Review: DC vs. Vampires Vol. 1
DC vs. Vampires Vol. 1 by James Tynion IVMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Rating 4 out of 5 | Grade: A. Let the Darkness prevail
Premise
There is something sinister lurking in the dark. All around the world, Villains and superpowered beings are being hunter. By the time the League and the other heroes become aware of this threat it's too late.
Vampires, of all things, creatures of the dark, have begun to infect, convert and indoctrinate superhumans worldwide, both heroes & villains. Their end goal, world domination while using humans as livestock. Hardly the most inventive plotlines, but it works to a degree.
So now, with part of their own forces turned, and the mysterious Vampire King manipulating events from the background, the remainder of the world's heroes must uncover the full extent of the plot and stop them from achieving their goal.
(view spoiler)
Thoughts
I started reading this story right after DCeased, by Tom Taylor. So, there were some leftover expectations. Compared to that series DC vs Vampires is less well made, particularly in the world building aspect. But then you begin to appreciate how it’s leaning into more of the horror campy aspects. As well as appreciate some of the more inspired choices they make in terms of storytelling.
Large event comics seem to have made this unspoken rule, to kill off Batman in the first act, as was the case in DCeased, as is the case in Vampires. Perhaps that is a wise move to make long term, as otherwise we might risk exposure fatigue for the Batman, as he seems to be front and center in almost all new media.
In a veritable way, he has usurped Superman as the flagship IP for the comic book giant. There was even a widely appreciated comic event Dark Nights: Metal, which featured him front and center, and where the entire narrative was structured around the reality bending canon lore of the mythology of Batman.
Taking out Batman early on, allows other characters to take up the mantle of responsibility. Be it green lantern Canary & the Superkids in DCeased, or Green Arrow & Batgirl in Vampires.
There are also some inconsistencies in the lore and worldbuilding.
Like, how does burning the world’s forest cause a permanent night to occur. It’s like that one episode of He-man where they blocked a big volcano to create a permanent cloud cover. Considering how they have all of these superpowered beings under their thrall, you’d think the Vampire king would come up with a more inventive way of blocking out the sun. Maybe casting a planet level spell which shrouds the world in darkness. Or even have Superman place some sort of device or move the moon to create a permanent eclipse on earth.
It’s also not clear just how much turning a person affects their mentality. Some heroes like Green Lantern wholeheartedly leaned into their new homicidal tendencies. While others like Damian Wayne are able to stave off the indoctrination through sheer will. Also, with the sheer diversity in physiology and morphology of the superpowered beings of this world, you’d think a few, like Martian Manhunter would be immune to being turned.
What I really appreciate is the setup and build up to the story. How the vampires seem to realize early on, that an outright confrontation with the superhumans would result in their defeat. So, they go around turning key people in the background and have them masquerade as their spies. These spies would then use opportunity and their contacts to infect more members; or kill those that can't be turned.
By the time Batman & Green Arrow start investigating the affair, they’ve already managed to infiltrate the inner circle of the League, and the uncertainty surrounding whose turn allows them a chance to infect even Superman.
The rest of the story, which occurs after a time skip, shows how the world is already overrun by the Vampire overlords. The last survivors, those who aren't in some slave camps, are struggling to survive. The heroes, their numbers largely reduced struggle to rescue the survivors.
The only thing going for them is how they've managed to establish the last free human city on Earth, within the newly abandoned city of Kandor. Using quite an inventive plot device, combining the miniaturization powers of the Atom & the friendly old swamp swelling killer croc, they managed to remain hidden from the eyes of the superpowered vampires.
But this is only a temporary measure. The defeated, beleaguered and vastly outnumbered resistance forces, led by Green Arrow, Black Canary & Batgirl, each have formed their own plans as to how to bring about an end to the Vampire threat. Each plan, vastly different speaks volumes as to the mental state of each of the leaders.
It also makes for quite an interesting plot device, as the narrative shifts between the three independent missions all leading to the same goal.
James Tynion IV, known for other acclaimed horror comics such as Something is Killing the Children & The Department of Truth, Vol 1: The End of the World plays to his strengths when integrating the world of DC canon, with the horror elements of Vampires.
This is evident in the first couple of chapters, where instead of seeing the threat posed by the Vampires outright, our story starts off with a tone of uncertainty. Green Arrow & Batman are hunting each other, mistakenly believing the other to be infected.
Before belatedly realizing their folly, and getting ambushed by the rest of the League, some of whose members are already turned.
Neither the duo, not the League, nor we as readers are certain who exactly is turned. There is at one point, me wondering whether this whole thing is a hallucination going in Batman's head. There is pandemonium & confusion, until Bats in his typical genius fashion, manages to (albeit temporarily) pull the rug over the Vampires.
But just when we think Batman has it all figured out calamity struck. The Caped Crusader, like Ollie had already caught wind of what was going on in the shadows and anticipated that the League members might've been turned.
He does everything right in preparing for the upcoming battle. Doing his research, readying anti Vampire weapons, assembling the Bat-family (after vetting them, being the paranoid jerk that he is) and was all but ready to launch an assault to neutralize the Vampire King, the head of the snake.
Unfortunately, even he couldn't anticipate the intellect of the Vampire King. For no other reason that (view spoiler)
From then on out, it's all out pandemonium. And the Vampire forces seeded throughout taking advantage of the chaos to neutralize the heroes. So, the era of the night lords began.
The Art
Similar to writer James Tynion, the Illustrators really leaned into the horror aesthetic of the story.
Most of the pages and panels are bathed in this eerie blood red, sanguineous glow befitting its subject matter.
The covers, which follows the same trend, are sardonic, playful and quite aesthetically pleasing.
Another point of note is the action scenes. Especially the opening long bout, between Batman vs Green Arrow, followed by the duo vs the compromised League, followed by the Bat family vs the vampires.
A continuous series of battles, with many pages filled with action, but no dialogue, and always maintaining pace, dynamic and always makes sure that you as a reader knows what the stakes are, who is currently the ally or enemy, and what it's leading to.
It is quite possibly on the level of Samurai Jack level of visual storytelling through action, and I'm loving it.
Bar some inconsistencies, DC vs Vampires delivers on its campy premise, with lots of action, horror, jump scared and some entertaining storytelling. Looking forwards to see how this story will pan out. Would definitely would recommend to fans as an Elseworlds Story.
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