Vampyrates! #2 Review: Blood, Cannons and High-Seas Horror From BOOM! Studios
The seas are dangerous enough when pirates are involved. Add vampires, a fugitive empress, undead horrors and ships loaded with cannon fire, and survival becomes considerably more complicated.
BOOM! Studios’ Vampyrates! #2 pushes its blood-soaked adventure out onto the open water as writer Fred Van Lente and artist Luca Pizzari continue building one of the more visually distinctive supernatural pirate stories currently sailing through comic shops.
After escaping the forces that seized her throne, Nira has managed to disappear aboard a pirate vessel. Unfortunately, getting away from her enemies does not mean she has reached safety.
Far from it.
The crew quickly discovers there is a stowaway aboard, and Nira suddenly finds herself surrounded by pirates who have very different ideas about what should happen to an unexpected vampire passenger.
Anyone who missed the beginning of this strange maritime nightmare should start with our Vampyrates! #1 review before heading into issue #2.
Nira Escaped the Throne — Not the Danger
The opening issue established Nira as a deposed ruler running from forces determined to remove her permanently.
Issue #2 wastes little time demonstrating that hiding on a pirate ship might have solved one problem while creating several new ones.
Nira is discovered below deck, and the confrontation quickly turns violent. She might be surrounded, but she is not helpless. Her vampiric strength and attitude immediately make it clear that she has no intention of quietly accepting whatever fate the crew has planned.
That energy gives Vampyrates! #2 an entertaining opening because Nira never feels like a passive fugitive.
She is angry.
She is dangerous.
And she knows exactly who she used to be.
The problem is that rank means very little aboard someone else’s ship.
Captain Akeyo Changes Everything
The most interesting development comes when Nira finally meets Captain Akeyo Blackband.
This is not a simple pirate captain who sees a valuable prisoner and begins calculating ransom.
There is history here.
Akeyo recognizes Nira and appears to know considerably more about her past than she expected.
That immediately changes the dynamic of the issue.
Nira might insist that she was once an empress, but aboard Akeyo’s vessel she is a stowaway subject to the captain’s authority. Their exchanges carry an edge that suggests the relationship between the former imperial regime and the people now sailing these waters is more complicated than Nira might want to admit.
Van Lente uses that tension effectively because the conflict is not merely vampire versus pirate.
It is personal.
Political.
And potentially much larger than either character is willing to reveal.
The series’ unusual combination of vampiric fantasy and pirate adventure was one of the most promising elements when Fred Van Lente and Luca Pizzari’s series was originally revealed, and the second issue begins taking much greater advantage of that premise.
Welcome to the Varicose Straits
Once the story gets moving, it really gets moving.
The voyage takes the competing ships toward the wonderfully named Varicose Straits, where navigational danger rapidly becomes the least of anyone’s problems.
Enemy vessels close in.
Cannons are loaded.
Pirates rush to battle stations.
And Nira suddenly finds herself involved in a fight that has nothing to do with quietly hiding until she reaches the next port.
This is where Vampyrates! begins functioning as a genuine swashbuckling action comic rather than simply a vampire story wearing pirate clothing.
Ships maneuver through dangerous waters.
Cannons erupt.
Boarding parties clash.
Swords come out.
The comic embraces the chaos.
Pirate Combat With Vampire Rules
One of the clever ideas behind Vampyrates! is that traditional pirate tactics become considerably more complicated when some of the people involved are supernatural creatures.
A normal cannonball is one thing.
A cannon attack specifically designed for vampires is another.
Van Lente plays with those differences throughout the battle, allowing familiar pirate imagery to collide with the strange rules of this world.
There are boarding actions and close-quarters fights, but there are also vampires, unusual weapons, supernatural vulnerabilities and creatures that refuse to remain conveniently dead.
That combination gives the battle sequence an identity of its own.
The series is not trying to disguise what it is.
It wants pirate ships.
It wants vampires.
It wants monsters.
And it wants all three smashing into one another as violently as possible.
Things Get Much Worse Below Deck
Without spoiling the biggest developments, the most effective escalation arrives when the conflict moves deeper into the ships.
What initially looks like another pirate battle becomes something substantially nastier.
Nira and several members of the crew discover that the enemy vessel is carrying something far more disturbing than treasure.
The imagery turns increasingly macabre as the characters encounter pale, decaying figures with glowing eyes and decidedly unhealthy appetites.
Suddenly the question is no longer simply whether Nira will survive the pirates.
Everyone aboard may have a considerably larger problem.
That horror element is important because it prevents Vampyrates! from becoming predictable.
The first half of the issue suggests an energetic pirate confrontation.
The second reminds readers that they are still in a world populated by vampires and supernatural horrors.
Fred Van Lente Keeps the Story Moving
Fred Van Lente maintains an aggressive pace throughout issue #2.
There is political intrigue.
Character conflict.
Naval combat.
Comedy.
Monster horror.
And considerable worldbuilding.
Yet the comic rarely feels weighed down by exposition.
Instead, information about Nira, Akeyo and the larger political situation emerges through confrontation.
Characters reveal themselves while arguing, threatening one another or trying not to die.
That approach suits the series.
A story called Vampyrates! probably should not spend half an issue sitting around explaining itself.
It should be moving.
And this issue moves.
Readers interested in the broader release can also find Vampyrates! #2 through Penguin Random House as the series continues its supernatural voyage.
Luca Pizzari Gives the Series Its Identity
Luca Pizzari’s artwork remains one of the strongest reasons to follow the book.
The characters have sharp silhouettes, exaggerated expressions and a slightly angular quality that fits the strange world Van Lente is building.
Nira is especially effective visually.
Her bright hair, dark eyes and almost perpetually irritated expression give her an instantly recognizable presence on the page.
The action also has considerable energy.
Pizzari frequently varies panel size and composition during combat rather than trapping every sword swing and cannon blast inside uniform boxes. Large movements break through layouts, while smaller reaction panels capture the comedy and shock happening around them.
That visual rhythm is particularly effective during the naval battle.
The fight feels chaotic without becoming impossible to follow.
Adam Guzowski’s Colors Make the Night Feel Otherworldly
Colorist Adam Guzowski pushes the supernatural atmosphere even further.
The world of Vampyrates! does not look like a historically grounded pirate comic.
Nor should it.
Night skies carry unusual celestial bodies.
Ocean scenes shift between deep blues, purples and sickly supernatural tones.
Fire burns brilliantly against darker ship interiors.
Blood and glowing eyes immediately draw attention when the horror elements take over.
There is an almost dreamlike quality to the environment, reinforcing the idea that this is a fantasy world operating according to its own rules.
The visual identity makes the series easy to recognize even before the vampires start biting anyone.
The Covers Expand the Vampyrates World
BOOM! Studios has also assembled a strong group of covers for issue #2.
The main cover comes from Luca Pizzari with colors by Adam Guzowski, while the variant lineup includes work from Rebeca Puebla, David Aja and Malachi Ward, along with additional Pizzari artwork.
Pizzari’s main image captures the series especially well: Nira dominates the upper half while pirate ships exchange fire beneath an ominous night sky.
Puebla delivers a more character-focused interpretation of Nira standing beneath a pirate flag, while Aja strips the concept down to a bold skull-and-ship composition.
The different approaches give collectors options ranging from traditional character art to graphic, design-driven interpretations.
Collectors trying to track down earlier issues can also find Vampyrates! #1 through Comic Nation while the series is still early in its five-issue run.
Vampyrates! Is Becoming More Than Its Killer Title
A comic called Vampyrates! almost sells itself on the name alone.
But issue #2 demonstrates that Van Lente and Pizzari are developing something more substantial behind the joke.
Nira’s fall from power gives the series a political foundation.
Captain Akeyo introduces unresolved history.
The pirate crew gives the story its adventure framework.
The vampires establish the supernatural rules.
And the horrifying discovery aboard the enemy ship hints that there are much darker things waiting beyond the horizon.
The concept is fun, but the creators are not relying solely on the concept.
That matters.
Final Thoughts
Vampyrates! #2 is exactly the escalation a second issue needs.
The first chapter introduced the world.
The second throws Nira into it.
What begins as a stowaway confrontation rapidly expands into threats, political tension, naval warfare and supernatural horror, while the relationship between Nira and Captain Akeyo adds an intriguing mystery beneath all the cannon smoke.
Fred Van Lente keeps the story moving at a brisk pace without losing the personalities driving it, while Luca Pizzari and Adam Guzowski continue developing a visual style that makes Vampyrates! feel distinct from both conventional vampire comics and traditional pirate adventures.
Most importantly, issue #2 leaves the impression that the world is getting stranger the farther these characters sail.
That is exactly where a series like this should be headed.
Rating: 8.5/10
Verdict: Vampyrates! #2 is a fast, bloody and surprisingly funny high-seas horror adventure that successfully expands the world introduced in the debut. If pirate battles, vampire politics and supernatural monsters sound like a good combination, this voyage is worth taking.
Join the Discussion
What are you enjoying most about Vampyrates! so far — Nira, the pirate mythology, the vampire worldbuilding, or the increasingly bizarre monsters waiting at sea?
And after the events of issue #2, who do you trust less: Nira or Captain Akeyo?
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