Elvira Meets Vincent Price #5

The Earth has been saved. So why hasn't Vincent Price's ghost transitioned over to the other side? Obviously, the soul of the late horror actor hasn't completed its mission on Earth. And until that happens, Vincent and Elvira will have tons of fun playing detective!

When a starlet goes missing, this dynamic duo goes into action against a list of suspects. They'll get to the bottom of this case, even if it kills them. Hopefully it won't kill them... Maybe...

I had originally thought that this miniseries was 4 issues long. With the Egyptian threat against the world neutralized in the last issue, that conclusion made sense. But I am guessing that sales were robust enough for Dynamite Entertainment that the story got extended and a 5th issue was ordered. It's the only thing that makes sense here as this issue has a completely different tone and flow. 

In all honesty, I would have preferred this mini getting extended by 2 or 3 issues. Just 1 issue involving Elvira and Vincent Price as a sort of paranormal investigators upsets the whole balance of the series. If I had purchased this story as a trade and not a set of 5 floppies, I probably would have rated that book lower because of the last minute detour. Something to think about in the future, Dynamite...

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #4

A global telecast promises to unleash an Egyptian god of the dead. Elvira is fit to be tied and Vincent Price is nowhere to be found. 

I felt as if I had read this ending before. It just seemed like many of a cliched kinda end of the world action movie set in Egypt or some nearby part of the Middle East. Good guys get captured. A beloved character is seemingly killed off. Somebody who was brainwashed gets their mind back and then brainwashed again. Lots of weather and fire as an evil follower summons the terrible deity that they worship to rule the earth while also destroying it.

You know, that part never made sense to me ever. Why would someone want to rule the world by destroying it? That just seems counter intuitive. Either you want to rule the planet or destroy it. You can't do both. Right?

Probably the weakest issue of the series thus far. But the artwork and the one-liners do manage to keep this an entertaining read.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #3

After a disastrous turn in Hollywood and then Merry Old England, Vincent Price and Elvira head to Egypt. The hope is to find the writer of the lost B-movie 'The Rise of the Ram', who hails from the North African nation. Turns out that the former writer is there and he's got the lost film and the original text that contains both the curse that could end all time and its cure. Unfortunately, a pair of goons devoted to the Egyptian Deity of Death and his bride are there too. And they've got guns! Does Vincent and his friends have guns? Nope? Yup! They're screwed!

I don't really understand why they need both the cursed ancient text as well as the print of the lost film. If it's the only copy of each, can't they just destroy it and then... problem solved? That seems to be the only thing wrong with this whole book. That sort of plot twist just seems unnecessary. 

It's like this episode of MASH when this nurse is in trouble and can't sneak out to visit her husband who is on a 24-hour leave. Instead of putting the guy in the VIP tent, the doctors put him in Margaret's tent and have Hot Lips sleep with the nurses. It just didn't make a hill of sense and neither does my complaint with this story.

The dialogue is witty. The artwork of Vincent Price is amazing and Elvira is not half bad either. She still looks a tad cartoony. But then again, isn't that the point with her? Plus, I love that artist Juan Samu (Marvel Action: Black Panther) decided to draw the goons to look like Laurel & Hardy. It just seems to jive with the tribute to classic Hollywood that oozes through every panel. 

A very fun read with a small bit of business I just can't figure out.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #2

I generally say that the second issue gets even better if it's a series which has a debut I was blown away with. I can't say that this time. I can't say that it got worse either. 

Things in this issue pretty much maintain the status quo. After a close encounter with the flunky of an Eygptian deity, Vincent Price and Elvira continue their search for the sole surviving print of 'Rise of the Ram'. Up next- a jaunt to merry ole' England. Here, the horror hostess and her deceased partner hope that the director and the film main starlet might have an idea where the film may be. 

I will have to say that pairing Elvira with the legendary Vincent Price was a stroke of genius. I never in 45 years of life and collecting comic books have thought to pair the two together. And yet they're gold! Elvira is smitten with her horror movie idol and Vincent is a complete and total gentleman.

A very good chapter with a hint of mystery and a dash of Egyptian magic. I just wish that the main theme of the comic was about Egyptian deities and instead a tale about the Norse or Greek or even Roman. When it came to reading mythology, the Egyptians just never were my thing; despite how awesome mummies and pyramids are. 

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Elvira Meets Vincent Price #1

Just because Halloween is over means I have to stop reading and reviewing horror titles. This 6-issue series pairs one of the most iconic horror hosts of all-time with one of the most iconic horror actors of all-time. 

I know you are wondering how does Vincent Price, who has been dead for nearly 3 decades, happen to team-up with the still living Elvira. Does this story occur before his death in 1993? Nope! Price is a ghost and he's returned from the Great Beyond to save the world from total destruction. 

In the 1970s, Vincent Price filmed a movie titled 'Rise of the Ram.' The horror picture involves an actress recanting an ancient Egyptian spell that is supposed to prevent the rise of an old deity who seeks to destroy all of creation. To prevent the spell from ever being reversed, the only remaining print of both the film and the spell book were lost to time. However, a handful of devotees to the forgone god have located and stolen the missing items and are planning on unleashing hell on earth. 

With time running short, Vincent Price recruits Elvira to his cause. With the hostess' knowledge of B-movie lore and her extensive number of Hollywood contacts, Vincent is able to locate the original producer of Rise of the Ram. Only before they can get some answers, the bigwig bursts into flames. In his place, a demonic devotee to the Egyptian dark lord and this guy is mad as hell!

I didn't realize that Elvira has been in so many comic books. I knew that there was a Vincent Price horror anthology. I've read and reviewed a couple of issues from that series from Bluewater Productions. But I only thought Elvira had her version of the House of Mystery and maybe a couple other releases from Dynamite. But she recounts a whole slew of other comics that she has starred in previously and I was just unaware.

I've been waiting over a year to read this issue. The first issue came out in stores in the summer of 2021. The final issue didn't arrive until this past winter! It took a really freakin' long time to produce 6 issues of a comic book. The heck with blaming things on COVID and stuff. This miniseries should not have been released bi-monthly.

Thankfully, this book was worth the wait. I'm really hoping Vincent Price was as nice as a guy as he seems in this comic. I would hate to learn that he was the horror community's version of Joan Crawford or Bing Crosby. I had a lots of fun reading this book and I hope the remaining issues are just as good as this opening chapter was.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.

Elvira's Haunted Holidays #1

In the 1980s, DC Comics attempted to revitalize The House of Secrets. Instead of host Cain, DC opted with Elvira, Mistress of the Dark. As the horror hostess with the Valley Girl accent was the dominant personality of the decade in schlock horror, it made sense to tie her in with the reboot. For some reason, it just never worked. But before DC evicted Elvira from the premises, they managed to eek out this 1987 holiday special.

Elvira stars in the main story which is a parody of A Christmas Carol. As with the Dickens classic, 3 spirits visit Elvira in hopes of bringing back her holiday spirit. Then a small time crook gets the idea to play Grinch on Christmas Eve. But before he can make off with the family's goods, the con runs into a blind girl who can actually see things quite well. Lastly, on a not too far off Christmas Eve, extraterrestrials make first contact with Earth. Only it appears that thanks to a nuclear war, it appears this first contact was too late!

This was a very good one-shot in the vein of The House of Mystery's signature twist endings. But I thought that the Elvira story could have been better. Instead of giving back her Christmas spirit, writer Joey Cavalieri (Spider-Man 2099) should have made it where it was the Halloween Spirit that Elvira needed to regain.

Now I know that this is a Christmas special. But I think if you made it where the scenes from the past were of Victorian England and kept the future scene where Scrooge sees his grave (only now with Elvira as a substitute), then a Halloween themed story would have worked! And it would be more fitting with the character of Elvira.

A festive way to say good-bye to the House of Secrets!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark #1

Elvira, that buxom, valley-girl talking, smart aleck horror host is back in a new miniseries from Dynamite Entertainment. 

The Mistress of the Dark has attracted her fair share of men. Now, she's the object of desire of Dracula, Lord of the Vampires. As she seeks to escape the clutches of Vlad, she travels back in time to a rainy Lake Geneva, 1816.

There she meets Frankenstein's mother, Mary Godwin. Oh, you may not recognize that name seeing as Mary hasn't married her fiance, Percy Shelley, yet. 

Dracula has also fallen through time after Elvira and he's not taking no for an answer. All others protecting her, including Mary,  are collateral damage. Can Elvira escape the deadly bloodsucker without changing history seeing as Frankenstein hasn't been written yet? 

This isn't Elvira's first time in comics. Unfortunately, she's not had very much success in this media. Bettie Page's David Avallone pens a very funny and very smart time-travel opener here and I am hoping that this mini will prove to be a hit!

The artwork of Dave Acosta (Chastity) is really good. It's a mix of Gothic horror and caricature. I almost expected it to have some very silly Easter eggs in the background, like a sign saying 'Eat at Vlad's' on the wall. The sort of thing you would see in a MAD Magazine. Acosta thankfully restrains himself from such a move. But he's got a style that would be at home with the 'usual gang of idiots.'

This series has potential. I can't wait to get the rest of it. The last page has Elvira travelling to meet another important figure in horror history and I'm excited to see who she will meet in rest of this book.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.