I, Vampire #17 is an issue of the series I, Vampire (Volume 1) with a cover date of April, 2013. It was published on February 27, 2013.
Synopsis for "Wave of Mutilation"
Andrew Bennett has commandeered the House of Mystery, along with his new children, Tig, Charles, The Keeper, and his dog Mishkin. Recently, they had broken into the Van Helsings' archives and stolen a stone from the Tower of Babel - the stone from the tower's pinnacle; the stone that touched Heaven. They hope that that stone will act as a gateway to the beyond. Unfortunately, there are still some people standing in the way of Andrew's plan to use that stone to unleash Heaven and Hell on earth to destroy all creation.
Though the vampires are hurt by John Constantine's magic, they are not so hurt that they cannot retreat back into the House. Outside, John and his companions worry about what it means for him to have lost control over the House of Mystery, and given it to Andrew - until Mary Seward decides that whatever ill it portends doesn't matter, and marches inside. The others soon follow.
John Troughton rushes inside with vigour, only to be surprised to find his grandmother resting in a nearby bed. She confesses to him that she had impure thoughts about other ladies, and from behind John, Andrew quips that homosexuality must run in the family.
Elsewhere, Mary finds herself alone in a dark room, and fumbles with her lighter. When she sparks a flame, she is disturbed to find herself surrounded by the animated corpses of all of those whom she killed.
Deborah Dancer, meanwhile, finds herself in her own home. She is surprised to find her old friend Dmitri Mishkin waiting there for her. She rushes toward him to hug him, but soon realizes that he is undead, and attacks him in self defence.
Constantine steps into the House, and challenges it to throw something unexpected at him. He finds only Tig, who promises to murder him. As she lunges at him, he snaps his fingers, freezing her in place. As she hangs in mid-air, he spots her locket, and remarks that Andrew got it from the vampire he killed at a truck-stop - Tig's own father.
Elsewhere, Charles Thompson is tasked with guarding the stone while the Keeper attempts to activate it. He is surprised when Cain appears in the room. Charles expects a fight, but the sire of all vampires merely subdues him, intending to use the portal created by the stone to get to Hell and return to his bride, Lilith.
Andrew tempts John to join him with suggestions that they could be lovers. John declines, believing that this is not the real Andrew. Leaning in for a kiss, Andrew thrusts his fist through John's chest, and tears out his heart.
Constantine finds Mary being attacked by the corpses, and uses a spell to make them all disappear. However, soon after rescuing her, they find themselves face to face with Andrew - and John Troughton's heart. Quickly, Constantine binds Andrew to a wall, as they sense the gate to Hell opening. Constantine leaves Andrew to Mary while he closes the portal.
Deborah, meanwhile, wanders the House's halls until she spots John Troughton, but when she sees that he has been murdered, she decides, finally, that Andrew Bennett must die.
Constantine finds Cain attempting to open the portal for his wife Lilith to return to earth, and upon garnering Cain's attention, he is warned that Hell intends to collect the bounty on his head.
With Andrew trapped, Mary demands to know why he chose not to turn her. He explains that she had her chance, and failed to do anything of value with her power. Pressing against him, she suggests that together they could have done more. As they kiss, Andrew bites into her lip, hoping to turn her, now. Instead, Tig appears, and slices Mary's head off, as Andrew reacts with horror. Tig turns to him with her sword in hand and warns that he will die for murdering her father.
Meanwhile, Lilith will soon arrive.
Appearing in "Wave of Mutilation"
Featured Characters: Supporting Characters:
- John Constantine
- Prof. John Troughton (Dies)
- Deborah Dancer
- Mary Seward (Dies)
Antagonists:
- Andrew Bennett (Corrupted)
- Vampires
- Charles Thompson
- The Keeper of the Books (Unnamed)
- Mishkin the Dog
- Tig Rafelson
- Vampires
- Cain
- House of Mystery illusions
- Dmitri Mishkin (Deceased)
- John Troughton's grandmother (Single appearance) (Unnamed) (Deceased)
- Zombies (As an illusion only)
Other Characters:
Locations:
- Prime Earth
- England
- House of Mystery (Displaced)
- Gomorrah (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- Mesopotamia
- Babel (Mentioned only)
- Tower of Babel (Mentioned only)
- Babel (Mentioned only)
- Sodomah (Destroyed) (Mentioned only)
- England
- The Great Beyond (Unnamed) (Mentioned only)
- Sphere of the Gods (Unnamed)
Items:
- Constantine's Lighter (Cameo)
- Silk Cut
- Tower of Babel brick
- Tig's Locket
Concepts:
- Magic
- Mark of Cain (Unnamed) (Behind the scenes)
Notes
- The House of Mystery and Andrew Bennett imply that both Professor John Troughton's grandmother and he himself are homosexual.
Trivia
- The title of the issue is a reference to the The Pixies song of the same name.
See Also