My copy Vampirella Archives Vol. 1 arrived in the mail yesterday. I was getting very worried that the local customs have impounded the book as it features a scantily-clad pontianak! Usually, my orders from Amazon.com take only 2 weeks to arrive but this one took an entire month. Anyway, I'm just glad that it finally arrived. The book is a wonder to behold. Issues 1-7 of the Warren Vampirella Magazine are reprinted in full in their original magazine-sized format (even larger than the Marvel oversized hardcovers - same sized as Dark Horse's Eerie and Creepy Archives). The pages are white, unglossy and thick while the entire book is very beautifully sewn together for durability and elegance. I'm thankful that Dynamite Entertainment bought over the entire Vampirella franchise from now defunct Harris Comics. Products like the Archive line alone is worthy of celebrations. As for the contents, I read the first four stories from issue one last night. The contents are all in stark black & white - even some uninked work (like the Neal Adams one). Vampirella is hardly featured in the book at all aside from her origin story written by Forrest J. Ackerman and drawn in the campy style of the late 1960s by Tom Sutton. She was more like the host of a horror TV show providing the intro and ending comments to each story - think the Crypt-Keeper from "Tales of the Crypt" but prettier and with more sex appeal!!! The rest of the stories in issue one were mostly written by Don Glut. I was particularly impressed by the art of Billy Graham (who penciled and inked some of my favourite Silver Age Marvel stories) on a vampiric-boat story with a very unpredictable ending. My favourite story so far is the werewolf tale illustrated by Reed Crandall in a very movie-esque fashion. The story said more about seduction, tragic romance and the werewolf myth than the entire volume of "Women Who Run With The Wolves".
This video clip features artwork by Vampirella artists over the decades. So we get bubbly good-girl art by Adam Hughes, pouting and anorexic art by J. Scott Campbell, manga Vampirella, the Harris "Vampire Slayer" costume, and classic Jose Gonzalez artwork. Enjoy.
