The Swords of Sorrow crossover event has been hailed by many as the feminist comic event of the summer. Led by Gail Simone, this series brings together a multitude of women from pulp comics. This includes the well-known Vampirella, and the perhaps less-famed Jennifer Blood. Branching off from the main Swords of Sorrow storyline, this four-issue set of Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella & Jennifer Blood follows the aforementioned duo for their first encounter.
Much of Sword of Sorrow: Vampirella & Jennifer Blood #1 is dedicated to introducing the two characters, although more space is given to Jennifer’s backstory than Vampirella’s. Both women are chasing down a serial killer who has been jumping between dimensions to expand his hunting ground.
Unfortunately for Vampirella, she gets stuck on the side of the rift where magic and monsters are not real. She does get a little reprieve; being in the other dimension doesn’t seem to affect her powers. However, it also doesn’t affect the powers of her enemies.
This contrast will be especially interesting for the development of the two character’s relationship in as the story continues. The interaction of the two characters is minimal in this issue, but sets up a somewhat adversarial tension for the rest of the arc, centered mostly around Jennifer’s territorial attitude and complete disbelief in the supernatural.
Those not very familiar with Jennifer Blood might be pleasantly surprised to find the character stepping outside standard fem-assassin tropes. There will be some interesting similarities to note for fans of Tarantino’s Bride: she is willing to try giving up her past in order to give her children a future, is willing to kill for them and to keep them. However, in this issue of Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella & Jennifer Blood, Jennifer admits that she likes killing, and likes that she’s good at it – enough to live a double life long enough that it ended her marriage and ruined her relationship with her kids.
Basically, Jennifer Blood is a workaholic who ends up putting her career before her family and feeling guilty about it. Pretty relatable for the average twenty-first century woman.
Hopefully, Vampirella will be given a bit more stage in the next issue!
Overall. Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella & Jennifer Blood is a fun, slightly gory, action-packed story with two intriguing leading ladies and hints at the rising evil Swords of Sorrow is bringing the characters together to fight.