The penultimate chapter of DC Vs. Vampires has finally begun! Batgirl, Supergirl, and Green Arrow each make their final plays against the vampire horde. Unfortunately, the stakes are sky high and there is no room for failure in their final hours.
I want to ask Tynion and Rosenberg the hard questions first. The status of Constantine has been extremely confusing ever since the second half of the series began. Constantine has somehow overcome his burns and injuries from the cave in to drink under care of Alfred Pennyworth. I’m not sure if his survival is either a major reveal or something I should have known, but it has remained an inconsistency between tie-ins. Alfred even criticizes Constantine’s leadership of each of the groups as basically sitting on the sidelines while they all die. However, the only thing that gets the absentee leader’s attention is Damian’s return to Gotham.
Speaking of Gotham, Batgirl’s major play of killing the vamps with Bat Signals last issue has run it’s course. Before they know it, the enemy surround Barbara and her team in a kill box of their own making. For some reason, four people having to hold back hundreds of vampires is apart of Batgirl’s strategy. She even counts on the rest of the Bat-Family to come to their rescue. To their credit, the plan goes off without a hitch, but overall it accomplishes very little. On paper, Rosenberg and Tynion make them sneak into Gotham, kill a few vampires, then run away hoping an entirely different plan is working.
More interestingly, Kara finally arrives at her destination. Apparently, the vampires have been trying to achieve galactic neutrality by shipping aliens off planet. Although the vampires are confident in their rule of earth, they can’t safely go much further into the stars. Luckily, these ships provide Kara with the exact solution to her weakness. The only obstacles for Supergirl’s crew to overcome involve Manhunter, Miss Martian, and the opportunistic bounty hunter Lobo. Steel chooses to take advantage of Lobo’s wavering loyalty to betray the vampires by aiding them in getting to the shuttles. Although I enjoyed this sequence, I couldn’t help feeling there were many things I’ve seen done in Star Wars.
Even though Ollie, Grifter, and Swamp Thing don’t accomplish anything more than the previous issue, I still appreciate how good they look together. As far as presentation is concerned, Otto Schmidt has a very nice cinematic touch he brings to each panel. All the art and lettering retain a fun and energetic tone, while each of the stylized characters give the book personality. Schmidt’s character designs for Mr. Freeze, Mother Panic, KGBeast, Condiment King, and more never disappoint in creativity. However, this particular issue has a lot of sloppier craftsmanship in the color and illustration. Fortunately, the mood of the artwork is strong enough to overlook the small mistakes.
Recommended If…
- You’re on your way to finish DC Vs. Vampires.
- You are a fan of Otto Schmidt’s artwork.
- Batgirl, a zombie, and her family members killing vampires is cool to you.
Overall
Lately, my expectations have lowered on DC Vs. Vampires. As long as I can still have fun with the artwork and the concept, I can forgive the minor missteps in narrative and continuity. I really enjoyed the battle in this issue, despite it’s poor strategic layout. Despite my continuity concerns, I was happy to see Constantine actually survive. In addition, I think the strongest aspect of the series and it’s spin-offs has been the team building. Even the match-ups of the villain crews have been consistently interesting, regardless if it goes anywhere or not. Ultimately, I am glad the series is ending soon and hope the resolution is worth all the trouble.
Score: 7/10
Disclaimer: DC Comics provided Batman News a free copy of this comic for the purpose of this review.
