Just in Time for Halloween, Two Legendary Creators and an Award-winning ColoristRe-imagine a Horror Icon In the First of a Series of All-New 112-Page Graphic Novels
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 vampire from 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.”
About the writer:
Matt Wagner has enjoyed a career in comics for over forty years and is best known for one of comicdom’s most respected creator-owned titles—the centuries-spanning epic, GRENDEL and for his other, more personal, allegory, MAGE. As both a writer and an artist, Matt has also worked on a wide variety of established characters over the years which include several landmark projects starring DC Comics icon, BATMAN including two crossovers series with GRENDEL. His other mainstream work includes; SANDMAN MYSTERY THEATRE, DR. MID-NITE, GREEN ARROW, TRINITY, MADAME XANADU, ZORRO, GREEN HORNET; YEAR ONE, THE SHADOW; YEAR ONE, THE SHADOW: THE DEATH OF MARGO LANE, THE SPIRIT RETURNS, and DJANGO/ZORRO, which he co-wrote with renowned film-maker Quentin Tarantino. Matt recently returned his roots to pen the final arc in his acclaimed fantasy trilogy, MAGE: THE HERO DENIED.
Praised for his character-driven stories and his obvious love of world history and mythologies, Matt’s efforts have won multiple Eisner Awards. He has also enjoyed the distinction of being one of the only writer/artists to team his own creation with one of DC’s flagship characters in two successive BATMAN/GRENDEL crossover publications. He later continued the same motif in another critically acclaimed crossover event, writing and drawing GRENDEL VS THE SHADOW.
His most recent work has been a new GRENDEL series, DEVIL’S ODYSSEY.
About the artist:
Kelley Jones was born in 1962 and as soon as he could recall he was held spellbound by strange things and stories. This made him perfect to enter the world of comics and bring shadows and the sense of the unknown to everything he touched.His eerie and evocative version of Deadman was an award-winning hit at DC, and led him to the legendary run of stories on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman, notably ‘Dream of a Thousand Cats’ and ‘Seasons of Mist’. He followed these up with the now classic Batman graphic novel ‘Red Rain’, wherein Batman confronts….Dracula! This and a run of stunning covers for Batman and Detective for the ‘Knightfall’ epic led editor Denny O’Neil to assign Kelley the monthly Batman title which in the three years he drew it cemented him as one of Batman’s greatest creators and a comic art legend. He has continued his trailblazing style with SWAMP THING with Len Wein and the award winning series ‘Batman Kings of Fear’ and ‘Gotham after Midnight’. And now with Dracula, Kelley shows he still walks in the world of shadows and the unknown.
About Dark Horse:
Founded in 1986 as an offshoot of his comics retail chain, Mike Richardson, launched Dark Horse Comics with the goal of creating a welcoming environment for comics professionals. The company strives to be an example of how integrity and innovation can broaden a unique storytelling medium and transform a company with humble beginnings into an industry giant. Dark Horse has published modern masters such as Yoshitaka Amano, Margaret Atwood, Brian Michael Bendis, Paul Chadwick, Geof Darrow, Colleen Doran, Janet Evanovich, Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Faith Erin Hicks, Kazuo Koike, Matt Kindt, Jeff Lemire, Kentaro Miura, Moebius, Chuck Palahniuk, Eric Powell, Stan Sakai, and Gerard Way, as well as Hall of Fame legends Will Eisner, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and Richard Corben. The company also set the industry standard for quality licensed comics, graphic novels, collectibles, and art books, based on properties such as Star Wars, Stranger Things, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Legend of Korra, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, Dragon Age, James Cameron’s Avatar, Game of Thrones, Mass Effect, The Witcher, and Halo. Dark Horse established an entertainment division in 1989, finding immediate success with company-owned projects The Mask and TimeCop. Current hits from Dark Horse Entertainment include The Umbrella Academy on Netflix and Resident Alien on SyFy. Additionally, Dark Horse has a long tradition of establishing new creative talent throughout all of its divisions.