Hostilities break out in the first issue of DC vs. Vampires: World War V - and it's all Damian Wayne's fault

Art from DC vs Vampires: World War V. — (Image credit: DC)

We reported a while back that DC's Elseworlds line is returning this year with a raft of new titles. Now DC has provided a first look at pages and covers from one of the first of those new releases: DC vs. Vampires: World War V. The 12-issue limited series, from writer Matthew Rosenberg and artist Otto Schmidt, is a sequel to their bestselling DC vs. Vampires series from 2021. Yep, with Marvel's Blood Hunt currently running, 2024 really is turning into the year of the bloodsucker.

The first issue of World War V, which publishes in August, features a main cover by Schmidt, plus variants from Steve Beach, Jae Lee, Riley Rossmo, Nikola Čižmešija, and a foil variant by Homare. You can check all of those out below.

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Covers from DC vs Vampires: World War V #1 — (Image credit: DC)

The original DC vs Vampires saw the Justice League take on a massive vampire invasion while also dealing with several of their own number, including Green Lantern Hal Jordan and Nightwing, being converted into villainous bloodsuckers.

Now it seems like the fragile peace that was established at the end of the first series is about to be broken - and of course it's all Damian Wayne's fault... Here's a preview of pages from DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1 followed by DC's official synopsis for the new series.

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"It's the dead of winter, and any hope for a fragile truce between the Green Arrow-led human heroes and vampire queen Barbara Gordon’s army has been dashed by Damian Wayne and his guerrilla fighters. Damian is the only one fighting back against the bloodthirsty hordes, leaving Green Arrow with a choice: Does he stand and fight or sacrifice the boy in the name of peace? Not only will this new Elseworlds series build upon the compelling storylines from the previous DC vs. Vampires series, but readers can also expect to see reimagined versions of current DC Super Heroes in this dark and terrifying world."

DC vs. Vampires: World War V #1 is published by DC on August 14.

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Will Salmon is the Streaming Editor for GamesRadar+. He has been writing about film, TV, comics, and music for more than 15 years, which is quite a long time if you stop and think about it. At Future he launched the scary movie magazine Horrorville, relaunched Comic Heroes, and has written for every issue of SFX magazine for well over a decade. His music writing has appeared in The Quietus, MOJO, Electronic Sound, Clash, and loads of other places too.