NuBlood
NuBlood [March 2013]
Standard cover - Cezar Razek
Nu:Blood [Writer - Mark Rahner : Art - Cezar Razek]
Vampirella is undercover in a diner in Mal Navet, Louisiana - a small town where vampires and humans coexist. On sale is a drink called Nu:Blood, a blood substitute that vampires can drink and remove the need to prey on humans. The Nu:Blood is very popular but no-one knows its source.With the aid of the diner's owner (a were-dog) Vampirella tracks down the source and discovers that it is real blood from humans who are being held captive and their blood harvested. They destroy the factory and the vampires involved.
Lust for Life [Writer - Ty Templeton : Artist - Bruce Timm] (reprinted from Vampirella #20 - 1999)
Vampirella is posing naked for an artist she is enraptured with. As he paints she reminisces on her previous life and love on Drakulon. The artist is a type of incubus who uses his models' life force to regenerate himself. His victims love him so much they are willing to die so he will live on but the memory of Drakulon sustains Vampirella.
The Nu:Blood story is fine apart from the fact that it is a blatant copy of the series True Blood. Though not an original concept it is an entertaining story and there are a couple interesting points that emerge from the story. Vampire lore often states that vampires cannot enter a house unless they are invited yet Vampirella can enter any building uninvited. Also, she is impervious to silver which normally burns vampires. Whether she is an alien from the planet Drakulon or the pinnacle of vampire evolution it has been long established that she is immune to sunlight, holy water and religious iconography but these two other weaknesses have not previously been mentioned - that I know of.
The Lust for Life story is a wonderful story with excellent art from the legendary Bruce Timm. Though she is naked for most of the story it is very tasteful and not at all salacious
It is nice to see a back up story, even though it is a reprint from an edition published fourteen years previously.