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Vampirella is a raven-haired heroine who remains, even after 45 years of publication, one of the comic industry’s leading ladies, due in no small part to Dynamite Entertainment’s stewardship of the character. Since Vampirella’s very healthy resurgence in 2010, Dynamite has published two volumes of a monthly series, several miniseries and one-shot specials, and crossovers with multimedia brands and comic book peers. The Vampirella franchise is a haven for writers and artists with a penchant for the macabre.Red Sonja, known also as “The She-Devil with a Sword,” is renowned as fantasy fiction’s most prominent female character, formerly a swashbuckling ally of the Robert E. Howard character, Conan. Her early adventures in the Marvel Feature comic book series led to a successful ongoing Red Sonja solo series, a celebrated run of comics from 1976 through 1979. Dynamite Entertainment acquired the Red Sonjalicense in 2005 as their second-ever published title, arriving on newsstands to critical acclaim and a very receptive audience. Dynamite has since published over one hundred Red Sonja comic books, including crossovers with popular characters including Conan, Dejah Thoris (of Warlord of Mars), Vampirella, Spider-Man, and more.

The Red Sonja and Vampirella themes for PS4 allow users to view amazing art each time they boot up their game systems, and are available for purchase here:

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/themes/dynamite-entertainment-red-sonja-theme-1/cid=UP2176-CUSA01679_00-TPGDEREDSONJA401

https://store.playstation.com/#!/en-us/games/themes/dynamite-entertainment-vampirella-theme-1/cid=UP2176-CUSA01679_00-TPGDEVAMPIREL401

We’ve fallen a little behind on our Dynamite news so here’s a big catch-up post with all the news — and rest assured more is to come.

• Corrina Bechko (the excellent Invisible Republic from Image and Star Wars: Legacy) will write the Aliens / Vampirella horror crossover. Javier García-Miranda does interiors while Gabriel Hardman, another Beat favorite, provides the covers. A Vampirella/Aleisn team-up sounds a bit odd, but ampi can corssover with anyone, and here she investigates a bloddy mystery on Mars. OK THEN! The book comes out in September.

§ More Swords of Sorrow! A Swords of Sorrow: Miss Fury / Lady Rawhide one shot and a Cosplay Edition of Swords of Sorrow #3, inspired by cosplayer Tabitha Lyons. The scene reënects J. Scott Campbell’s cover to SoS #1 withTabitha Lyons as Red Sonja, Tasha Mackenzie as Dejah Thoris, Chiquitita Cosplay as Jungle Girl, and Mojo Jones as Vampirella.

Slated for release in September, the Swords of Sorrow: Miss Fury / Lady Rawhide special unites the rebellious Western heroine of yesteryear with the unpredictable — perhaps dangerously so — costumed crime-fighter, whether they like it or not. Written by Mikki Kendall and illustrated by Ronilson Freire, the one-shot comes with a cover by artist Mirka Andolfo.

• A 250-page artbook devoted to Jose “Pepe” Gonzalez, with an intro by Joe Jusko and hundred of images from the Vampirella artists career. Check out the gallery below, this stuff is nice.

Renowned for bringing to life the most beautiful women the art world has ever seen, Gonzalez’s career spans from drawing British romance comics to movie stars, book covers to commercial advertising. For the first time ever, author David Roach covers Gonzalez’s entire career, transcending his vast body of Vampirella work to explore the full breadth of the master’s creations.

• Alice Cooper vs. Chaos!, a five-issue miniseries pitting the world-renowned rock ‘n’ roll icon against Evil Ernie, Chastity, and Purgatori. Tim Seeley (Hack/Slash, Batman: Eternal) and Jim Terry (The Crow: Skinning the Wolves) share writing duties for the event series, with Terry performing double-duty as the series artist. Joyce Chin (Swords of Sorrow) will provide covers. This sounds weird but I guess you had to be there!

“Diving headfirst into the Chaos! universe has been incredible, like being pushed out of a plane into a combat zone filled with gods, nut jobs, and the most gorgeous women you could fathom,” says co-writer and artist Jim Terry. “I’m doing my best to keep up with it and hopefully kick in a little dramatic flair, as well as my own (and Tim’s) particular brand of madness. Add Alice Cooper to the mix and we’re hoping to leave fans breathless from action, horror, and mind-bending rock ‘n’ roll surrealism.”

• Finally, a new six issues miniseries called Voltron: From the Ashes, written by Cullen Bunn (Deadpool, Captain America) and illustrated by Blacky Shepherd (3 Days in Darkness). Set two hundred years after the events of Dynamite’s previous Voltron series, the miniseries will introduce a new team to pilot the five lions that form the Defender of the Universe. The debut issue will launch in September 2015 and feature cover artwork from acclaimed Transformers artist Alex Milne. Mecha stuff if you like that kind of thing.

Dynamite has had a lot of news this week in the busy Toy Fair/ComicsPRo period, including an exciting crossover event the return of two iconic heroes, and a new merchandise line. Here’s a digest version:

• Mark Waid is writing Justice, Inc.: The Avenger with artist Ronilson Freire. The series debuts in June and expands on the Justice, Inc., universe and vigilante industrialist Richard Henry Benson. variant covers include Alex Ross (Kingdom Come), Walter Simonson (The Mighty Thor), Francesco Francavilla (Afterlife with Archie), Marc Laming (All-New Invaders), and Barry Kitson (The Amazing Spider-Man).

In Justice, Inc.: The Avenger #1, Waid and Freire continue the adventures of Richard Henry Benson, a victim of a criminal attack that left his facial features forever deadened, gray in color and incapable of showing genuine emotion. And yet, the harsh stroke of fate gave him the ability to mold his face to match the appearance of anyone… a skill he could employ as the ultimate master of disguise. Driven to mete out retribution against those who would prey on the innocent, The Avenger finds himself on a collision course with a villain even more secretive, brutal, and unrelenting than himself: an Invisible Man.

Mark Waid’s participation in the Avenger launch fulfills a longtime writing goal; he says, “Moreso than The Shadow, moreso than Doc Savage, the Avenger has always, always been my favorite pulp hero, and I’ve been aching to write this story since I was eleven years old. What a blast! Having the opportunity to dive into the psyche of a crimefighter as unique as Benson has been a lifelong dream — I’ve been thinking about what his life and mind would be like ever since I read my first Avenger paperback back in the day. How does a man live his life when he has nothing to live for but justice? How does he navigate in a world of life and love and joy when his own features are frozen and stiff like putty, mirroring his cold, dead insides? There’s so much here to unpack.”

• Will Eisner’s The Spirit is coming back in a series written by Matt Wagner and covers by Alex Ross, Eric Powell, and Wagner. DEny Colt, a masked everyman crimefighter, was the center of an iconic series by Eisner and has been brought back most recently at DC.

“I discovered The Spirit via the black-and-white, magazine-sized reprints of the mid-70s. It was the first time that I truly perceived sequential narrative as a legitimate art form, of the immense creative power of a comic-artist in his prime,” says Wagner. “I can honestly say that seeing and experiencing The Spirit in my formative years ultimately led to my career as a comics author. It’s such an immense thrill and a professional honor to have the chance to contribute to Will Eisner’s legacy on the milestone 75th anniversary of his most influential and iconic character.”

• Joining the wave of female led titles that is changing the ace of the industry, in May Swords of Sorrow is a giant crossover event featuring Red Sonja, Vampirella, Dejah Thoris with an all-female writing team led by Gail Simone. The event kicks off with a Swords of Sorrow series by Simone, Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella / Jennifer Blood miniseries written by Nancy A. Collins (Vampirella, Swamp Thing); Swords of Sorrow: Chaos special by Mairghread Scott (Transformers: Windblade); and the Swords of Sorrow: Masquerade / Katospecial by G. Willow Wilson (Ms. Marvel) and Erica Schultz (M3). In later months, more projects by Leah Moore, Marguerite Bennett, Emma Beeby, and Mikki Kendal will debut. That’s a lot of female writers!

In keeping with the theme, variant cover artists include a main cover byJ. Scott Campbell (Danger Girl); variants by Jenny Frison, Emanuela Lupacchino; a subscription edition by Robert Hack available to fans placing preorders with their local retailers; and incentive editions by Joyce Chin, Tula Lotay, Nei Ruffino, Cedric Poulat.  Swords of Sorrow: Vampirella / Jennifer Blood #1 and the Swords of Sorrow: Masquerade / Kato special both feature covers by Billy Tan, while the Swords of Sorrow: Chaos special spotlights Joyce Chin.

Gail Simone, who has been planning the project since her involvement was announced in July, says, “Here’s the thing: I love pulp adventure, always have. But as male-dominated as comics have often been, the pulp adventure world seems to be even more so.  Most of the big name stars and creators are dudes, and that’s fine, it’s great. But it hit me… what if that wasn’t the case? What if adventure pulps had also been written with female readers in mind, and awesome female characters in the spotlight? That’s the scenario we are imagining, and it’s just been a blast. The key players are Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris, but it’s such an epic-spanning, world-hopping event that we also have Kato, Jungle Girl, Lady Rawhide, Jennifer Blood, and so many more. It’s the crossover I dreamed of when I was a kid, and now we get to make it happen.”

Simone’s core Swords of Sorrow story serves as the starting point for a new universe of pulp adventure. Illustrated by Sergio Davila (Legenderry: A Steampunk Adventure), the series features the supernatural heroine Vampirella, Martian princess Dejah Thoris, crimson-tressed swordswoman Red Sonja, martial artist Kato (from filmmaker Kevin Smith’s reboot of The Green Hornet), primal warrior Jungle Girl, and many more. Drawn from a dozen worlds and eras to face off against a legendary evil that threatens their homelands, Dynamite’s fiercest females must overcome their differences to harness the power of mystical blades — the eponymous Swords of Sorrow — in final conflict.

Gail Simone also serves as the architect for all storylines tied into the event, providing direction to her personally selected team of writers. “We got the best writers around, gave them a fun combination of characters and just let them go wild,” says Simone. “It’s creators like G. Willow Wilson, Marguerite Bennett, Nancy A. Collins and more, with book titles like Vampirella vs. Jennifer Blood, Kato vs. Masquerade, and Red Sonja vs. Jungle Girl. More about these tag teams will be coming soon, but it’s just a ridiculous amount of fun to set these characters against each other, and I’m very proud of the astounding team of writers, who I hand-picked from among the very best of new female adventure writers. There’s never been a crossover event in comics like this, ever.”

• Finally, Dynamite has entered into a partnership with The Brewing Factory, the merchandise development company founded by former DC vp Georg Brewer. The line debuts with Women of Dynamite, a line of female figures including Vampirella designed by Jason Smith and based on the artwork of J. Scott Campbell), set for June release.

“I’ve been really fortunate to work on some great projects these last few years, but my first love will always be comics,” says Georg Brewer. “Working with Nick and Joe at Dynamite, and their talented comics creators, has been a blast! It’s certainly been a fantastic way for me to get back to where it all started, and along with sculptor Jason Smith, we are creating an amazing line of statues.”

”We are extremely fortunate to work with someone of Georg’s knowledge, skill, experience, and sterling reputation,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher ofDynamite Entertainment. “His passion and expertise in the development and manufacturing of cool fan collectibles is second to none, and our being able to work with Georg is going to help bring fans additional great product lines featuring Dynamite’s extensive library of characters. The debut product line resulting from our creative partnership will be Women of Dynamite statues inspired by J. Scott Campbell artwork, and from there, we will continue to delve into our expansive library of intellectual properties.”

Whew!

Battlestar Galactica art edition? Why yes, when Walt Simonson drew it. Dynamite is adding to its oversized Art Editions line with Simonson’s BSG book, Jose Gonzalez’ Vampirella and Marvel’s John Carter Warlord of Mars series which had art by Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Dave Cockrum and more. Tasty!

Dynamite Entertainment proudly announces the expansion of their Dynamite Art Edition line to include three new high-end collections that meticulously reproduce the actual storyboard and cover artwork from classic 1970s comic books. Jose Gonzalez’s Vampirella Art Edition and Walter Simonson’s Battlestar Galactica Art Edition celebrate the seminal work of two master storytellers, while the Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter: Warlord of Mars – The Marvel Years Art Edition showcases the artistry of numerous industry legends, including Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino, Dave Cockrum, and many more.  Scanned in high-resolution color and printed at the original size of the artwork, these gorgeous hardcover collections preserve every detail of the prestigious artists’ meticulous skill and hard work.

The process of creating each oversized Art Edition format involves high-resolution color scanning of original storyboard artwork, capturing the look of the artwork as originally illustrated, with all blue lines, corrections, pasted letters, editorial notes, and other distinctive creative elements intact. Each scan is then printed on heavy stock paper to give readers the most realistic experience of what it would be like to hold actual storyboard pages.

 Jose Gonzalez’s Vampirella Art Edition honors an illustrator whose mesmerizing and macabre interpretation of the raven-haired heroine established him – in many readers’ minds – as the definitive Vampirella artist. Introducing an unparalleled level of sophistication to the visual storytelling of Warren Publishing’sVampirella Magazine in the 1970s, Gonzalez transformed the one-time horror hostess into a layered protagonist and industry icon. Longtime fans will thrill to see his mesmerizing and macabre artwork in the Art Edition’s high-quality reproductions, representing ten complete stories selected from throughout his entire body of Vampirella work, including “Resurrection of Papa Voudou” (as written by Archie Goodwin), “The Blood Queen of Bayou Parish” (Steve Englehart), “An Eye for an Eye” (Bill DuBay), “Spawn of the Star Beast” (Rich Margopoulos), and more.

 

“For me, the initial exposure to Jose Gonzalez’s lush artwork was eye opening.  The reproduction of the original stories in black and white allowed for a subtlety which was never approached in four color comics.  I was lucky enough to be able to acquire a number of stories from the original series over the years.  I am looking forward to Dynamite Entertainment’s efforts to expose new readers to the artwork that I love and to give longtime fans access to the work as it was originally created.”  Steven Morger of Big Wow Art.

 

Walter Simonson is one of the most prolific artists ever to work in the comic book medium, a universally admired innovator whose work – whether it be onManhunter, The Fantastic Four, The Mighty Thor, Jack Kirby’s Fourth World, the list goes on – leaves a mark in the hearts and minds of readers for years afterwards. Walter Simonson’s Battlestar Galactica Art Edition commemorates the master draftsman’s senses-shattering work on the Battlestar Galactica comic book series, published by Marvel Comics from 1979 to 1981. Truly, the adventures of brash pilots Apollo and Starbuck were never so epic as they were under Simonson’s skillful hand, as demonstrated in the scanned storyboard art of the complete stories contained therein. While Simonson himself assumes writing chores in many of the Art Edition contents, contributing writers also include Steven Grant, Roger McKenzie, and Bill Mantlo.

 “Marvel’s Battlestar Galactica comic will always hold a special place in my heart.  I’d been penciling the series for a year in the late 1970s when I was given the opportunity to write a few issues.  It was my first professional writing gig, and I loved it.  I wrote four of the title’s last five issues.  I knew the characters as they had developed in the comic quite well, and as a fledgling writer, I had no idea what I was doing, and consequently, no fear.  I got reference from every Galactica book or magazine I could find at the time, and I studied video tapes of the episodes my pal, Allen Milgrom, had made on what have been one of the earliest home video tape machine.  The late Archie Goodwin, one of the finest writers and editors the comics business has ever seen as well as a friend, was very complimentary about the writing and offered me my next writing gig when Galactica wrapped. My career as a writer/artist in comics had been launched, thanks in large part to Adama, Apollo, Starbuck, and the rest of the doughty crew of the Battlestar Galactica and their bitter enemies, the Cylons.  Thanks, guys.  I don’t know that I could have done it without you.” States Artist (and writer on final issues) Walter Simonson  

The John Carter: Warlord of Mars – The Marvel Years Art Edition is the product of a recent and comprehensive licensing agreement between Dynamite Entertainment and Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., a fruitful arrangement that opens the vaults of the Burroughs library for the enjoyment of science fiction and fantasy fans everywhere. This Art Edition collects high-end reproductions of stellar artwork from a huge assembly of industry pioneers, including Gil Kane, Rudy Nebres, Bernie Wrightson, Alan Weiss, Ernie Chan, Sal Buscema, Larry Hama, Ernie Colon, Carmine Infantino, Dave Cockrum, Alex Nino, George Perez, John Byrne, Bob McCleod, Ricardo Villagran, and Mike Vosburg. The cover artwork and interior pages are drawn from throughout the 1977-1979 run of John Carter: Warlord of Mars originally published by Marvel Comics.

“We are very pleased that our new licensing agreement with Dynamite Entertainment not only creates a fully new John Carter: Warlord of Mars comic book line, but also encompasses the reproduction of the rich, vibrant art of earlier periods by many masters of the medium”, said James Sullos, President of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.  “These are some of the legendary artists who contributed so much to comic art.  I know that fans everywhere will want to add this beautiful edition to their collections”.
“I was thrilled to hear that Dynamite is doing a John Carter of Mars art edition.  I have a great fondness for the original novels and the Marvel comic book series was released shortly after I had finished reading the books.  The series boasted work by some of the true giants in the industry and seeing the original art at its full size will be such a treat.  I acquired my first John Carter original art page more than 30 years ago and continue to collect to this day.  I am happy to be sharing art from my collection and I am also looking forward to seeing all of the other contributions.” Tom Fleming of Fanfare.
“Words cannot begin to express how delighted I am that we’re able to announce the expansion of our Art Edition Program. With timeless classics like Dynamite’s Vampirella, with the first series focusing on incredibly talented artists, with the first being Jose Gonzalez, to one of my heroes, Walter Simonson on one of his earliest works, Battlestar Galactica, where you can see he was always destined to be one of the greats. Add to that Gil Kane, Carmine Infantino and many other great artists in the Warlord Of Mars Marvel Years Art Edition,” States Dynamite CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci.  “These are great high end collectibles for fans, and just the tip of the iceberg for what we have in store for 2015!”

The Dynamite Art Editions are solicited for retailer orders in Diamond Comic Distributors’ Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market. Comic book fans are encouraged to place preorders through their local comic book retailers or online booksellers.

Red Sonja, Dejah Thoris and Vampirella are teaming up…but not in the same story unless we’re rely lucky. They’ll be the stars of The Women of Dynamite, an ongoing anthology series being written by Gail Simone. Because Gail likes writing the ladies, and the ladies like Gail writing them. It’s called an “event” series,. so I guess it’ll be limited. Pub date not announced.

While it might be a bit uncharitable to note that none of these characters are overburdened with a dry cleaning bill, they are definitely long running female pulp characters, and a lot of diverse readers are fond of them all.

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce an exciting new event series featuring the most iconic female characters published by Dynamite, as written by sensational comics scribe, Gail Simone.  Renowned for her deft handling of DC Comics’ best-known and most powerful women (Batgirl, Wonder Woman,Birds of Prey), Simone will unite and celebrate the strong female characters of Dynamite’s publishing line, including Red Sonja, Vampirella, Dejah Thoris, and more, in a series currently under a working title of The Women of Dynamite.

The heart of The Women of Dynamite is formed by the three bestselling heroines – the female triumvirate – of Dynamite’s line as the central characters:  Red Sonja, Vampirella, and Dejah Thoris.  The “She-Devil with a Sword” known as Red Sonja, is fantasy fiction’s most prominent female character, formerly a swashbuckling ally of the Robert E. Howard character, Conan.  Vampirella, originally a horror hostess in her self-titled magazine, evolved over her forty-five year history into a supernatural detective.  Finally, Dejah Thoris is the eponymous heroine of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ original story featuring John Carter, A Princess of Mars, and an adventurous mainstay at Dynamite with the publication of such series as Warlord of Mars and Dejah of Mars.  Additional female characters from Dynamite’s ten years of publishing will be included in the event.

“When I first spoke with Nick about working at Dynamite, he graciously offered my choice of a huge list of great characters, and I immediately chose a favorite, Red Sonja.” Says Writer Extra-Ordinaire Gail Simone.  “But that meant leaving behind amazing characters I loved!  So doing this big, fun, noisy event book, full of action and fun and drama and sex and villainy, featuring some of the wildest female characters out there, that’s just awesome.  Getting to work with some of the most talented female writers in the industry only makes it better!”

“After working so closely with Gail on Legends of Red Sonja, I am excited to see where we’ll be going next with this epic character crossover,” says Molly Mahan, Associate Editor of Dynamite. “The concept of a Women of Dynamiteseries has been something we’ve been circling around for a while now, but had to wait for the right concept and creators to come together to make the story as worthwhile as the concept. We are lucky to have Gail as the cornerstone on this project and I know we’ll craft something that the fans and comics community will enjoy across demographics.”

“Gail has been an absolute pleasure to work with,” says Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment. “The thought of bringing together the strongest female characters that Dynamite publishes in to an event has been discussed for years, and we could not be happier that Gail is the creator who will tell this tale.  Her work on Red Sonja has been a delight, and as fans who read her work know, she has many tricks up her sleeve.  Gail is going to make this event HUGE!  Just wait until you see what she has in store for the rest of Dynamite’s strong female characters.”

Gail Simone first debuted on a Dynamite series with the 2013 launch of Red Sonja, an ongoing series which was met with immediate critical acclaim and an impressive sell-out of its 35,000-unit first printing.  She has committed to writing chores for Red Sonja through its eighteenth issue.  She also assembled a team of fiction’s top female writers, well-respected professionals from the prose, fantasy gaming, and comic book worlds, for a collaborative project calledLegends of Red Sonja, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the titular character.  She additionally will contribute a story to the upcoming Vampirella: Feary Tales miniseries.

Simone got her start in comics writing for Bongo Comics, home of The Simpsons. Soon after, she entered the traditional superhero comics genre with a run on Marvel Comics’ Deadpool (later called Agent X). In recent years, Simone is best known for known for fan-favorite story arcs on DC Comics’ Birds of Prey, Secret Six, Wonder Woman, and Batgirl.

The Women of Dynamite will be solicited in an upcoming Diamond Comic Distributors Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market.  Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of The Women of Dynamite with their local comic book retailers.  The Women of Dynamite will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

Vampirella is still going strong after 45 years, and say what you will, the lady has some legs. Ba dum ching. Anyway, Dynamite will be published a new anthology series called Faery Tales, run by Nancy Collins and featuring an intriguing line-up of horror and fantasy comics folks, including John Shirley, Joe R. Lansadle, Gail Simone, Steve Bissette and more. The book comes out in October.

Some classic brokeback on those covers, but it comes with the territory.

Dynamite Entertainment proudly celebrates the 45th anniversary of horror hostess and comic book heroine Vampirella with the upcoming October release of Vampirella: Feary Tales #1, the first chapter in a collaborative miniseries event spearheaded by acclaimed novelist and ongoing Vampirella series writer, Nancy A. Collins.  An anthology series held together by a unique, cohesive framework, Feary Tales will feature the creative talent of Gail Simone, Stephen R. Bissette, Elmo Eklabuz, Ronilson Freire, Devin Grayson, Jack Jadson, Joe R. Lansdale, Elaine Lee, Stuart Moore, Steve Niles, John Shirley, Denis St. John, and Eric Trautmann.

“Seeing as this is the 45th anniversary of Vampirella’s creation, Dynamite has decided to mark the occasion by taking her back to her roots,” says writer Nancy A. Collins.  “We’ve got some of the best writers in comics slated to deliver the short, sharp shocks that the Warren magazines were famous for.  I am both excited and humbled that these incredibly talented creators have signed on to celebrate Vampirella’s birthday.”

Nancy A. Collins, the bestselling author renowned for her horror fiction in comics (Swamp Thing) and novels (Sunglasses After Dark,VAMPS), assembled a team of today’s most accomplished writers to contribute “twisted tales, bizarre bedtime stories, and fearsome fables” in the tradition of the classic Warren Vampirella magazine publications.  In Feary Tales, a dimensional rift traps Vampirella in an alternate dimension where an enigmatic Storyteller forces her to live out classic tales of terror and whimsy, providing the context for a wealth of creative interpretations of the beloved character.

“Today’s comic book fans still recognize Vampirella, but many don’t realize that she wasn’t just a fanged and buxom adventuress,” says author Nancy A. Collins.  “Like her fellow Warren Publications horror hosts, Vampirella served as ‘ghostess with the mostest’, lacing her introductions to the various stories that graced her black-and-white magazine with puns and double entendres.”

Devin Grayson (comic book writer of Nightwing, Batman: Gotham Knights, and Titans) and John Shirley (award-winning horror and science fiction author, and screenwriter for the 1994 cult classic film, The Crow) join Collins on Vampirella: Feary Tales #1.  In the debut issue, Vampirella is surprised to discover herself married to an infamous wife-killer in “Bluebeard’s Blood” (penned by Grayson), and then finds herself both the belle and the bête of the ball in “Cinderella? Vampirella!” (by Shirley).  Artists on issue #1 include Jack Jadson, Ronilson Freire, and Elmo Eklabuz.

Subsequent issues will include writers Gail Simone, Stephen R. Bisette, and Denis St. John (issue #2); Elaine Lee and Joe R. Lansdale (#3); Stuart Moore and Eric Trautmann (#4); and Steve Niles (#5).

“We first started working with Nancy when she was a part of the Legends of Red Sonja series that Gail Simone oversaw with Joe Rybandt – an incredible event celebrating Sonja’s 40th Anniversary.  When Nancy took over as the writer of the new Vampirella series, she asked if she could do the same Legends-style concept for Vampirella’s 45th Anniversary.  How could we say no?  Nancy has brought her ‘A’ game, and has brought together an all-star line-up of writers to help celebrate the occasion.  Feary Tales is an incredible series with fantastic writers, and the diversity of its creative voices will bring new audiences to our femme fatale,” says Dynamite CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci.

Dynamite will celebrate the new Vampirella: Feary Tales #1 with a variety of cover options, including a Main cover by Jay Anacleto (Warlord of Mars); Variant covers by Joe Jusko, Art Adams, and Fabiano Neves; and a “Warren Years Homage” Subscription cover by David Roach reserved for those hardcore fans who place preorders with their local comic retailers.

Vampirella: Feary Tales #1 will be solicited in Diamond Comic Distributors’ August Previews catalog, the premiere source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and slated for release in October.  Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies ofVampirella: Feary Tales with their local comic book retailers.  Vampirella: Feary Tales will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital.

By Mariah Huehner

[Writer.editor Mariah Huehner is no stranger to vampires, having written a few issues of True Blood fro IDW. Thus when the opportunity to review esteemed horror author nancy A Collins came up, who better to get the scoop on the new Vampirella?]

Nancy A. Collins, the highly acclaimed and prolific horror novelist behind Sunglasses After Dark and Vamps, is returning to comics with Dynamite’s new VAMPIRELLA ongoing comics. Celebrating the character’s 45th anniversary this year, the opening arc, “Our Lady of Shadows” promises to be an exciting new chapter in this iconic characters story.

And who better to talk about Vampirella’s next quest than the author herself? Here’s what Nancy has to say about everyone’s favorite comic book vamp.

HUEHNER: Great to chat with you Nancy, even via email. First off, the most obvious question: what attracted you to Vampirella as a character that you just had to pen this new comic?

NANCY COLLINS: Well, to tell you the truth, she kind of fell in my lap. Gail Simone initially contacted me about doing a Red Sonja short story for the  LEGENDS OF RED SONJA 40th anniversary mini-series for Dynamite. Luckily, the editorial team was a huge fan of my run on SWAMP THING, back in the 1990s, which  lead to me pitching a Red Sonja one-shot to Nick. And that resulted in Nick asking if there were any of Dynamite’s characters I’d like to write. I named a few–including DARK SHADOWS–but not Vampirella, because I knew there was a monthly series already in place. So I was surprised when Nick offered me the book–contingent on a proposal, which turned out to be OUR LADY OF SHADOWS.

I used to read VAMPIRELLA back when it was a black & white magazine, back when I was a young teen. The chance to write for one of the handful of iconic female characters from my youth was too good to pass up!

HUEHNER: As a horror fan and writer, what do you think draws people to vampires and stories of the dark and weird?

COLLINS: Vampires are versatile monsters. Depending on the writer (and reader), they can represent the romanticism of Undying Love, the toxicity of the Demon Lover, the parasitism of the Ruling Class, the demonization of The Other in society–I can keep going with the analogies.
As for what draws people to such stories–I believe horror fiction (which exists in some form throughout the world) serves a purpose, in that it enables readers to experience the darkness that is part of human nature without exposing them to true danger, not unlike a thrill ride in a carnival.
HUEHNER: Vampirella has such an iconic, unique, look, established by noted herstorian Trina Robbins. Obviously she’s incredibly sexy, but there’s more to her than that.What do you think her most important character traits are?

COLLINS: Her sense of purpose–to save the world and keep Humanity safe, no matter what the cost–is probably her most identifiable character trait.

HUEHNER: What elements are you retaining from her history (if any)?

COLLINS: I’m keeping elements from the Harris run–such as her being the daughter of Lilith, as opposed to being from a planet of vampires–and the fact that she has, at least during her Dynamite incarnation, been recently working with a covert arm of the Vatican to fight monsters and try to avert the Apocalypse. I will also be reintroducing characters from the Warren continuity, albeit re-tooled  for a modern readership and to fit into the existing history.

HUEHNER: Since your story has Vampirella working for the Vatican,  and her history has included everything from being the daughter of Lilith to dealing with gods of Chaos, will there be a lot of religious and spiritual themes in this story?

COLLINS: I wouldn’t call the storylines we’ll be seeing as having a religious theme, although they might feature characters from biblical  pseudepigrapha–unless you consider TV shows such as SUPERNATURAL ‘religious’.

HUEHNER: For those not familiar with the character, what should people know about Vampirella before getting into your story? Or would you say this is a great place fornew readers to jump in?

COLLINS: I think the OUR LADY OF SHADOW arc is as good a “jumping-in” point as any.

HUEHNER: Sex and vampires has become almost a cliché at this point, but we never seem to get tired of it as an audience. Vampirella has a lot of sexual powers, is it something you feel like she struggles with or embraces?

COLLINS: Sexuality and the undead have a long history. Especially since DRACULA is often interpreted as a parable about the spread of syphilis in Victorian society. As for Vampirella, readers will get to see her use her seductive powers for both good and bad.

HUEHNER: As a “good” vampire, Vampirella has to deal with people’s perceptions and assumptions of her, many of which are not true. Since this story will be taking a darker approach, can we expect more of that tension for her as her story progresses?

COLLINS: It’s very easy to portray her as a superheroine with fans, as opposed to a vampire. I want to recapture some of the moral ambiguity that was part of the character in the early Warren years by expanding Vampirella’s definitions of what is (and isn’t) “Good” and “Evil”, and forcing her to rethink her place in both human and vampire society.

HUEHNER: Can we expect some romance in Vampirella’s new adventures?

COLLINS: I have plans for a new beau for her–but I don’t foresee resurrecting Adam Van Helsing yet again.

HUEHNER: What will audiences be seeing from your Vampirella that they haven’t before?

COLLINS: You’re going to be seeing Vampirella making alliances she never  dreamed of in the past–as well as taking on responsibilities she never intended to, as a result of that decision, that will refine her world.

HUEHNER: With Dynamite tackling great characters like Red Sonja and Vampirella, engaging female characters with complicated pasts, sexual appetites, and conflicts between good and evil, are you having a lot of fun getting to explore these elements on your own terms?

COLLINS: You betcha! Nick, Joe and Molly at Dynamic Forces have been extremely supportive and are giving me a great deal of creative freedom to work with the character. I’m having a lot of fun writing for the book.

HUEHNER: Finally, if there’s one thing for people to get excited about this new take on Vampirella and her story, what would it be?

COLLINS: In order to save the world,  Vampirella throws down against some of the rarest vampires in the world. These ain’t your Daddy’s dracklers,  y’all!

VAMPIRELLA: OUR LADY OF SHADOWS is one sale in comics shops in  JUNE

Main Cover: Terry Dodson

Variant Cover: Jenny Frison

Variant Cover: Art Adams

Variant Cover: Jay Anacleto

Variant Cover: Joe Jusko

Writer: Nancy A. Collins
Art: Patrick Berkenkotter
Genre: Horror, Fantasy
Publication Date: Jun 2014

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“I’m sorry I’m late with my book”, Jimmy Palmiotti said rather humbly, opening a “spotlight” panel on March 31^st 2013 at WonderCon, and asked the audience if he ought to put on some “background music”.  Amanda Conner, his co-spotlighter, and Palmiotti explained, tongue in cheek, that if the panel appeared “random”, months of deep thought had allowed them to “plan it to be random”. Attendees were already engaged by the humor, and probably by their avid fandom of both Conner and Palmiotti’s work, in this panel Conner and Palmiotti hoped would be “interactive”.

For the first part of the panel, they followed a rough chronology of the story of their working and personal relationship together, but Q &A was welcome throughout. Palmiotti explained that the “magic started” between the couple when he inked a GARGOYLES cover for Conner and a friendship developed between them. This friendship allowed them to learn the “horrible, wonderful sides” of each other, Conner commented. Palmiotti added that they “knew each other insanely well” long before they started dating.

Their first big collaboration, where both provided their own input for a personally satisfying project, involved the VAMPIRELLA comic when Conner asked Palmiotti to create a script where she would be allowed to portray the title character “on the toilet”. Palmiotti, in gallant fashion, concocted a plot involving laxative-laced candy on Halloween, a child-eating demon, and a heroic devourer in Vampirella. Palmiotti encouraged writers to play to the desires of artists and “give them stuff they really want to draw” to produce great results. That’s been their “theme ever since”, he said. Comics have been their “career of choice”, Palmiotti reflected, even though their were “other choices” possible. Conner’s other choices, for instance, included working in advertising, and prior to that, owning a comic book store.

This chronological tour abruptly leapt to the present as both Palmiotti and Conner commented on keeping late hours, particularly at the con. The “number one rule”, Palmiotti shared sagely, is “never look at the clock. It ruins the night the next morning, worrying about it”. Then the “only indication”, he said, “is hearing birds. I don’t like that”. This commentary had the audience in uniform, vocal agreement. Conner and Palmiotti introduced another recurring topic in the panel, the sheer number of shoes Conner has managed to assemble. She insisted she had no more than 20 pairs of shoes, but Palmiotti remained dubious, putting the number at more like 600.

This speculation was interrupted by a question from the floor about the “timetable” on the planned collaboration CAPTAIN BROOKLYN. Conner explained that she’s working on a “glut of covers” at the moment, but when she’s finished those off, she’s going to stop other work and focus on BROOKLYN. Conner confirmed that they are “thinking about” the possibility of doing a Kickstarter for the project. CAPTAIN BROOKLYN, Palmiotti explained, is about a garbage man in Brooklyn, with a “house full of cats” and “Russian massage parlor girls next door” who has to devise a financial means of helping his sickly grandfather. On top of that, he comes to possess “superpowers that really don’t help his life”. Palmiotti says the book, as scripted, is “funny” but he trusts Conner to “bring it down to earth” and “ground it”, a power he feels is her particular strength as an artist. Her work “has a soul”, he said, “The eyes have a soul”, but he jokingly threatened her with finding a replacement if she doesn’t pick up the production pace.

Since the panel declared itself to be “interactive”, I asked Conner about her background studying comics art at the Kubert School in New Jersey, and whether she felt it was beneficial to study comics specifically in order to become a professional comics artist. The benefits, she said, of specialized study, is that she now knows how to “use a lot of other tools besides drawing specific to what I want to do”. At the time that she attended the Kubert School, she said, “most other art colleges frowned on comic art” and it was “not respected”. She feels things are “more open now”, but at  the time, she said, the Kubert School was “exactly what I needed”. Palmiotti commented that at that time, the Kubert School also had very few women, about 4 in her class, Conner recalled. Now comics are a “little more accepted”, Palmiotti said, and the word “geek” is on the rise.

“Now we’re the cool kids and can talk about stupid stuff”, Palmiotti commented, including channeling child-like behavior to geek out about things like films. Both Conner and Palmiotti revealed that they are avid film watchers, and particularly Palmiotti, who goes to the movies a couple of times a week. Conner focuses on particular films that catch her attention, which she watches “repeatedly”. As a kid, she was a huge fan of The Poseidon Adventure, then Star Wars, The Terminator, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and more recently, Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang.  Palmiotti’s most recent film enthusiasm is for the film Upside Down, particularly fascinated by this love story featuring reverse gravity fields and conflict between differing worlds.

An audience member brought up the subject of the completion of Conner’s run on SILK SPECTRE from the BEFORE WATCHMEN series, a project that ran only four issues rather than a possible six. “It could have stretched to 6”, Conner said, but she found it wasn’t necessary to do so. She declared herself relieved to have finished the job, since it was “labor and research intensive” to make sure she “blended it into the original storyline” of the mid to late ‘60’s. Her goal, which made the job more difficult, was to present “not people’s perception of the 60’s, but actually the ‘60’s” in contrast to our current, commercial views of the time period. This quest led her to contact her mother and her aunts, the youngest of which was “Laurie’s age” during the same time period. Palmiotti, who witnessed Conner’s rather excruciating commitment to historical accuracy in her art, came to call SILK SPECTRE “that effin’ book’ (which was the PG-13 version of the phrase).

Palmiotti said that Conner “became obsessive with every building” she drew, as well as clothing. The “layout” for Laurie’s house, apparently, was drawn from a single panel featuring a single room in the house in WATCHMEN. Conner built an “entire house” around a living room contained in the original comic. Palmiotti reminded the audience, who then applauded, that Conner’s work on SILK SPECTRE has since been nominated for a Reuben Award in “good company” with Evan Dorkin, and Bernie Wrightson, two of their favorite creators.

I asked Conner and Palmiotti what, particularly, they are looking for that they find attractive in a project in terms of character and plot. Palmiotti replied that he’s looking for several things, including the “soul of a character”, “what they want”, “what they fear” and “something at stake”. He’s very drawn to idea of romance in comic books. “It’s there even in JONAH HEX”, he said. “I like the idea of two people who have something in common, a goal”, Palmiotti explained. Even if he’s writing “horrible people”, he’s “looking for a likeable trait”. His example prompted a lot of laughter from the audience, proving the maxim “It’s funny because it’s true”. He said that even “Hitler’s dog thought Hitler was awesome” because the dog, being fed and tended by his master, could find a likeable trait. You have to “find those things in the characters”, he said, and ask yourself, “Why would we care?”.

Conner’s particular take on character focuses on the idea of perfection and imperfection. “I try not to make the character so perfect”, she said, preferring to create a character who is “someone like you know”. She wants her comics audience to react by thinking, “I know somebody who’s just like that”. That’s one of the reasons Palmiotti finds Spielberg films compelling, he explained, since they “start with the hero screwing up” and “we relate”. If a hero is “too perfect, there’s push-back”. He doesn’t respond to films where there’s a “super handsome guy and a perfect girl”, finding them “boring”.

An audience member’s question about Conner’s work drawing BARBIE in the past led to an energetic discussion of Wonder Woman as a character and the possibilities of new directions for her books. “I would love to write WONDER WOMAN”, Palmiotti admitted; he sees her as “more down to earth, less superior” than some other creators since being “too perfect” is a turn-off, though he thinks some solid work has been done on WONDER WOMAN. He observed that in some WONDER WOMAN comics he’s read, the creators “make everyone else more interesting” than Wonder Woman and he can’t understand that approach. “She’s the most interesting person in the room”, he pointed out, not her surrounding characters. Of course, he added, he would only want to write WONDER WOMAN with Conner as the artist on the project.

The last few questions fielded by Palmiotti and Conner included their typical work schedules, which they revealed to be opposite, and therefore difficult in timing, Conner’s recollections about her work for indie magazines, which she described as “guerrilla comic book making”, and what comics they like to read right now. Conner cited Terry Moore, finding herself “rivetted” by every story. Palmiotti’s a big fan of Darwyn Cooke’s work, but also always comes home with a “stack” of comics from the shop on Wednesdays. He buys every #1 issue from every company, he revealed, and continues to “try everything… like it’s my job”.

Conner and Palmiotti certainly presented a fully interactive panel, so much so that when panel time ran out, it felt like an interrupted conversation with plenty more to say. Hearing stories from their daily life and their work suggested that the divide, especially for these collaborators, is artificial, with influences moving back and forth constantly. Maybe that’s the secret to their wide-ranging output in comics, and a glimpse of the reason behind the energy they continually bring to the industry. The panel illustrated well the benefits of the “spotlight” approach to con appearances giving enough time and focus on particular creators to generate a conversation with their audiences.

Photo Credits: All photos in this article were taken by semi-professional photographer and pop culture scholar Michele Brittany. She’s an avid photographer of pop culture events. You can learn more about her photography and pop culture scholarship here.

Hannah Means-Shannon writes and blogs about comics for TRIP CITY and Sequart.org and is currently working on books about Neil Gaiman and Alan Moore for Sequart. She is @hannahmenzies on Twitter and hannahmenziesblog on WordPress.