Seduction of the Innocent Book 4: Witchcraft continues Vampirella’s latest expansive story under the direction of writer Christopher Priest and artist Ergun Gunduz with letters by Willie Schubert, but for the first time, feels like the weight of the story might be too much for the issue to handle.

Vampirella #4 is a book that feels like it is for the fans. It captures a lot of what the series has done well so far, but begins bringing different elements together for a more cohesive picture. However, it seems all the fun of the first few issues forced the narrative weight to fall here in order for everything to start making sense. This issue is tasked with pulling together each of the story elements established thus far and while it mostly succeeds, it is apparent to the reader that the book needed to hit certain plot points.

The pacing is ultimately what contributes to this reading experience, it’s concern with getting us to the point of her public debut to become something akin to a superhero is hindered by the necessity to bring in characters like Von Kriest and add another layer to Vampi’s complicated sex life. While these are all interesting aspects that play a key role (who doesn’t want to see Vampi and the warrior Nun together?), the story just feels a bit disjointed through the actual execution.

Despite these pacing flaws, the issue is still quite entertaining within the series. There are a few crucial storytelling moments and the cliffhanger ending is sure to open doors for the series moving forward. We see different sides of Vampirella than we’ve seen before, not unlike the issues prior. It’s interesting to see this creative team build such a multifaceted approach to a character that is often dismissed as one dimensional. The visuals continue to impress as well. Ergun Gunduz’s artwork is remarkably distinctive and suits the tone of the story with a sense of dark mystery. The script allows for a few opportunities to shine, but it’s starting to feel like it needs it needs to reach the tipping point where things really start to get rolling from a visual perspective. This tension might be just an inherent part of the process though, because the ending is just amazing.

The last three pages of Vampirella #4 are arguably among the best of the series yet, from the scripting to the completed visuals. The finale packs such a powerful punch, I would say it’s enough to warrant purchasing the book. This creative team is obviously capable of delivering exceptional work, I just want more.

With this being issue #4 of 12, it’s easy to see why this issue finds the story settling into a more routine pace, it’s just not quite as enjoyable because of how much we were given in the first three issues. The structure of the story seems to be either what will make this story soar or bring it crashing to Earth. From what we’ve been given so far, the trend is certainly in the right direction.

Let’s just hope the series can maintain it in future issues.