This October, the visionary, Oregon-based comic book publisher Dark Horse Comics will publish DRACULA BOOK 1: THE IMPALER, a bold and terrifying secret history of the world’s most famous vampirefrom writer Matt Wagner, artist Kelley Jones, colorist José Villarrubia, and letterer Rob Steen. 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 now be available in comic shops and bookstores in time for Halloween 2024.
“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 GRENDEL 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 comics industry. We’re thrilled to team up with them to bring our DRACULA 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 1: 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 tantalizing gaps to provide a terrifying portrait of Vlad Dracula, with DRACULA—BOOK 1: THE IMPALER exploring Dracula’s 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 colorist José Villarrubia. “Wagner and Jones are pulling no punches here, with an unsettling story that recalls the Giallo classics of the 1960’s.”
“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.”
Je demande à en voir plus.
Voilà :
Miam !!
Bon en attendant, je vais relire : Batman Red Rain 
Hum…
(Merci)
Deal
In 1897, Bram Stoker’s classic novel introduced the most famous literary character of all time—the terrifying vampire lord, Dracula. Now Dark Horse Comics and legendary comic-book creators Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones have teamed up to fill in the tantalizing gaps in the undying centuries of Dracula’s blood-drenched biography in an epic ongoing series of graphic novels. After the resounding runaway success of their first volume Dracula: Book I – The Impaler, these legendary masters of the comic-book arts are returning to the story of the count with Dracula: Book II – The Brides, which explores the mysterious identities of the beautiful and seductive sirens that make up Dracula’s sinister harem. Dark Horse Comics will publish the second of four planned volumes in bookstores on November 18, 2025 and in comic shops on November 19, 2025.
Matt Wagner in the announcement said:
Readers who enjoyed the first volume of our epic exploration into the secret history of the world’s most famous literary character—DRACULA: BOOK I–THE IMPALER—will find even more sinister and horrifying thrills in our next chapter, BOOK II—THE BRIDES. This ongoing project is a real labor of love for both Kelley and me and we couldn’t be happier with our results. Whereas BOOK I was a look into Dracula’s hellish origins, THE BRIDES is even bigger, badder and bloodier than ever as we unveil the unique and mysterious backstories for this sinister trio of vampiric vixens whose brief appearance in the book is so utterly unforgettable. But this is still Dracula’s story…we’ll see how the centuries he’s spent in his decaying castle lead him closer and closer to the events of Bran Stoker’s classic novel. And, after all, how few days go to make up a century.
Artist Kelley Jones added:
The blood of Dracula and that of his Brides he so lusts for pumps swiftly through my veins as I draw Matt’s amazing epic of the Impaler’s unlife. I can easily say nothing like this has been told and nothing like this has been seen before. Dracula can now be shown in his total horrific glory. His dangerous and beautiful wives will make the undead lord reveal more of himself. Each page is one more step to his fate and each volume is one more century he comes closer to us on a cursed journey you must read to believe. Man, I am glad Matt and I get to bring this to you all. It’s the book I was born to draw.
The first volume of Wagner and Jones’s Dracula saga was a runaway hit, breaking the Top 20 in Kickstarter’s all-time most successful graphic novel campaigns. Dracula: Book II – The Brides presents 120 pages of sexy and sinister story and art, almost 30 pages longer than Book I. Wagner and Jones are once joined for this creepy foray into the shadows of Castle Dracula by the stellar talents of José Villarrubia on colors and lettering by Rob Leigh.
