Vampirella #49 - Warren

Another issue of Vampirella, another fine, sexy/spooky cover, this time by Enrich.

After a frontspiece by Ramon Torrents and a letters page is a fun survey called "Vampi's Vault", featuring questions like "Do you like down-beat stories wherein the protagonist is destroyed?"(er, yes...no...sometimes!) and "What stimulates your imagination most about Vampirella?"(do we really need to answer that?).

The opening Vampi story is called "The Blood Red Queen of Hearts" by Bill DuBay and Estaban Maroto, about a mysterious, mostly-naked lady who wants to become the Queen of Chaos, and she figures the best way to do that is to bring The Big C the still-beating heart of Vampirella! Contains a rare scene of Vampi putting clothes on. The story is cool and bloody and exciting, and, wow, does Maroto draw some sexy women("What stimulates your imagination most about Vampirella?").

Next is "The Thing in Jane's Closet" by Budd Lewis and Torrents, about a woman who is convinced there's something in her bedroom closet. No one believes her, of course, even the psychiatrist hired to help her...good story with a fun, creepy ending.

Third is "Then One Foggy Christmas Eve" by Gerry Boudreau and Joaquin Blasquez, about a series of unsettling, sentinent Christmas presents and their plans for the world. Yes, you read that right.

Fourth is "Jewel in the Mouth of A Snake" by Jose Bea, a goofy tale about a legend of a giant jewel that lives in the mouth of a monstrous snake. EC-esque in its approach and humor, and a classic kick-in-the-pants ending.

Next is the color feature, "The Succubus Stone"(great title!) by Boudreau, Steve Clement, and Torrents, with color by Shelly Berne. It's about a police detective investigating a mysterious death and how it leads him to a house of women run by the even more mysterious "Madame Govay." Considering the horror/fantasy element is placed squarely in the middle of a dry, realistic setting, it can't be a conicidence that the detective's name is Matheson.

The last story is Poe's "The Oblong Box", adapted by Rich Margopoulos and Isidro Mones. Mones turns in a nice, sometimes cartoony art job on Poe's classic tale of the overseas traveller with the curious coffin-like box he brings on board.

This issue comes with no less than eighteen(!) pages of mouth-watering, allowance-busting Captain Company stuff, like EC reprints, Warren back issues, Pirates of the Caribbean model kits(Pirates of the Caribbean? that'll never sell!), superhero pins, paperback books, and even a full-page of Mego dolls! I wonder if I send the form in with a check I'll get anything...