The Pull List – Vampirella/Red Sonja #1
When the vampiric slayer teams up with the fiery She-Devil, there is no evil that could resist their might. Set in 1969, Vampirella is investigating a strange murder in Russia. A creature is ripping hikers to apart, leaving a town in panic. No one knows exactly who and what is behind the series of brutal killings in the mountains of Kholat Syakhl. But just as Vampirella begins the investigations, she encounters a strange creature and is faced with an outsider like herself.
In this re-imaged origin of Vampirella and Red Sonja, Jordie Bellaire presents Vampirella something like a private investigator. Going undercover as an American reporter, Vampirella gathers clues on where to look and spends some time analyzing the evidence. Bellaire gives Vampirella a very strong presence that is focused on getting the task at hand than flirting, but there’s always room for those scenes later.
Drew Moss has a fun retro art style that design around the late 60s and early 70s comic look. Moss’s strong character designs really capture the 60s fashion, even giving Vampirella a retro hair duo. Recca Nalty adds in some wonderful muted colors that build up the suspense while giving Moss’s retro models a little modern flair. Even letter Becca Carey gives some extra details in the word bubbles, giving Vampirella a cool record design for her first-person narrations. All of this flows nicely that adds to the mystery of the narrative.
Vampirella/Red Sonja #1 is a fun read that takes its time to build up the story and explore Vampirella for newcomers, but it looks to give much more as the next few issues.