Volume 2, Issue 3 (Spring 1995)

Vampirella. Queen of the night.
Author: Dan Cziraky

Pages 32-35 of this issue of Imagi-Movies provides a concise yet comprehensive review of the creation and history of Vampirella from the first Warren issue through to the (then) current Vengeance of Vampirella series.

For the causal Vampirella reader or for someone who had never heard of Vampirella this article is a fascinating introduction to the character. For the die hard Vampirella fan there is little new here, though the odd gem does appear such as Evilly (Vampirella's "sister") being Dark Princess of Vaalgania!

The best bit (in my opinion) is the comments by the author on the change of direction taken by Harris and the varying quality of the artwork. To be fair, Harris had not been running the title for long and comparing the art of Harris' Louis Small Jnr. and Jim Balent to the stories illustrated by Warren's Jose Gonzalez and Gonzalo Mayo wasn't really legitimate.

Though a little negative at times, overall the article was very favourable with the author summing up by saying "As the book picks up more momentum and the artists and writers get a better sense of how the characters should be handled, this new incarnation of Vampi could eventually outshine such popular, contemporary female characters as Wonder Woman, Shi, Rogue, Psylock, The Invisible Woman, and She-Hulk."

What struck me as odd though, was that this article is aimed fairly and squarely at comic book readers. Apart from a passing reference to the proposed-but-never-made Hammer Horror film with Barbara Leigh in the title role of Vampirella there is no "movie" content. The rest of the magazine features articles on Vampires in films, latest releases, and a special on the animation skills of Ray Harryhausen.

This is a magazine devoted to films and related topics. The Vampirella article seems to be in the wrong magazine. A good article and a credit to Dan Cziraky, but maybe it should have been in a comics related magazine/publication.