Vampirella/Painkiller Jane
Limited Ash Can #1 (January 1988)
Regular cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti (3,000 copies) $?
Beauty Pageant [Artist - Rick Leonardi, Jimmy Palmiotti / Writer Brian Augustyn, Mark Waid]
The first twelve pages of the story below from the are reproduced in black and white. There are also some examples of Joe Quesada's rough drafts for the cover.
A typical ash can - gives you just enough of a taster to make you want to buy the main event!
Issue #1 (May 1998)
Red Foil cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti $3.50
Gold Foil cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti $9.95
Signed Gold Foil cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti (1,000 copies) $19.95
Royal Blue Foil cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti (100 copies) $59.95
Platinum "Alternate" Foil cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti $9.95
American Entertainment cover - Joe Quesada, Jimmy Palmiotti $9.95
Vampirella and Painkiller Jane in: Miss Hemoglobin 1998! [Artist - Rick Leonardi, Jimmy Palmiotti / Writer Brian Augustyn, Mark Waid]
Returning from work, a waitress is attacked by a band of vampires. They are interrupted by both Vampirella and Painkiller Jane. The vampires are trying to collect victims for the Sangfroid Bloodline's annual beauty pageant, the winner (and the losers) of which become a feast for the vampire audience.
Vampirella and Painkiller Jane team up and Vampirella enters the beauty pageant while Painkiller Jane waits table. Taunted by the audience Vampirella attacks the collected vampire group (backed up by Painkiller Jane) and destroys them.
This has to be one of my all-time favourite Vampirella comic books.
The story line is fairly run of the mill, the art is very good (though not breath-takingly so), but what makes this such a good comic is the delivery of the tale. The whole story is done very tongue in cheek, and has some of the best one-liners / gags in a comic book.
When Vampirella and Painkiller Jane are trying on costumes for the pageant, Vampirella dons a costume even more skimpy than her usual one and asks Painkiller Jane if her seams are straight (at the back). Painkiller Jane replies "I'm afraid you'd need a proctologist to check."
On the catwalk Vampirella is heckled by the audience who seem to prefer a more "full" figure, and as they taunt her with cries of "waif", "skinny", "teenage boy" and - the final insult - "get a training bra". You just know that someone is going to suffer!
It's the small bits of repartee and witty writing that makes this a thoroughly enjoyable story. You can't help but smile ...
Sheer genius.
This comic book was dedicated to the memory of the late Archie Goodwin (1937-1988). I'm sure he would have enjoyed it as much as I did.