Christopher Priest To Take ‘Vampirella’ Back To ‘Year One’
by Erik Amaya
Christopher Priest is finally talking Vampirella back to the beginning.
Dynamite announced Tuesday the imminent arrival of Vampirella: Year One. The miniseries — from Priest, artists Giovanni Timpano and Ergün Gündüz, and letterer Willie Schubert — starts in the present day with Vampi still experiencing the fallout from Vampirella / Dracula: Unholy. And while hiding out from “every demon, vampire, whack-job zealout, reporter, and law enforcement officer on Earth hunting,” she recalls how it all began … in 1969 New York. The series also promises to go further back in her history.
“I’m actually a bit surprised this hasn’t been done before. There are vast areas of Vampirella’s life, especially her childhood on Drakulon, which remain largely unexplored,” Priest said in a statement. Portions of Year One will follow-up on the Drakulon he and Gündüz introduced in Vampirella #18-21. “The remaining issues will take an odd turn on the E.T. story, examining the plight of many refugees who come to America seeking asylum and freedom,” he continued. “Vampirella leaves Drakulon on a mission of mercy, unaware that, due to the crude state of Earth technology, it will be a one-way trip.” Now stranded in late ’60s New York, Vampi is “squarely back in the pages of her original Warren Publishing book, with cameos from some of the original cast.”
Priest also added “the book is a lot of fun while also exploring important themes of who we are as Americans and how to live up to our core values.”
Covers for the first issue include work from Collette Turner, Lucio Parrillo, Guillem March, Derrick Chew, Joseph Michael Linsner, a Rachel Hollon cosplay cover, and a limited incentive cover featuring the jaw-dropping pencils of Kevin Nowlan.
Vampirella: Year One #1 is scheduled for release in July.