Just how many times Dracula’s story (or Vlad the Impaler) can be retold depends on who is crafting the story. I recall Topps had a take I quite liked back in the day and it’s been reprinted (Amazon link). The latest is Dracula Book I The Impaler, I can’t wait to sink my fangs into this too! I can’t say which one is the best, as they all have their merits, and the latest from writer Matt Wagner, artist Kelley Jones, colourist José Villarrubia, and letterer Rob Steen is sure to please too! The teaser pages I was offered showed just how much more bloodier and scarier it is going to get.
The project marks the first ever collaboration for Wagner and Jones, two legendary comic book creators and longtime friends. The book, which began as a crowdfunding sensation on Kickstarter, will be available in comic shops and bookstores for Halloween 2024.
From the Press Release:
“When Kelley Jones and I decided to launch the first volume of our new collaboration, Dracula Book I The Impaler as a Kickstarter campaign, we always knew we also wanted to offer it via more traditional publishing channels,” said legendary Grendal creator Matt Wagner. “The overwhelming success of our campaign only solidified the need for that option, with both retailers and readers alike begging us for a mass-market edition in addition to the exclusive, hardcover Kickstarter versions. When it came time to partner up with an established publisher for that alternative, there really was no other choice to consider but Dark Horse Comics. Dark Horse and I have enjoyed an incredible collaborative relationship for over 35 years and their reputation for quality material and their support of creators’ rights is a well-deserved hallmark in the comic’s industry. We’re thrilled to team up with them to bring our epic to an even wider audience!”
“Having the good fortune of having drawn comics for Dark Horse like Aliens Hive and Zombie World as well as my own creator owned comics The Hammer and 13th Son,” said Jones, the iconic artist of Batman & Dracula: Red Rain and Sandman: Season of Mists. “I’ve had an even better experience buying comics from Dark Horse like Grendel and Hellboy and so many others. So I’m extremely happy that Dark Horse will publish the trade edition of Dracula Book I The Impaler. It just seems right!”
The first of four planned volumes, Dracula Book 1 The Impaler explores the legendary Count before his debut in Bram Stoker’s iconic novel—from his first foray into the dark arts to his rise to lord of the undead! The series of books will fill in these tantalising gaps to provide a terrifying portrait of Vlad Dracula, exploring his bloody history and his tenure at Satan’s legendary seminary of the dark arts, the Scholomance.
“Dracula Book I The Impaler achieves what seems impossible: to present the vampire in a fresh way that is at the same time deeply rooted in its true bloody origins,” said colourist José Villarrubia. “Wagner and Jones are pulling no punches here, with an unsettling story that recalls the Giallo classics of the 1960s.”
“The first graphic novel explores what led Dracula to seek out Satan’s tutelage and how he became the lord of the undead,” explains Wagner. “Kelley and I are enormous fans of Dracula and the many interpretations of his mythic story. Our version of Dracula is bloody and brooding, sexy and strange. This is very much a horror story, with deep roots in Stoker’s novel, but believe me when I tell you this isn’t yet another retelling of the novel in comics form. This is something haunting and new.”
