The world has been overrun by a vampire apocalypse, every man, woman and child dead except the two thousand tourists safe behind the walls and holy relics of Vatican City. But as the vampires gather in their millions outside, how long can they hold out? Because the monsters can wait forever. Vatican City #1 is an interesting start and has potential, but rushes through the build up.
There’s been some excellent stories featuring vampires in recent years and at this point, you need to do something pretty special and unique to stand out from the pack. Writer Mark Millar puts his spin on the genre with Vatican City #1 that quickly has the world falling as a small group of survivors wall up in Vatican City.
It’s an interesting concept overall, but Vatican City #1 rushes through a build up that would have done wonders to build tension and the eventual conflict. The issue opens up with the United States falling to a vampire uprising in a few hours and then quickly moves over to Vatican City where a young man is attempting to join the Royal Guard. Where Millar’s plotting falls short is that build up. There’s comments about what’s going on in the US and if it’s an attack of some sort, and all of it feels a little hard to believe considering this day of 24 hours connectivity and news coverage. The fact the rest of the world wouldn’t immediately be on alert and there seems to be no resistance feels a little far fetched. Instead, the first issue would have been stronger teasing what’s happening in the US instead of the initial show and also tease how the rest of the world is taken down instead of just us accepting it.
Millar does give us some interesting aspects for things in that these Vampires have figured out how to get around their limitation concerning sunlight but, they face issues with crossing consecrated land apparently. This makes Vatican City a safe zone but there’s a secret underneath that puts it in danger in other ways.
The art by Per Berg, who also handles the colors and lettering is ok. Like the plotting itself, it lacks a certain tension and excitement. It’s not bad but at times the action and details feel a bit muddled and not crisp, almost like visuals of a dream you’re attempting to remember but can’t quite.
Vatican City #1 has some potential but overall it rushes through building up any emotional punch. The end result is a debut that feels like a shallow summer popcorn film. It could have been World War Z the book, but instead the execution is more World War Z the film. It’s one to check out for die-hard vampire fans or fans of Mark Millar, but overall, there’s far better out there in the genre to discover and enjoy.
Story: Mark Millar Art: Per Berg
Color: Per Berg Letterer: Per Berg
Story: 7.0 Art: 7.0 Overall: 7.0 Recommendation: Read
Dark Horse provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Purchase: Zeus Comics – Kindle
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