Ray: The main DC vs. Vampires series is still taking a break, but regular writer Matt Rosenberg is giving us a few one-shots set deeper into the war—when the Vampires have essentially taken over the world, and the few remaining human heroes and villains are struggling to survive. That includes Harley Quinn, who has gone back to her bad old ways and become the crime queenpin of the Gotham underworld. She sells smuggled goods to people looking for a little bit of comfort in the last days of humanity, and has no problem killing business rivals like Mad Hatter. She works with Clayface, Solomon Grundy, and Catwoman, but the group has little interest in any sort of heroism or higher moral calling—until she’s contacted by Jim Gordon, who has smuggled a vial of Lex Luthor’s blood to her. The blood supposedly has anti-vampire properties—and the vampires, naturally, will do whatever they need to get their hands on it.
It’s an interesting wrinkle that many of the heroes here are being opposed by former villains, with Mr. Terrific playing the main role of the vampire “heavy” this issue, alongside Atom Smasher and Scarecrow. The problem is, there’s really no one to root for here. One side wants to make humanity extinct, the other side is just sort of resigned to it. Harley here is really unlikable, responding to the apocalypse by becoming much more cynical and not really caring about anyone. That’s hard to get invested in. The art teams shift frequently and the art style in general is a bit too bright and stylized to really fit into the DC vs. Vampires vibe. Things pick up a good deal towards the end, as Harley is forced to face off with a traitorous friend, although this issue doesn’t exactly leave her in a place where I’m interested to see more. The main narrative has been strong, but these flash-forwards haven’t really grabbed me so far.
To find reviews of all the DC issues, visit DC This Week.
GeekDad received this comic for review purposes.
This post was last modified on June 24, 2022 8:45 pm
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