Sink Your Teeth into This Year's Vampirella Halloween Special

It seems there are a ton of Halloween specials hitting the comics shops this time of year -- more than one would normally expect. But what you would alwaye expect is for Vampirella to have such a special. The Daring Dresser of Drakulon prowls the rooftops this Halloween night, dressed more like DC's Spoiler than the typical barely-there crimson swimsuit that has become her trademark. That's because she's dressed for business, expecting the entirety of Hell to break through and walk the world once more.

But there may be...complications. Because Halloween is also the birthday of Vampi's friend, Trina, the struggling artist who has lost her muse. Her only distraction is the arrival of her friends, Forrest and J, for a night of trick-or-treat fun. But the ghouls and goblins they encounter are no props bought from a Spirit Halloween pop-up store, and soon they're in the battle for their lives. Now Vampirella has to divide her time between fighting the influx of everything horrible and protecting her friends -- one of whom apparently shares a mutual attraction with the busty beauty. Even Dracula himself is in on the act, and it's going to take a cavalry of supernatural proportions to put everything to right.

"Happy Death Day, Vampirella!" is written by Scott Lobdell, with art by Rapha Lobosco, and comes across as your more traditional supernatural-supehero fare. It's not bad, it just could have stood to be longer and more fleshed out. Plus, "the dead returning on Halloween" is starting to get a little over-used as a storytelling device.

The backup feature is a more whimsical short, also by Lobdell with an assist from the ever-capable Blake Northcott. The more cartoonish style of Anthony Marques, inked by Marc Deering, lends itself to the more humorous bent of "Trick or Treat?"

When Vampirella's costume -- a June Cleaver dress with pearls, heels, and a conservative 'do --  disappoints the trick-or-treaters of the neighborhood, they get their payback by pulling a Halloween prank on her house. Boy, did they pick the wrong house to mess with! But it's a good thing they did, because having a pissed-off benevolent vampire hunting you down is just what you need when you've been kidnapped by another kind of monster!

This short story hit all the right notes, and was just the right length. It's a departure from your usual blood-and-lust inherent in the Vampirella series, but a welcome one.

Easter Egg alert: Can you find Uncle Eerie and Cousin Creepy in this year's special? I bet you can!