Posted in: Comics, Dynamite | Tagged: dracula, dynamite, vampirella

Vampirella Loses Her Baby in Vampirella/Dracula: Rage From Priest

Vampirella/Dracula: Rage #1 by Christopher Priest and Christian Rosado continues the radical retelling of Vampirella from Dynamite Comics.

Published Thu, 18 May 2023 11:59:10 -0500

by Rich Johnston

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Vampirella/Dracula: Rage #1 by Christopher Priest and Christian Rosado continues the radical retelling of Vampirella that Priest has been telling in recent years, under the noses of the kind of Fox News snowflakes who are triggered if it were Archie, the Punisher or the Joker, with Vampirella losing her baby to an obsessed cult, an bringing the more monstrous maternal side to the fore.

Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy chronicled the complex and literally cursed relationship between the alien vampiress and her late lover Matt Ecsed, believed to be a carrier of the fabled Dracula virus. It turned out the true Dracula was around all along, but that didn't stop the ill-fated marriage of Vampi and Matt. Readers then followed a pregnant Vampirella through Year One, flashing back to key early memories as Priest delved into her origins like never before. Unfortunately things have taken a dark turn…

A practically faceless thrall of cultists have stolen Vampirella's baby. Absolutely wracked by inconsolable grief and unquenchable rage, Vampirella is tracking each and every one of them down across the world and withholding no mercy as she brutally exacts her maternal revenge. Along the way she's unsettling political and economic alliances, and unraveling the global network of the baby's true father, Dracula himself.

"At the great risk of indulging in a truly time-worn trope, this will be a Vampirella we have never seen before," said writer Christopher Priest. "Created to atone for her mother's heinous acts, Vampirella's nature is to destroy evil and protect innocence. This series will find her utterly consumed by grief. Rather than tell the story from her point of view, in Rage, Vampirella is the shark, the terrifying menace hiding in darkness waiting to strike, while, in the unlikeliest turn of all, it is Dracula trying to stop her from becoming so lost in darkness that she ends up as eternally cursed as he is. This will be a very different take on Vampirella's character and a real challenge for me."

The roles are flipped this time, as the Lord of Vampires now hunts Vampirella in an effort to save her… from herself. She must not become like him, consumed by the rage and darkness. This series presents a macabre twist of conventions, presenting the 50-plus year old beloved vigilante as a vicious villain stalking her prey and completely lifting the restraints of her powers. Dracula is also taking on Victory as a sort of new-age Renfield, once Vampirella's closest friend and now in possession of a ring granting her Vampi-like abilities. This duo will be tracking the blood-soaked trail of the Vampiri before she consumes all in her path, including herself.

Priest, one of the masters of the medium, is approaching this series like no other in his Vampirella tapestry to date. Select issues will be presented as a sort of anthology, turning the spotlight to a new member of the mysterious cult responsible for the disappearance and presumed death of Vampi's child. Readers will get to know these diverse people in their day to day lives, thrilling or mundane, yet relatable, until they cross paths again with an out of control Drakulonian on a mission of vengeance.

The first issue features a range of jaw-dropping covers, as fans have come to suspect in the half century of Vampirella classics. Dynamite powerhouse Lucio Parrillo leads the way. He's joined by Celina, Mike Krome, Jay Anacleto, cosplayer Rachel Hollon, and one by Priest's frequent Vampi accomplice Ergün Gündüz.

Vampirella/Dracula: Rage is a bold new event series, serving as the bookend to Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy and the intervening Vampirella: Year One to complete the saga with the Prince of Darkness… for now. This essential series will set up a dramatic change in direction for the Daughter of Drakulon!

The trade paperback collected edition of the entire Vampirella: Year One series will also be releasing in August, with fans able to preorder it alongside the new series.

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