Vampirella Crimson Chronicles Maximum collects issues 1-37 of the original Vampirella magazine with stories written by Forrest J. Ackerman, Archie Goodwin, T. Casey Brennan, Steve Englehart, Len Wein, and others. José Gonzalez did the majority of the art, with other work from Tom Sutton, Mike Royer, and Jose Ortiz.
The stories focus on Vampirella, a vampire from the planet Drakulon, who came to Earth when her planet's rivers of blood began to dry up. On Earth, she works with Conrad van Helsing and his son Adam van Helsing (both from a long line of vampire hunters), Pendragon (a former stage magician and one of Vampirella's dearest friends), and occasionally Dracula to combat the seven gods of chaos and their allies in our world. The stories, which begin with a character primarily designed to titillate, quickly become somber, brooding tales that would be right at home in any gothic horror collection. José Gonzalez's art is almost photo-realistic when it needs to be and dark and mysterious throughout. Using only black-and-white he displays a felicity of illustration that rivals most of the other big names in comics history.
After Warren Publishing went bankrupt, Harris Publications continued the character for a time and their name appears on this volume, but the current Vampirella comics appear under the Dynamite Entertainment banner. Those who want to explore the character's history or just want a good gothic horror story like Dark Shadows should give this volume a read. ( )