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Mild Mannered Reviews - DC vs. Vampires Comic Books

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DC vs. Vampires #5 [of 12]

Scheduled to arrive in stores: February 22, 2022
Cover date: April 2022

"Darkness Falls on Gotham"

Writer: James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg
Artist: Otto Schmidt
Cover: Otto Schmidt
Variant Covers: Francesco Mattina

Reviewed by: Craig Boehmer
Click to enlarge

Task Force X has entered a warehouse in Gotham City. The warehouse is full of Joker imagery and dead bodies. As they wander through they begin to believe there are vampires around. Their revelry is broken by the arrival of King Shark who bites Black Spider in half. Batgirl arrives to help turn the tide and save the day.

While this is going on the Justice League attacks Batman and Ollie. The fight rages with Superman quickly attempting to hold Bruce down. He is incapacitated by the return of Kryptonite gum. Cyborg then gets everyone to calm down and talk. Diana and Hal have convinced the Justice League that Batman and Ollie are vampires and killed Barrie. Bruce tricks Vic and uses the Batcave to knock him out. Hal and Diana then try to take down Bruce and Ollie, who escape into the night with aid from a few Robins. The vampires then turn their attention to an unconscious Superman.

2Story - 2: There are some cool moments in this story. The escape from the cave, knocking out Cyborg, and a few other scenes are very cool. But there is also a very dumb scene. And you can probably guess what that scene is. Kryptonite gum was dumb when Scott Snyder used it, and it's dumb here. First off, couldn't Superman have analyzed Batman's body and seen he was no vampire? Wouldn't Batman have done everything in his power to make sure Superman didn't turn? It's just such a tired trope that is getting so frustrating to read. Coupling this with the frustrating shelving of Superman in "Dark Knights of Steel" just makes me shake my head. DC can't get out of their own way. There are more characters than the Batman Family. There is a plethora of great characters, and they don't have to sacrifice Superman in order to showcase how cool Batman is.

5Art - 5: This might be Schmidt's best issue for this miniseries so far. The pencils are dynamic and the character work is great. The colors are vibrant and dark. It's visually a great book.

5Cover Art - 5: A nice cover showcasing what proves to be an interesting showdown between Batman and Hal. The green from Hal's ring looks great juxtaposed against the red in the background.

4Variant Cover Art - 4: Another very cool cover. It is so dark though that it's difficult to see all of the great details of the image.

Mild Mannered Reviews

2022

Note: Except for digital first releases, the month dates are from the issue covers, not the actual date when the comic went on sale.
January 2022 February 2022
March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022

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