Vampirella is a campy figure from modern vampire lore. Alternatively described as a daughter of the demon Lilith or a transplanted native of the planet Drakulon, she is a scantily clad vampire who resists the urge for human blood and wages constant war on her vampire kin. She is the dark mirror of Buffy -- tall, raven-haired and clad in the barest of vampire fashions.

Her ongoing story was rebooted by writer Mark Millar and artist Mike Mayhew in a story arc collected in 2002 as Nowheresville. And, let's be honest here, some people will want to read it solely for the outfit Vampirella wears and the skin she reveals. (Her scarlet costume uses less cloth than your average bikini, just to be clear.) But the story deserves more attention than that.

In this story, Vampirella's mission takes her to a small town populated entirely by vampires. But it's not the hauntfest and abattoir one might expect. And the mayhem that greets our heroine's arrival in the town takes an unexpected turn, especially after the elderly Bible salesman she frees from his basement prison turns out not to be who he claims.

The story is good, an interesting twist on the vampire mythos. The art is fantastic, capturing postures, actions and expressions that fall just shy of photorealism. That means the blood (and there's plenty) looks thick and wet on the page, and every vampiric sideboob and buttcheek looks touchably real.

Yes, Mayhew knows his audience all too well.

Vampirella has had a checkered history, with her various series over the years bouncing between degrees of camp and horror. Nowheresville is a strong story that stands on its own.

by Tom Knapp
Rambles.NET
19 May 2007