Originally published on Patreon
When I first heard about DC vs Vampires I wasn't completely sold on the idea. I thought it could be a fairly decent horror themed series that was just a silly bit of fun; but, only a handful of issues in it had quickly become one of my favourite series the DC are producing, with some incredibly tense moments, some horrific scenes, and a plot where I honestly don't know if the heroes are going to win.
Whilst the main series has been going on strong there have been a few one-shots coming out alongside it to expand the story. DC vs Vampires: Killers is the second one so far, and focuses on Harley Quinn as one of the last humans left alive in Gotham as the vampires have taken over.
When we meet Harley she's teamed up with Clayface, Solomon Grundy, and Catwoman, and is running a small, underground crime ring. She's managed to walk a fine line between making a comfortable, and profitable, existence for herself, and keeping off the vampire's radar. However, when she's approached by Jim Gordon, who has the vial of Lex Luthor's blood that the vampires are after, her carefully built world starts to fall down around her.
Luthor's blood is something that was an important plot point in the early issues of the main series, and amongst all of the panic of trying to figure out who is and isn't a vampire, and the trauma of seeing so many beloved characters either become vampires or be brutally killed by them, I'd kind of forgotten about it. So it's nice to be reminded of it here.
I like the little life that Harley has built for herself, and how two of her main allies are characters that I imagine can't be turned into vampires and betray her. It shows that she's trying to think smart, despite clearly not being smart enough to just get away from the city. With the way that this issue ends it's clear that she's going to be playing a bigger role in the series, and may be a pivotal piece towards actually beating the vampires.
However, there was something about the book that just didn't feel as exciting as the main title. I had a similar issue with the DC vs Vampires: Hunters one shot. The stories in these one-off's are good, but just not as good as the main title. I don't know what it is, because Matthew Rosenberg wrote the main series issues too. Maybe it's because the art, provided by Mike Bowden and Eduardo Mello, is very different from the main book.
I can't put my finger on why I don't enjoy this issue as much as the main series, but that doesn't mean it's a bad issue. It's a four out of five compared to the main title's five out of five, so it's not a huge drop in quality.
For those who are enjoying this series there's some good stuff here, and it seems to be setting up some important things for later on in this story; so if you're looking to get every part of this series I don't think you'll be let down.
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