Dynamite Entertainment has announced a brand-new Vampirella comic book series to celebrate the character’s 50th anniversary. The ongoing series will be written by Christopher Priest, with art & colors by Ergun Gunduz, and lettering by Willie Schubert.
The first issue will feature a wraparound cover by Frank Cho, with variant covers by Alex Ross, Joe Jusko, and Guillem March, plus a cosplay cover featuring model Erica Fett, an incentive cover by Adam Hughes, and a limited edition cover by Sanjulian:
Priest stated: “This version of Vampirella is set in the real world, as real as I’m allowed to make it. What if an alien from another planet were stranded here? What if that alien looked like one of the Kardashians and wore barely any clothing at all? And had fangs, drank blood and sprouted bat wings? We’d assume she was a vampire. But she’s not a creature of occult origins. She’s a Martian who’s now stuck here with us idiots who stereotype her as this thing because she looks and functions a certain way. That would seem to be an allegory for how we treat each other; for racism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious persecution.”
Gunduz said: “Priest’s powerful storytelling pierced through my heart like a stake. The story is so thrilling and delightful that I’ve set my hand free, it’s drawing by itself. Neither I nor readers can have enough of this Vampirella.”
Priest added: “I’m having a blast writing this thing and artist Ergun Gunduz is an absolute gift to me. His intuition, sensitivity, and stellar sequential art chops are simply amazing; a refreshing break from the superhero house style. His amazing color rendering takes the work to an even higher level, making me look and sound smarter than I actually am.”
Dynamite Senior Editor Matt Idelson stated: “Priest is a guy who loves to challenge conventions, that’s part of what makes him so great. As a kid, though, I’m sure he drove his mother insane. This series is definitely going to challenge the readers, but not in a not-entertaining way. It’s been a blast to work on so far, and having a year-long plan with seeds being planted from the outset and watching them grow as we go along is incredibly fun and satisfying, and I think it’ll be that way for the readers as well. And I can’t say enough good things about Ergün. The quality of his work is pretty self-evident, and his storytelling and attention to detail are magnificent. I’m honestly in heaven working with this team.”
Dynamite CEO & Publisher Nick Barrucci stated: “This is a truly historic moment for Vampirella and Dynamite as each celebrates a landmark anniversary year in 2019! I have wanted to work with Christopher Priest forever and we had talked about it for years, but with his workload he couldn’t commit to a project. Finally, knowing that to get him I had to talk to him face to face, I drove up to see him at Terrificon, and basically said ‘this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to write the new Vampirella series for her 50th Anniversary. Give it some thought on your flight home. You’re either in or out, and I hope you’re in. I know you’ll do her justice’ and thankfully, he said yes. Everyone knows, and if they don’t they should know, that Christopher is one of the most brilliant writers in the industry, and it’s a pleasure to treat fans to his inspired take on Vampirella. His story is fresh and inspired and he is taking her to places she’s never been. Priest’s body of work will stand the test of time like few others. I cannot think of many artists who can complement Priest’s scripts as well as Ergün does with his incredible execution. It truly is an honor to be working with these talented creators – a high water mark in my career.”
Vampirella (2019) issue #1 will be released on Wednesday, July 17th, but she’ll make an early appearance in Dynamite’s Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) issue #0 on Saturday, May 4th!
