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Over the years, the Justice League have found themselves in some pretty unique situations. We’ve seen them pilot mechs, overcome a zombie apocalypse and turn into apes! By that measure, vampires should be no sweat, right? Well…what if one of your own super-powerful allies has been turned, but you don’t know which one it is? What if there’s more than one?

What could have been a simple hack-and-slash adventure in the ongoing story of DC vs Vampires quickly turns into a murder mystery whodunit, and the JLA have precious little time left before they tear each other apart—literally! With the series’ newest installment, DC vs Vampires: World War V, now getting started, we thought the time was right to look back at the very beginning of the story, DC vs Vampires Vol. 1!
 

THE PREMISE:

The nightmare begins when Andrew Bennett—DC’s longtime heroic vampire—arrives at the Hall of Justice in search of the Justice League. With much of the League temporarily off-world, he informs the remaining members of a shocking discovery: the Legion of Doom has been destroyed by vampires, with Lex Luthor as the sole surviving member. Desperate for help, Bennett finds the problem’s far worse than he realized when one of the League’s members reveals himself to have been long since turned…but it he the only one? Soon lines are drawn, plans are put into effect and friendships are shattered as they face the growing threat of a total vampire invasion.
 

LET’S TALK TALENT:

Co-writer James Tynion IV is a veteran DC scribe, having written many of DC’s most popular titles including Batman, Detective Comics and Justice League Dark over the years. With him on writing duties is Matthew Rosenberg, who also worked with Tynion on DC’s Joker series before taking on the character himself with The Joker: The Man Who Stopped Laughing. The two are a great pair, with an impressive knowledge of the DC Universe and all its unique nuances, which makes it easy to buy into the premise. If a vampire invasion were to happen in the DCU, this is exactly how it would go down. It all gives the story a palpable sense of dread that will keep you turning pages late into the night.

Otto Schmidt is the main artist throughout this initial volume (as well as in the new World War V series), and he gives the story an intense, nightmarish quality that befits its Halloween-flavored tone. Bloody reveals and gory action sequences can be found all throughout, and Schmidt manages to keep it brutal. It’s all very surprising, but not so gross as to feel self-indulgent or unsavory. In the second half of the collection, the Suicide Squad are introduced through the art of Simone Di Meo, jolting the shift in perspectives from heroes to villains in a flashy, almost glamorous way. Yet, despite the introduction of Di Meo and a third artist in Daniele Di Nicuolo, the book stays consistent in its overall look and gothic vibe.
 

A FEW REASONS TO READ:

• Without getting into spoiler territory, seeing which heroes get turned is always a surprise and a thrill. At least for us! It’s probably much less fun for our heroes, whom we frequently see with their backs up against the wall as they’re forced to fight people who were once their very best friends.
   
• The breadth of DC lore is wonderfully applied across various fun details. From Batman’s battle with the Mad Monk during the Golden Age serving as the earliest on-record account of the existence of vampires to the entire history of the I, Vampire series getting referenced, there’s much here to please even the most obsessive DC readers.
   
• At the heart of DC vs Vampires is a mystery, and one that puts our heroes’ intellect on great display. It’d be simple for the vampire invasion to be fought through sheer numbers, but due to the various power levels of the heroes, all characters carefully weigh their options and circumvent each other using clever methods that speak to the ingenuity gained through years of experience, and experience of the book’s writers.

WHY IT’S WORTH YOUR TIME:

DC vs Vampires is fun! An enthralling, twist-filled action-packed horror mystery with the world’s greatest heroes up against a nightmare version of one another, told by some of the best pros in the business. The suspense, surprises and creepy cliffhangers brought together through solid character work makes this a seminal DC miniseries to read, and a great way to kick off an ongoing Elseworlds saga that’s continuing this very week with DC vs Vampires: World War V. Get in on the neck-chomping action and take a bite out of this terror-tinged tale of the undead, where the question of who survives could be anyone’s guess.

DC vs Vampires Vol. 1 by James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg and Otto Schmidt is available in bookstores, comic shops, libraries and can be read in full on DC UNIVERSE INFINITE.

Donovan Morgan Grant writes about comics, graphic novels and superhero history for DC.com. Follow him on X at @donoDMG1.

NOTE: The views and opinions expressed in this feature are solely those of Donovan Morgan Grant and do not necessarily reflect those of DC or Warner Bros. Discovery, nor should they be read as confirmation or denial of future DC plans.