DC Vs Vampires #5 is written by James Tynion IV and Matthew Rosenberg, illustrated and colored by Otto Schmidt & Simone Di Meo, and lettered by Tom Napolitano. It’s published by DC Comics. After learning that they’ve both been waging war against the vampire invasion, Batman and Green Arrow must join forces when the Justice League — led by the vampirized Hal Jordan and Wonder Woman — burst into the Batcave, attempting to arrest Batman for the murder of the Flash. Meanwhile, the Suicide Squad joins the Batfamily in their battle against the vampires.
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This issue marks the first time someone other than Schmidt has provided art and color work for the issue, and his creative partner happens to be a talented artist in his own right. Di Meo has provided artwork for other publishers, including Marvel’s Champions and the Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover; his dynamic, animated art takes on a more gruesome flair when King Shark goes full vampire and devours one of his fellow Squad members. Appropriately enough, the entire sequence is shrouded in a bloody red haze. Though the Suicide Squad ongoing is slated to end with its 15th issue, if the title’s ever relaunched, I want to see Di Meo on art duties.
That isn’t to say that Schmidt slacks on his end of the artwork; his art depicts a knock-down, drag-out brutal fight between Batman, Green Arrow, and the rest of the Justice League. The deadliest opponent turns out to be Wonder Woman; Batman’s stakes break on her armor, and in turn, she snaps his arm in half. And when Green Arrow puts an arrow through Jordan’s shoulder, the Green Lantern screams in pain, with Napolitano depicting his screams as a loud jagged “AARGH!” Other creative uses of the sound effects include a “Vroom” sound trailing behind the Batbike when Tim Drake drives it into Wonder Woman, sending her flying.
However, I can’t help but feel like this series has heavily leaned on Batman’s side of the DC Universe. Granted, both Tynion and Rosenberg have primarily written Batman stories. Still, so far, Batman’s been the first to learn about the vampire invasion, Batman and his allies have mostly been fighting the vampire invasion, and Harley Quinn and Deadshot, both Batman villains, are among the surviving members of the Suicide Squad. I know Batman is one of DC’s biggest heroes and will soon star in a new movie in March, but DC has tended to stick the Dark Knight in a majority of their titles when there are a lot of characters who deserve just as much attention. The series is named “DC Vs Vampires,” not “Batman VS Vampires.” Future issues need to add more balance to the heroes fighting the vampires and showcase the various characters within the DC Universe.
DC Vs Vampires #5 continues to boast some stunning artwork but threatens to fall into a convention that’s plagued a majority of DC’s titles. I hope that future issues will include more heroes, as the vampires now have an advantage in numbers, and the series is about to hit its halfway point.
DC Vs Vampires #5 is available wherever comics are sold.
DC Vs. Vampires #5
TL;DR
DC Vs. Vampires #5 continues to boast some stunning artwork but threatens to fall into a convention that’s plagued a majority of DC’s titles. I hope that future issues will include more heroes, as the vampires now have an advantage in numbers, and the series is about to hit its halfway point.
