Saturday, February 7, 2009

Vampirella 24


Enrich provides the cover for this issue of Vampirella, cover dated May 1973.

First is "Into the Inferno!" by Jose Gonzalez (art) and Bill Dubay (story). In this issue Vampirella and Pendragon are captured, incidently enough by his own son in law. Pendragon's wife, Rosie is introduced, as is their daughter. Both are quite upset at him for abandoning them, which happened when he was away during the war and heard that Rosie had found another man. This new husband however was quite cruel to them and was eventually killed off. They plan on taking revenge by turning Vampirella into a junkie, injecting her with cocain. Vampi later wakes up, and without her blood serum, attacks Pendragon. This is where the story ends, to be continued in the next issue.

Second is "Middle-Am!" by Esteban Maroto (art) and Steve Skeates (story). The first of two rather odd Skeates stories in this issue, it features a young man who battles some other men. He is captured, then brought to their leader, who orders his death merely because he's young. He is then hung along with some other people. Quite an odd story.

Third is "Homo Superior" by Ramon Torrents (art) and R. Michael Rosen (story). A group of five scientists who are working on a major project meet. One of them reveals that he has discovered through an anonymous test that one of them is a super human. He is soon killed off, as is another one who is investigating who it could be. The leader of them brings an outside expert to help. One of them finishes their experiment, which will make the super human invinsible if he gets his hands on it. He kills himself to protect it, but the 'expert' finds it out and uses it to bait the super human, who he traps in a sticky substance that traps him for good. An interesting story, albeit one without any horror element to it.

Fourth is "The Choice" by Auraleon (art) and Doug Moench (story). This story features a man who is a werewolf, and his wife discovers that fact when she witnesses him kill someone one night. Each full moon she locks him up in a cell to keep him from killing anyone else. He finds her slowly becoming colder and colder towards him. He realizes its because of a friend of theirs who is actually a vampire and has turned her into one. He eventually breaks out of his cell and kills her. A rather abrupt ending to this story; also Auraleon blatantly swipes one of his panels from Lon Chaney Jr.'s portrayal of the werewolf, an image that appears in the Captain Company ads in the back. Not a bad story though.

Last is "Changes" by Felix Mas (art) and Steve Skeates (story). A man comes home one day to find his wife laying dead on the floor, with a knife sticking out of her forehead. Oddly enough he doesn't seem that upset about it, neither do his kids. He then gets her replaced, then heads out and stabs some random middle aged woman in the forehead himself. Quite the odd story, thats for sure.

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