙💙🖤🖤 = Average 🙂

I enjoyed this enough to continue reading on but so far it can be skipped if the main series was enough for you, i would have given this a 2/5 but the Hunters One-Shot was good enough to bump this up to a 3/5

[Louis Skye · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent enough story if I could see what was happening. The black and red art is beautiful but if it’s obscuring the details of the panel, that’s going to go against your storytelling. Half the time I didn’t know what was happening and who I was looking at. I also don’t know most of these characters, so it was even harder to follow.

The art on the Dick Grayson story was beautiful though. Kind of anime-like. Loved it. And quite crucial to the whole saga. The one-shot of Black Lightning was fantastic. I hate how these Elseworlds stories leave out characters of colour.

I’m surprised the vampire tale isn’t gripping me like the zombies one.

[Csongor Szoke · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 Történet van benne egyszerre, amik végülis köthetőek egymáshoz, de más a rajzoló. 3 rövid és egy hosszú rész. A hosszú rész, a lényeg az nagyon izgalmas benne a legjobb DC karakterekkel. Deathstroke a legjobb apokalipszis túlélő karakter, akivel eddig valaha találkoztam. nem rajongok az apokaliptikus történetekért, de ha ő benne lenne az összesbeny akkor valószínűleg igen.
John Constantine is remek, és az egész Batman és Man-bat ötletek, ha rövid időre is, de nagyon jók voltak.
Nagyon sok mindent kihoztak a vámpír apokalipszis dologból, és nagyon izgalmas is emiatt, de sokszor nagyon túlzsúfoltnak éreztem. túl sok dolog történik. A fekete-fehér-piros rajzok is tetszettek.

[Alek Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

All Out War follows Deathstroke and a rag tag team as they try to accomplish John Constantine's plan to turn the tied of the apocalypse. It suffers from the same bumpy plot as Vol. 2 with multiple characters having a sub plot that never gets full attention so things aren't always concise. It is a good companion book though that contributes to the overall story, so dont think it's unnecessary.

There are also some one off issues at the end if the book that I guess contribute to the future of this series.

[Adrian Santiago · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hay màs texto que nada, y lamentablemente no se entienden nada.

El arte es demasiado malo como para entender quièn es quièn, y para leer tanto texto. Cuesta mucho avanzar.

La parte del inicio y què ocurriò con Dick està màs aceptable, se ve padre y todo pero como que la historia tampoco es nada profunda.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really essential, though it does fill in a few of the blanks (like how did the new vampire king first become a vampire?). The largely black and white (with some splashes of red) art of most of this isn't the greatest. It's often hard to make out who's who and what exactly is happening in a lot of these panels. Still, if you're a fan of this event, you'll probably want to read this, too.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series started with such promise but at this point everything is too convoluted. It's hard to keep track of who has or hasn't been turned, who has or hasn't been killed, who is or isn't evil. Along with the storyline going zig zag constantly, the artwork is also all over the place. Not my favorite.

[Spencer Greenwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was not as good as the original series. The pace is very fast and combined with the white, black, and red color palate, it led to some confusion about what was happening during the action scenes. Each page seems to introduce a new character and we jump around so quickly it’s hard to care too much about what happens. The two side stories were actually the best part of this book.

[Paraso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peor que la historia principal, pero la trama se desarrolla bien, Midnighter destaca y la subtrama de Mary es excelente. Las mini-historias autoconclusivas que hay como extra son un pupurri de este Elseworlds pero son muy buenas (lo mejor de este spin-off libro diría yo).

[lea · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was a reread for the first issue, i did not pick this series up for a while because I really don’t like Slade and he is one of the main characters. My favourite part was John and Deadman, I love them both so much !!

[Tom Brertholt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set after the first volume of the original. This apocalyptic spin-off presents an eclictic cast of characters in an adventure set in a very dark world very anything can happen.

It's arker than the original, but in a good way.

[Bjorn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, not nearly as good as the original series. It wasn't terrible, but I was hoping for a continuation of the main story, not side stories that occur prior to and during the events of the main series.

[Néstor Vargas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book broke the pace a bit for me with the main one. The cast works great, and it is relevant to the main plot, so that’s appreciated. The art style is not bad, but I got lost in a couple of panels and did not fully understand what was going on.