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Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark Spring Special (Dynamite Entertainment) Comic Review
Released by: Dynamite Entertainment
Released on: May 22nd, 2019.
Written by: Fernando Ruiz, Dan Parent, Scott Bryan Wilson
Illustrated by: Fernando Ruiz, Dan Parent
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Underneath that cover from Reilly Brown (inspired by Dave Stevens maybe?) lie two stories involving everyone's favorite horror hostess with the mostess, Elvira… Mistress Of The Dark!
First up is Elvira In… Drive-In Of The Dead from Fernando Ruiz and Dan Parent. This one opens at a drive-in where Elvira is hosting an all-might moviethon that is coming to an end with a screening of Dawn Of The Dead Kardashians In 3-D! But as much fun as that might be, Elvira has had it - she wants to be a star, not a horror hostess. She quits her drive-in gig on the spot and heads to Hollywood to meet up with horror film master George Rottmero! He's impressed by her assets and immediately casts her in his upcoming films, hoping that she doesn't find out the truth about how he gets things to look as realistic as they do on screen.
When she shows up on the set of The Creature From The Stacked Lagoon, things get weird when the 'creature' starts grumbling about 'brains…' she realizes after reading her next script that something isn't quite right.
Boob jokes, Halloween (the movie) references, Halloween (the holiday) gags, more boob jokes and some quick quips that George Romero fans will get a kick out of, this first story is a bit predictable but still pretty fun. The story is funny, full of bad puns like an Elvira yarn should be, and a nice, entertaining self-contained story. At times the artwork is, not surprisingly, a little Archie-esque (an Elvira Meets Archie crossover might be fun… anybody listening? I've got story ideas!) but it works. It's cartoony in the right ways, clean and colorful and pleasing to the eye. All in all, a fun read.
The second story is Elvira In.. The Satan 500, written by Scott Byran Wilson featuring art from Fernando Ruiz. When this one begins, Elvira is in the supermarket buying ingredients to make some guacamole when she's accosted by a weirdo in a clown outfit. It's Halloween which means it's the only day he can go out and not stand out - it seems that clown makeup was tattooed onto his face some time ago, which maybe wasn't the best decision. Changing his legal name to Jason Vorhees was another weird move.
Anyway, she heads out into the parking lot to try and lose this guy when she comes across ol' Scratch himself leaning on his hotrod waiting for her. He's got a proposition for her -a race. If he wins, she has to be his slave girl and marry him and if she wins, he has to grant her three wishes. And with that, they're off.
This second story is also pretty fun. Again, we get the requisite boob jokes, guys falling all over Elvira, and plenty of references that seasoned horror fans will appreciate more than the casual types. The twist this time kind of comes out of nowhere but sometimes the best twists do and there are some fun running gags here. The art is solid, nice and clean and colorful and it works in the context of the story being told as well.