Broken Frontier

Arcana’s new action-horror celebrity-spoof comes to a close, with an all-out action finale that proves the most satisfying issue of the run.

Eve: Vampire Diva has been hit-and-miss throughout its previous three issues, some moments brilliant, nuanced and well-played, others more juvenile and overly underdeveloped or crude—three-dimensional conceits given one-dimensional execution.  Thankfully, for those who’ve stuck through to this fourth and final hurrah, Eve’s first storyarc comes to a captivating conclusion, the creators having saved their very best for very last.

The grand conspiracy of the villains—using new pop-diva Barbie Moore’s latest hit single to break out a werewolf apocalypse, and usher in a new world wherein every “were’” is under the control of a rogue vampire faction—comes to a major head as the bad guys’ ritual proceeds apace and only Eve and her entourage of elderly wizard, young sorceress, and clueless cameraman (recording Eve’s recently contracted reality show) stand in the way.  Nearly thirty pages of straight-up confrontation, action, super-high drama and pathos ensue, the end result being a comic book finish to beat most in recent memory.

From the description of the plot above, it’s clear that writer Frank LaPerch has a lot to play with, both for dramatic, comedic, and cool-factor effect.  He struggled to find a voice and rhythm that worked and worked well during the opening issues, but here his script and pacing are awesome to behold.  Smooth movement from scene to scene, a frantic number of battle sequences that never let up and are always, each and every one, thoroughly thought-out in character choreography (not talking martial arts here, but more a deft procession of moment-to-moment movement inside multi-character brouhahas).  Everyone gets their moment to shine, all subplots are resolved, at least for the time being, and by the last page Eve: Vampire Diva seems a far more confident and expert work than it did when it began.

Artist Ash Jackson equally evolves, not via such an extreme arc, but his work has grown tighter with every issue while maintaining its signature wildness.  The battle sequences are well played visually, the driving action and suspense apparent in every panel.  Jackson’s work here manages marvels for the humor of the book, as the characters and send-ups require his larger-than-life aesthetic for the more parodist aspects of LaPerch’s story to seem proper.  This was yet another thing that proved awkward in earlier issues, though it unfolds in issue #4 with unerring and biting accuracy.

All in all, Eve ends with a pool of potential having been met, the series seeming to have found its stride and voice and sensibilities just in time for a follow up second mini (or so I hope we get, after finishing this first).  I was on the fence with Eve after the first issue came and went, but LaPerch and Jackson have definitely struggled up a steep learning curve and they’ve done so fast and furious.  I can now say that I eagerly await whatever it is they do next.  If you haven’t checked out Eve since its beginning, I strongly suggest a second opinion now that it’s come to a close.