Halloween Special - 2006
Issue 1 (October 2006)
Regular Cover - Amanda Conner $2.95
Regular Cover - Tommy Castillo $2.95
Limited Edition B&W cover - Amanda Conner (500 only) $19.95
Limited Edition B&W cover - Tommy Castillo (500 only) $19.95
Limited Edition cover - Joe Jusko (500 only) $19.95
Limited Edition cover - Arthur Suydam (500 only) $19.95
Limited Edition signed cover - Joe Jusko (200 only) $24.95
Limited Edition signed cover - Arthur Suydam (200 only) $24.95
Museum Edition (Jay Company) - Arthur Suydam (25 only) $100.00
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Ink [Artist, Stephen Segovia; Writer, Phil Hester]
Late at night in Las Vegas, the tattoo parlor is about to close. Enter the tall, dark and stunningly beautiful stranger. Vampirella strips off and lays on the couch, ready to become the tattooist's greatest masterpiece. As he works, she tells him of her nativity and her mission. Obsessed with his art he hardly notices what she is saying. He discovers that he has tattooed the face of his wife on Vampirella's back... the wife he murdered several years back.
Vampirella was present when the wife died, tasted her blood and absorbed her memories. Justice is meted out with a twist.
The new direction for Vampirella commences with an act of vengeance. Perhaps this is her new "mission", to be judge and jury for evil doers who have escaped the law or are above the law! Time will tell.
Vampirella states that demons are created from evil people, and she sometimes destroys the demons before they are created. This opens a whole new area for plot development. I have to say that the story was excellent, and the artwork stunning. Some eroticism and a light dabble into the world of extreme fetishism makes this a comic book for the more "enlightened" reader. This is a HOT comic book.
An interesting thing happens when Vampirella disrobes. The tattooist notices that her costume "flows" off her. Phil Hester has subtly introduced the idea that her costume isn't just a scrap of red cloth, but perhaps something more. At the end of the tale the costume flows back on and is drawn almost as a "liquid" material splashing back onto Vampirella.
This reminds me of the Marvel Comics' "Secret Wars" series when Spider-Man adopts a new black and white costume which turns out to be a living alien entity. Perhaps we'll see more of Vampirella's "fluid" costume in the future.
NOTE: In November 2007, Jay Company issued a special Museum Edition featuring the art of Arthur Suydam. As with their other Museum Editions they are limited to a print run of only twenty five.