VAMPIRELLA #1

VAMPIRELLA #1
Publisher: Harris Comics
Published: November 1992

My copy on Ebay

As I said in my intro piece, I've no idea how to approach my collection for this project, so I'm doing it on the fly...in my review of Drama, I touched upon the whole 'bad girls' phenomenon, which is what led me to think of Vampirella. Lo and behold, here we are!

Indeed, having just looked at this issue, I now know which book I will be reviewing next as well (It's going to be a DC Comic!). I think I'm going to proceed along a loose 'six degrees of separation' tangent for the moment being, as you will soon see.

Now, onto the issue at hand...

For me, Vampirella has a cool kitschiness that other so-called 'bad girls' can't come close to matching.
It must be the way everything is handled with such deadpan normalcy whilst the heroine is (barely) attired in a costume that looks like it was stolen from a Go-Go dancer in a Russ Meyer flick (whilst we're on the subject, how cool would the Vampirella movie have been if they'd have got Russ Meyer to do it? Alas, it seems those two metaphorical ships unfortunately passed in the night).

Oddly enough, at the time I bought this, I'm sure I was unaware that she was already an established character who'd had a long running magazine title published by Harris back in the day.
Again, it's another example of me just giving an indie a chance, even if said indie has pretensions of being a major and doing all the sort of things the majors do, both good and bad.

Another big reason I picked this up would be the Adam Hughes cover. Hughes is the cheesecake cover artist par excellence, but he's also another one of these comic book artists that fall into the 'needs a boot up his arse' category, as his output isn't what it should be. I guess perfection takes time, and that amount of time isn't generally available when you're working to a monthly schedule. Still, those with a hankering for some hot Hughes honies can sate their hunger with a copy of his Cover Run collection from DC Comics.


I can certainly remember where I bought this...Forbidden Planet in London. I've no idea why, but I have very clear memories of buying it. Just looking at the cover immediately reminds me of the free-standing
maze of white shelves in the back right hand corner of the store. It's funny how certain things do that, how certain mental associations are formed without even trying.

This new incarnation of 'Vampi', as she is often fondly refered to, is written by none other than Kurt Busiek. Before he hit it big with the likes of Marvels and Astro City, he did a whole load of stuff that passed by without causing any such commotion.
Do people track down the earlier works of so-called 'hot' writers with the same fervour that they track down the early efforts of the 'hot' artist du jour? Somehow I tend to doubt it.

This issue features the sort of standard scene-setting fare which is common with most first issues...introducing (or in this case, re-introducing) the chief protagonist and their supporting cast, outlining their origin, their powers, their weaknesses, and delineating the challenge that lies ahead and the framework within which they must tackle it.
This time out, it's the granddaddy of all vampires himself, Dracula!

Art chores are handled by Louis Small Jr. with Jim Balent inking. It reminds me of the sort of art (colours included) that you might see in a Dark Horse book or something of that sort of level.
It's perfectly good, just not the sort of stylised superhero art one might expect from a Marvel, DC or Image title.

Something that may be of note to collectors and/or potential purchasers is that there is a certificate in the centre pages containing token #1 (of six) to be redeemed for a free Vampirella poster. Needless to say, mine's intact if that matters, because I imagine the deadline for redeeming these coupons has long since passed!

I have a couple of other Vampirella comics, but not from this series...I'm wracking my brain trying to think of a reason why I didn't buy the second issue. Perhaps I just missed it, or didn't make a trip down to London in the required timeframe. Maybe it had sold out, or maybe retailers had cut down or stopped their orders on the title. I don't know...indeed, one thing I do know is that I have absolutely no idea what the second issue of this mini series even looks like, so I doubt I was that bothered about tracking it down.
In short, there were obviously other comics which I felt warranted my money, time, and attention that little bit more.
It's the same now as it was then, as I'm happy to let this one go now.

Thus, it has come time to say goodbye to another one of the flock.

Adieu, Vampirella #1, Adieu.

My copy on Ebay