Following an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, Dark Horse Comics will publish a new version of Matt Wagner, Kelley Jones, and José Villarrubia’s Dracula Book 1: The Impaler during the 2024 Halloween season.
Wagner is thrilled to be bringing a trade paperback edition to the masses and said “When Kelley Jones and I decided to launch the first volume of our new collaboration, Dracula Book 1: The Impaler as a Kickstarter campaign, we always knew we also wanted to offer it via more traditional publishing channels. 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!”
Jones (who is no stranger to vampires or Dracula) said “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. 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 Impaler is the first of four planned volumes, which explores Vlad Dracula’s existence before the start of Bram Stoker’s novel.
Villarrubia said that the story “…present(s) the vampire in a fresh way that is at the same time deeply rooted in its true bloody origins. Wagner and Jones are pulling no punches here, with an unsettling story that recalls the Giallo classics of the 1960’s.”
Wagner further explained that “The first graphic novel explores what led Dracula to seek out Satan’s tutelage and how he became the lord of the undead. 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.”
Look for the Dark Horse edition this fall and stay tuned to Conskipper for further updates.
