DC Vs. Vampires #6 – James Tynion IV/Matthew Rosenberg, Writers; Otto Schmidt, Simone Di Meo, Daniel Di Nicuolo, Artists; Rex Lokus, Colorist
Ray – 8.5/10
Ray: It’s pretty clear that this series is hitting some production difficulties, with three artists and some pretty significant delays between issues. But at the same time, it’s still maintaining a tense and bloody tone that makes the wait more than worth it. Regular artist Otto Schmidt draws the most key segments of the issue, as the heroes finally confront the leaders of the Vampire invasion. Meanwhile, Simone Di Meo draws the Suicide Squad segment, as Harley Quinn and her allies chase down Joker to see if he’s the leader of the vampires—and find something unexpected. Meanwhile, Seven Secrets’ Daniele Di Nicuolo takes over for the final segments, as the story takes a major twist and the vampire plot’s full extent is revealed. This is not the first time she’s drawn an explosive action scene, and her scenes really capture the scope and scale of how big this story is going to get.
But by far the best part of this issue is the absolutely brutal last stand of the Bat-family. As Bruce retreats to meet up with his various kids and Alfred, they’re quickly found by the vampire-ized Hal and Diana. While the two corrupted heroes obviously have a power advantage, it’s impressive just how well-prepared the heroes are—and how quickly they turn the table. What they can’t prepare for, though, is the most shocking betrayal of the series so far. Things happen fast in the latter half of the issue, and I was genuinely shocked by just how brutal they got. This is easily as bleak as Tom Taylor’s DCeased, especially in this issue, and it’s surprising just how many major players don’t make it out. This is the halfway point of this series, with some one-shots coming in to fill the gap before the series resumes. Based on this, I’m excited and a little scared to see what comes next.
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GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
