Elvira in Monsterland #3 // Review
Somewhere in Wales in 1981, Vlad the Impaler throws a bright green frisbee at a large wolf, which promptly disappears into a glowing, blue portal. Naturally, Jack and David are a little confused about the whole thing. The Mistress of the Dark doesn’t have time to explain. She has to chase the wolf and Vlad into the fourth page of Elvira in Monsterland #3. Writer David Avallone continues a fun cinematic adventure through the monster movies of the 20th century with artist Kewber Baal and colorist Walter Pereyra. Elvira has gone from vampires to mad scientists and reanimated bodies and now to...werewolves.
The wolf in question saves a victim in 1981 from becoming a werewolf, but it poses a bigger problem as Vlad’s army of monsters continues to grow. He’s searching for cinematic werewolves. A very heroic and motivated Elvira chases her way through Hollywood werewolfery as Vlad contacts various incarnations, including Lon Chaney Jr., Michael J. Fox, and...Leonardo DiCaprio? (Okay, so Vlad’s understanding of the contemporary world is still a little bit shaky.) With any luck, Elvira will save a FEW werewolves from joining Vlad’s army, but she’s still got to figure out exactly what it is that’s going on.
Avallone has more than a few genuinely funny moments here and there. The overall premise continues to be more than a little silly, but the dialogue occasionally hits with a powerful bit of cinematic humor. In addition to playing hostess, Elvira has been in and around her own stories more than a few times in more than a few formats over the years. Rarely has she come across quite so...heroic. It’s fun to see her hit the page with a stronger sense of urgency than she has in the past.
Baal and Pereyra once again do a solid job of rendering highly recognizable images from popular horror movies of the past. Sometimes, it’s a matter of simply presenting the right scenes from the right films and letting the power of nostalgia run the visual humor. A wolfman Michael J. Fox appears on the court in a basketball uniform, and his voice instantly leaps to the page through the dialogue. Once again, the distinct sound of Elvira’s voice is strikingly vivid throughout the issue, as the art team has done a beautiful job of bringing her to the page. They follow Avallone’s tone perfectly. They do a stunning job of allowing Elvira to strike some particularly heroic poses in and amidst all the comedy.
Next up: Kaiju. That’ll be fun. (Gamera would be particularly weird in the context of the series.) Regardless of how long the miniseries is going to be, there’s little question that it’ll feel like it’s ending at least a bit too soon. The character of Elvira has been looking for this kind of opportunity and story for at least a couple of decades, whether she realizes it or not.
