So here’s the much-awaited (?) sequel to the hit (?) mini-series DC vs. Vampires - the kind of cleverly named DC vs Vampires: World War V. While I was one of the few people who was initially ok with the liberties being taken in the first part for the sake of the story, even I have to admit that the series started to lose steam from the mid-way point onward and the way they setup a sequel could be charitably called ‘contrived at best.’ Well, does the first issue of the 12-issue (really???) sequel have anything worth sinking my teeth into? (sorry, I had to get one vampire pun in there).

It's a Literal Cold War Out Here

I will commend Rosenberg on his decision to not only use a time-skip to distance the reader from the events of the 1st series but also not provide exposition on every single thing that happened during that time. We don’t see every key player immediately, but at the same time, we get an idea of how the world is right now. There is a tense ceasefire between the vampires led by Queen Barbara Gordon and the surviving humans, one that only seems to exist because both sides are aware that they can’t completely annihilate the other. 

In the middle of it all is Damian Wayne, who seems to be acting as a wildcard, stirring up trouble and apparently eager to goad the factions into open warfare. This doesn’t look to be too hard, as there are people on both sides eager to start warring again, like Oliver Queen and vampire Aquaman. Rosenberg conveys the feeling that this is a fraught treaty at best, with the vampires unable to stop killing humans for sustenance and the humans unwilling to let that slide for long. 

I do worry that the last point might not end up being true, as this sequel is, for some inexplicable reason, 12 issues long! So, I fully expect all manner of padding techniques to be employed just to keep the series going at some point. I hope I’m wrong, but we’ll see.

Inconsistency Continues to Plague This Series Like a Nest of Vampires

I already started going into full-on complainer mode in the last section and see no reason why I should stop now. I did have high expectations from the art after how atmospheric Otto Schmidt had made DC vs Vampires feel, to the point where the artwork was more than able to build a sense of tension that the writing sometimes couldn’t convey by itself. While that had already started to fade when the vampires took over, it is almost nonexistent here as the skirmishes don’t have that sense of tension anymore. It's just a series of fights between humans and vampires… or vampires and vampires. This, combined with the non-existent backgrounds that can be best described as “covered with snow,” doesn’t leave the reader with much to look at.

This means there’s very little to distract from the poor writing choices that crop up, with two particular things that have often plagued this universe. The first thing is that unless it is absolutely necessary for the plot to progress, the vampires will beat anyone (still waiting to see if anything tops the off-panel defeats of the Spectre, the Phantom Stranger, and Dr. Fate from the last series). Secondly, there is a lack of clarity over what kills vampires…which might just be an easy cop-out mechanism to gloss over any vampires popping back up again after seemingly dying. Like Aztek, who seemingly died in All Out War...

…and yet is somehow back no worse for wear.

Recommended If

• You were excited to return to this universe.
• You have faith that you will get a satisfying story at the end of all of this.
• You are intrigued by Damian’s endgame.

Overall

While whether or not this series deserved a sequel can only be decided after the end of this long mini-series, for now, DC vs Vampires: World War V manages to start well, if not exactly strong. There are some intriguing elements, like a character who might be from one of the backups of All Out War showing up and some decent characterization (who would’ve thought vampire Grodd would be the most loyal of all of Barbara’s followers?), which are enough to keep my interest for the time being. But the cracks haven’t exactly been papered over, and I wonder how long it will take before they start to become more visible.

Score: 7/10