I, Vampire #6

Last issue, I said I, Vampire has the best covers of the New 52. And this issue, they've dropped their style for a normal look.

Last issue ended with Batman, Andrew (the Vampire of I, Vampire!), Tig (the vampire hunter that wants to kill Andrew even before she knows Andrew killed her vampire father), and John (Andrew's long-time hippie friend) taking an elevator down to a basement filled with Vampires. Bloody Mary was also there and a whole lot of people were about to die (not Batman).

When did Judd Winick begin writing this comic?

Fighting for their lives in a basement packed wall to wall with vampires, Andrew Bennett won't allow any of his companions to kill any of the vampires. That's because they're brand new and if their sire is killed within 48 hours, the freshly prepared vampires will revert to human form. From comments John made earlier, it also seems that if a vampire is killed, all vampires sired by it that have become fully-fledged vampires will also die. Killing vampires is easy in the New DCU! The hard part is knowing which one to kill which will end up killing thousands at once!

I think killing Andrew Bennett will take care of this entire problem and end the series. Madame Xanadu said Andrew Bennett was dead at the end of Justice League Dark #6, but I'm pretty sure she had her facts wrong since the I in I, Vampire is Bennett. The title will have to change to Him, Vampire. Or You, Vampire. Or Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla, Vampire Hunter.

Batman suggests that they retreat in that special way that Batman suggests things where it actually sounds like he's commanding things. But Bennett figures he can find the sire and stop the whole mess. But when he locates the sire, he makes the mistake of using the words "kill" and "that boy" in front of The Batman. Dumb, Andrew! Just say "Vampire" or "Monster" or "Alien Threat" or "Inorganic Automaton" or else Batman is going to shut you the fuck down.

See?

After Andrew crashes to the ground amidst the self-satisfied smugness of Batman's holier than thou attitude, the little innocent boy Batman saved transforms into a talking wolf and tries to run away. It's about at this point that Batman probably realizes he really doesn't quite know what the fuck is going on and he allows Bennett to handle the problem his own way.

Batman doesn't seem to have a problem with people killing animals because he allows Bennett to shove a sword through the wolf's heart.

Killing this one small vampire instantly transforms the other vampires into confused frat boys and business men. Mary, Queen of Blood, is just the tiniest bit angry about this development. She orders the last of the vampires to kill everything living in the cellar. As for the vampires that don't revert back to normal, Bennett declares they are 'Full-Bloods' and that they can all be killed. But Batman won't even allow Bennett to kill vampires!

Is Batman some kind of Twilight fan?

Batman's plan is to subdue Mary and all of her vampire henchmen and then give them over to Zatanna to deal with. I think Batman just likes to shift responsibility. Crazy criminal? Oh, Arkham will handle it and I can pretend the threat is dealt with because we all know how well confinement works there. Supernatural creature? Oh, Zatanna can say some backwards shit and she'll figure out how to imprison these things or change them back to human or, you know, maybe kill them but Batman's washed his hands of it at that point.

Batman tries paralyze Mary with a Shocking Batarang but it doesn't work. Does Batman have anything of use against Vampires? Garlic Bat-neck? Batcross? Oh! I bet Robin would have some Holy Batwater, Batman!

But other members of the group don't have a problem with killing. One of those is Tig who has just learned from Andrew's actions that killing the main vampire releases or destroys hundreds or thousands of lesser vampires. Tig makes the bold move to fix a lot of pain and sorrow.

Whoops! Although, in an earlier issue, John (I believe) mentioned that a vampire as old as Andrew Bennett could not be killed unless he wills himself to die. So I'm guessing this is just a minor setback.

This event, the 'death' of Andrew Bennett, causes a flash of lightning to blast a hole in the ground where his body disappeared. From this hole crawls "Cain, the sire of them all." Cain says, "The end has come!" And that's that. Hopefully Batman has a few more tricks up his cape!

I, Vampire #6 Rating: +1 Ranking. I like that Andrew Bennett was killed in his own comic! I know, I know. The death won't take. But it was nice to turn the page and see his head flying from his shoulders. Hopefully this entire Rise of the Vampires story arc will be interesting and not just a dumb excuse for a big fight and a crossover.