This review originally appeared on Goodreads on August 4, 2012.

Vampirella Archives Volume One

By Various – Dynamite Entertainment – December 28, 2010

Review by Robin Marx

Initially, the original Vampirella comic was almost exactly like Warren Publishing's earlier horror comics, Creepy and Eerie, themselves both very similar to EC Comics' Tales from the Crypt. Each issue had a half dozen or so self-contained short stories, nearly always ending in some sort of ironic twist. While she apparently grew to have a more prominent role as the series progressed, in the issues collected here Vampirella herself acts in a Cryptkeeper role, setting the scene for the story and then wrapping it up with cheesy puns.

The artwork is hit-and-miss, with the exception of the occasional stunning Frank Frazetta cover. The stories are a bit dated and often corny, but the good ones are a lot of fun and the tedious ones end quickly. At least at this point in the series there's not much to separate Vampirella from Creepy except for the charm of the Vampirella character herself.

Still, this collection is a good bargain and an interesting look at the way horror comics used to be. I'd recommend it to horror fans, as long as they don't pick up this volume expecting to read many adventures of Vampi herself.

★★★☆☆

#CapsuleReviewArchive #ComicReview #Horror #Vampirella #VampirellaArchives