It's been ages since I read a Vampirella comic! I always found Vampirella to be an interesting, but somewhat limited character. She was really a mostly visual being, designed to appeal to lusty 15 year old boys (and how many of us really get past THAT stage?). It usually sported some beautiful art, most notably that of Jose Gonzalez in the '70s. Her revival in the '90s, although popular enough, was mearly a shadow of the earlier work, so I passed on most of it. At least acknowledging that a change was needed, Harris has revamped the character into a younger, shorter haired pixie that they are calling Vampi. They have spent the last couple of months hyping both the book and the art of Kevin Lau, so I felt that a look was in order.
The issue opens with the proverbial "bad deal gone worse" as a few thugs attempt to double cross each other over the acquisition of "The Ladder". No, they never explain what "The Ladder" is, nor do we really care. It is simply the flimsiest of excuses for Vampi to come along and dispatch the bad guys with incredible ease. The creators of this book obviously spent most of their time watching "The Matrix" and lots of anime. For better or worse, they know that this is an action comic, and they get right to it. No plot of characterization to slow down the carnage. By the end of the book, everyone but Vampi is dead. We do get a brief flashback sequence. Unfortunately, it tells us nothing at all about Vampi. All we really need to know, it seems, is that she is REALLY limber!
The real star of the book is the visual design and art. If you believed the advance hype from Harris, Kevin Lau falls somewhere in stature between Jack Kirby and Frank Miller. Funny thing is, for a hot artist, I had never heard of him before. His style is mostly anime influenced and he has a flair for visual design. Often the pages look good, but it is too obvious where he chose to present a cool image without any thought as to whether it contributed anything to the story. Vampi herself is interestingly designed, with short hair, the prerequesit improbable costume and big clunky boots. Although still generously endowed, she looks much younger than the Vampirella of old (you know that she is younger, because...well, she's really limber!). I would think that I am really not the target audience for a book of this type. Fans of manga will find much to like in the art, as will action lovers who don't really need a story.
