The first installment of Vampirella Feary Tales had me excited at first. That is, until I read it. I have loved Nancy A. Collins’ excellent rendering of the title and I had hoped that Feary Tales was going to be a nice enhancement to the primary title. Well, it didn’t quite work out like that at all. For one, that first issue gave out a huge plot point from the primary title that was not appreciated. And for another thing, the issue kind of sucked (pun intended) in a way that drained the blood and passion from me that I had coming into the title.
But hey, that was last month and I had let it go. I went to Feary Tales #2 hoping to see redemption. I was pleasantly surprised to see that of the featured writers, Gail Simone had a story in the mix which made me happy as I have been really enjoying a lot of Simone’s writing everywhere. I just knew that redemption was at hand and the concept of Vampirella being trapped into a cursed book and having to fight her way out was a good idea that could have some merit.
I was wrong.
Feary Tales #2 might suck a bit less than the first installment, but it still sucks all the same and nothing can save it in my eyes. It just isn’t good. The stories have no real good tie in to each other and feel like distinctly different one shots that have no continuum. They all feel disjointed featuring Vampirella in a Cinderella role under the back drop of some sort of cartoony imagery or having our vampy vixen in the wild west, looking for of all things a mermaid. It is just strange stuff and I found myself not getting into it at all.
For all the seriousness of the Collins primary title, Feary Tales just does not match up to that level. It is goofy, real goofy, and not very entertaining.
Of the two featured stories here, Simone’s wild west take was way better than Denis St. John and Stephen R. Bissette’s Cinderella stinker. But it wasn’t anywhere near to the level of some of her better work. It was fairly predictable and a little bit cheesy in its dialogue. The wild west vernacular just didn’t do it for me.
Art wise, the coloring for Feary Tales is decent. I even give artist Bilquis Evely some props in the Simone story as his wild west depictions played out way better than her dialogues. But Ronilson Freire’s cartoonlike Cinderella story was just god awful. I was not amused, nor entertained.
I understand that Dynamite wanted to have something light hearted and fun to throw into the revamp of Vampirella, but Feary Tales just isn’t the one. I would recommend the other Vampirella release this week, Dawn/Vampirella #2, way over this one. Unlike this one, that particular title captures a fresh and fun feel and delivers much morethan these little perversions. Do yourself a big favor and steer clear of Feary Tales. Give Joseph Micheal Linsner’s take on the vampire queen instead.
Score: 2/5
Writers: Nancy A. Collins, Denis St. John, Stephen R. Bissette, and Gail Simone Artists: Jack Jadson, Ronilson Freire, and Bilquis Evely Publisher: Dynamite Price: $3.99 Release Date: 11/19/14 Format: Mini-Series; Print/Digital