Comic Review: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #2

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #2

Dynamite Entertainment

Writer: David Avallone

Artist: Dave Acosta

I was a bit skeptical about Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #1 when it was released. The Elvira brand isn’t really “en vogue” right now and is pretty much only for the die-hard midnight horror movie aficionados. Issue #1 proved me wrong by showing that Elvira is just as up to date and relevant as any comic releasing right now.

At the end of the last issue, Elvira had teleported through time once again in her plush coffin and arrived in 1838 Philadelphia to meet Edgar Allen Poe. Elvira’s comedy is still intact and sharp as always as she travels with Poe to his local bar. Poe has no knowledge or understanding of Elvira’s time-warping, so he can’t help her get back to her correct time. The only conflict comes when Vlad, the beast from the first issue, shows up by using the coffin’s magic. Vlad tracks down Elvira and Poe and is still unreasonable in his quest. He thinks Elvira is a witch and he only wants to kill her and go back to his time. Per the usual, he never takes time to hear anyone out, so Elvira, Poe, and the bartender do their best to kill Vlad and escape. It seems to be the primary plot function every time where Elvira will teleport at the end of each issue, and then we get a splash page hinting at the next famous pairing.

David Avallone has impressed me so far with his take on Elvira and her 2018 quips and references. She doesn’t have an overall goal to achieve, so each issue is just a trip through time and with various horror icons. I don’t mind that mechanic since it is fun and seems more like a loose anthology with a thread or two to connect the issues. My only complaint is that in this issue Elvira’s schtick starts to become stale. She comes off like a teenager in a time travel movie than an adult in some instances. I foresee this being a problem down the road and their might not be a way to stop it seeing as it is a character flaw more than a writing flaw.

Dave Costa is doing great work on the book so far, and that is something I don’t see changing. His style seems to fit the mood and tone of the series. Not much else to say about him. He is killing it so far.

Maybe you remember Elvira in her relevant time, or perhaps you don’t know her at all. She is an acquired taste, I will admit, but Avallone is keeping her very much alive in 2018 and for horror-comedy fans, I think you will find this a worthy addition to her legacy.