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Released by: Dynamite Entertainment
Released on: November 13th, 2019.
Written by: David Avallone
Illustrated by: Dave Acosta
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Having recently been kidnapped by a cult named The Deucalionids who want to harness her 'Luciferian Energy' and then shot off of her flying broomstick by a cultist with a crossbow, Elvira wakes up under the care of a handsome doctor in a fancy hospital. After the obligatory 'play doctor' joke we all knew was coming (and would be disappointed had it been missed), the cop who found her unconscious on the avenue asks her if she knows how she wound up there.
The doctor and the cop wheel her gurney into the operating theater where she realizes very quickly that this hospital is run by the very same Deucalionids who are clearly still out to harness her energy - they've even brought a broken besom with them to do just that. Elvira stands up and the energy crackles around her, forming a link between she and the broom that, once struck by the blue bolts, reforms. A door opens and a bright light shines out. As the cultists grab the broom and split, a dark caped figure comes out and rescues our heroine. He lies her down on the gurney to rest and gives chase to the cultists.
Elvira figure she should get dressed and split, but as she tries to do that the cops - who are in on this - start poking about looking for her, noting that the guy in the cape isn't magic, just a 'dude with money, and gadgets and a grudge.' Elvira ducks into a closet and slips into the tightest, shortest nurses uniform you've ever seen outside of a bad (or good, depending on your kinks) porno movie. She runs into her caped savior who we learn is a masked vigilante named 'Soul Survivor.' He explains to her, as she struggles with exhaustion, that the cultists took something from her and explains to her the reasonably complicated details of the cult and their modus operandi. As such, the Deucalionids have sapped up all of Elvira's darkness and she vows to get it back. And of course, the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Kubrick references, Instagram plugs, 90s vigilante comics digs, ridiculously verbose cultists, a well-placed Vampirella joke, frequent wardrobe problems, a trademarked catch phrase, gratuitous Yogi Berra worship and a giant WHOOOOSHHHH all come together in this tenth issue and like the nine that came before it, this is a really fun read. It's also way more action-packed than anything that has come before it in this run so far. The mix of humor and action, with a heaping dose of the supernatural thrown in, proves a fun mix. Avallone's writing just works really well with the character, he gives everyone's favorite Mistress Of The Dark the right quips at the right times, he paces the issue well and yeah, he crams all sorts of little pop culture jokes and gags into this issue.
Dave Acosta's artwork, which features a pretty sweet Kirby-esque superhero glove in one panel, is as solid as it's ever been. He draws Elvira really well, the ever-important likeness is there and it's strong. The layouts are pretty great, especially the two page spread early in the issue and the panel where Elvira finds her dress has turned white. And hey, putting her in a tight-fitting nurses outfit doesn't hurt either - va-va-va-voom! There could be more background detail in a few panels but then, I'm a sucker for background detail and I say that about pretty much every comic book I read. He does a great job with some of the facial expressions not just on Elvira's pretty kisser but on the cultist's ugly mugs as well, and that goes a long way towards making the humor in Avallone's writing work as well as it does. Walter Pereyra's coloring work is rock-solid and hey, shout out to letterer Taylor Esposito for his work on this series as well.