VAMPIRELLA #1 COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

By: Arnold T. Blumberg
Date: Friday, October 26, 2001

I think I still have some of my most pleasant comic book reading experiences when I delve into a classic reprint of some sort. Perhaps it's that they don't make 'em like they used to, or perhaps it's just that I'm simply getting old. But there's usually something far more exciting and entertaining in those tales of yesteryear than in most of the stuff crowding the comic store shelves today. In the case of a character that has always occupied a special place in my heart, the arrival of a perfect replica edition of her first appearance would naturally warm the blood and make one yearn for another era. Since Halloween is just around the corner, there's no better time to dip back into the past, circa 1969, and revisit the very first adventure of the vampiric vixen from Drakulon, Vampirella.

While I feel that Harris took a major misstep in their VAMPI offshoot reinterpretation, hey, to each his own after all, I don't have to read it (except when I have to review it, sigh). In the case of the one true Vampi, however, I've usually enjoyed their take on the character, although they've meandered a bit over the years there too. But here in this superb reprinting of the premiere Warren Publishing edition of VAMPIRELLA #1, Harris Comics has given Vampi fans a real gift. Why look, they've even preserved the most charming aspect of those wonderful old Warren mags the endless pages of absorbing ads that promised everything from live monkeys to silent dog whistles to live-size Frankenstein posters drawn by none other than Jack Davis himself (and God, didn't we all want one of those, to go alongside the life-size Vampi poster offered later?)!

But what of the stories? Well, truth to tell, given the opportunity to look back and see how it all began, there really isn't much to tell. Vampirella doesn't actually do anything in her first appearance she's offered little more than a chance to introduce herself before she's relegated to the role of Crypt Keeper narrator in a series of forgettable black-out horror stories. Evidently, Vampi was intended more as the hostess of an anthology than a star in her own right, but we all know that would soon change. As you will quickly see from the stories presented by Vampi, she was far more interesting than anything else on offer, and history was about to be made. But this is a delightful look back at the beginning, and hey just look at all those ads! They're worth the price of admission alone!

VAMPIRELLA #1 COMMEMORATIVE EDITION

Grade: A

Author(s): Neal Adams, Ernie Colon, Reed Crandall, Billy Graham, Mike Royer, Tom Sutton, Tony Tallarico, Frank Frazetta, Nicoli Cuti, Forrest J. Ackerman, Don Glut

Publisher: Harris Comics

Price: $4.95