DC vs. Vampires #1
The DC universe has faced many otherworldly and mystical beings, but how would they fare against Vampires? In the new series from James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt team up and answer that question in the new series DC VS. Vampires.
DC Comics
Words by James Tynion IV & Matthew Rosenberg
Art & Color by Otto Schmidt
Letters by Tom Napolitano
Andrew Bennet is searching for help as his on and off lover, Mary, Queen of Blood, has been killed. With her death, the horde of vampires is no longer under her control, and the new masters could be up to some malicious deeds. As Andrew follows the trail of ash, he uncovers a darker plot.
DC has recently ramped up the end of the world series after the major success of DCeased with multiple sequels, Batman: Last Knight on Earth and Wonder Woman: Dead Earth. Using vampires is a unique way to bring back an underused character Andrew Bennet or I, Vampire. Using established characters instead of creating something entirely new to destroy everything allows the story to be grounded in DC lure.
The type of story isn’t anything new from DC recently, and Tynion and Rosenberg are already separating themselves from the others. Using the established characters of Andrew Bennet and Mary Queen of Blood allows them to bring in many characters who overlap with them, like Zatana, Madame Xanadu, and Detective Chimp. This allows for more natural team-ups instead of handpicking top names out of a hat to make the team.
The art in this issue works beautifully with the story. When exploring Andrews’ flashbacks, Schmidt uses colors to distinguish them from the rest of the story. The characters are mixed well with their vampire design and aesthetics. The only downside is the lack of details for the background, which isn’t bad due to how well the characters are done. We do have to note that Schmidt is also coloring the issues as well.
Final Thoughts on DC vs. Vampires
Overall, DC vs. Vampires is nowhere close of a clone to DCeased. I was hesitant to read it because of how similar the two might be. Thankfully that was not the case, and we got an enjoyable issue and story.
It set up the villains and conflict nicely while allowing for some mysteries to build behind the scenes. Using established creatures and characters will enable them to cultivate the story instead of being burdened with creating an epicenter and cause of the destruction. Schmidt doing the colors and art for the issue gives it a cohesive and natural feel.