Elvira in Monsterland #2 // Review
When Vlad the Impaler popped through the portal, he couldn’t help but overhear her monologue. That’s when it occurred to her that she had been speaking out loud when she could have been thinking. (According to her, writer David Avallone is trying to bring back the thought balloon. It’s not a bad idea.) It’s okay: Vlad knowing what she’s thinking is awkward, but it’s not the central conflict in Elvira in Monsterland #2. The Mistress of the Dark makes another appealing appearance in an that breaks a few fourth walls with the aid of artist Kewber Baal. Color fuses with the page in interesting ways courtesy of Walter Pereyra.
Elvira opened the series with a whole bunch of Draculas. That didn’t go very well. Now, she’s going to try to make up for her difficulties as Vlad the Impaler attempts to kidnap Dr. Frankenstein from a couple of old Universal pictures. The Peter Weller-looking multiversal enforcer guy who has contacted her really wants her to help out, so she might as well, right? Elvira’s going to try her best to keep the whole Frankenstein family safe in the second issue of the series, but she hasn’t got long. She’s got a date with at least one werewolf in Issue #3.
Avallone playfully pushes Elvira through a couple of scenes from Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). All too often, the humor that’s been following Elvira around has been pretty silly. Avallone actually fuses a few bits of genuinely funny dialogue in a plot that has some substance to it beyond the screwball spoofery that has been Elvira’s domain for so long. Page and panel haven’t always been a perfectly comfortable home for Elvira, but Avallone seems to know the perfect tone for the beloved witch.
Baal has a hell of a challenge bringing the specific visuals of early 1930s cinema to the comics page. The artist does a really good job of capturing the likeness of a young Cassandra Peterson in full costume as Elvira engages in scenes with Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester, and so on. A good portion of the visual reality of Avallone’s story is brought to the page by Pereyra, who almost perfectly nails the distinct hues and shadows of 1930s black-and-white cinema. The feel of old cinema strikes a vividly powerful contrast against the electric blue of the inter-dimensional portals when they pop up.
Elvira has appeared in A LOT of comics over the course of the past couple of decades. Some artists get her poise and personality. Some don’t. The creative team of Avallone, Baal, and Pereyra might be some of the better people to work with the character over the years. The second issue of the current series is silly and weird, but it’s also perfectly lined up with the love of cinema that’s made the character such an enduring pop cultural icon. The next issue will make for an interesting contrast. Elvira seems to have popped up inside An American Werewolf in London (1981). Early 1980s horror? That should be fun...
