Despite some very promising issues and a great out-of-continuity setting that allows some real freedom when it comes to the huge cast of characters, DC vs Vampires has proven to be frustratingly inconsistent as the story goes on.

Unfortunately, that continues in this eighth issue – in which there’s far too much going on, on far too many fronts, with far too many characters involved. It’s all a bit incoherent and at times just plain confusing; it’s a far cry from the gripping storytelling in the first third of the series.

The art seems inconsistent too; some pages impress, whereas others seem rushed. It’s a shame that the series couldn’t be contained within just the one series; I get the feeling that it’d be easier to follow what’s happening if only I invested in the spin-off issues – but it shouldn’t require extra reading when the main series is already a twelve issue story that’s supposedly self-contained.

There’s no big surprises in this issue – or at least nothing that feels as shocking or unforeseen as other developments in the series so far – which does rather put a downer on this particular chapter in general. It’s just not very good; it feels as if we’re treading water until the finale now, but let’s hope it picks up again over the last four issues.