One of the most horrifying versions of the DC Universe has just lost its most controversial ruler.

DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1 brings readers back to a vision of the DC Universe where a vampiric plague has swept over nearly the entire planet, leaving only a small band of otherwise ordinary survivors eking out an existence for themselves in the most remote corners of the globe. Surprisingly, it isn’t the humans of this world who are the biggest threat to its vampiric regime, the latest of which has just taken out the vampires’ former ruler, Barbara Gordon.

Written by MATTHEW ROSENBERG Art by OTTO SCHMIDT Colors by PIERLUIGI CASOLINO Letters by TOM NAPOLITANO Main cover art by OTTO SCHMIDT Variant covers by STEVE BEACH, JAE LEE & JUNE CHUNG, HOMARE, RILEY ROSSMO, and NIKOLA CIZMESIJA

The world of DC vs. Vampires, also known as Earth 63, was first seen in the opening issue of 2021’s miniseries of the same name by James Tynion IV, Matthew Rosenberg, and Otto Schmidt. This version of the DC Universe was identical to that which fans know best, up until Dick Grayson, aka Nightwing, was attacked and turned by the vampire cult known as the Acolytes of Shadow. Taking up the moniker of the Gray Son, Dick led his army of vampires in an all-out war against the heroes and villains who still held on to their relative humanity.

In the final issue of the original series, Barbara Gordon, aka Batgirl, allowed herself to be turned by Grayson before murdering him and usurping his position as the ruler of the vampires. This came at the expense of a carefully calculated plan which, if carried out as intended, would have seen Harley Quinn go down in history as the ultimate savior of humankind. Instead, Barbara’s ascension ushered in a new era of horror that somehow managed to eclipse the one it took the place of.

Ahead of the release of DC vs. Vampires: World War V, writer Matthew Rosenberg opened up about the original series’ “emotional cliffhanger” and what it means for the follow-up. “That’s always what the last pages of the book were going to be. Since writing Issue #2, about two years ago, we’ve known what we were doing and what was coming,” Rosenberg explained. “The big thing for me is that I wanted to tell a very different story — and luckily, because a lot of the big guns were taken off the table, there’s an opportunity for new characters to shine and step up. We’re going to create some new heroes.”

DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1 is on sale now from DC Comics.

Source: DC Comics