Dark Horse Comics To Publish Wagner & Jones’ ‘Dracula: Book 1 — The Impaler’
by Tony Thornley
At this point we all know the story of Dracula, so it takes something special to get us excited. Naturally comics legends Matt Wagner & Kelley Jones teaming up for their own take is definitely something special and now their book has found a publisher after a successful Kickstarter.
Teaming the duo with color artist José Villarrubia and letterer Rob Steen, Dracula Book 1: The Impaler is a reimagining of the greatest monster in horror history. The book- the first of four planned volumes- will see the longtime friends and first-time collaborators team for the story of what happened before Bram Stoker’s famous story. After the massively successful Kickstarter campaign, Dark Horse Comics will be bringing the volume to mass markets just in time for Halloween 2024.
“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,” said Wagner, the creator of the legendary Grendel epic. “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, best known for his work on Batman– particularly 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!”
This volume will chronicle the story of Vlad the Impaler as he first dabbles in the dark arts, leading up to the moment that he rises as the lord of the undead. These books will fill in the gaps we don’t know, painting a picture of Vlad Dracula unlike any fans have seen before. In this volume, we’ll see Vlad the Impaler reign in blood as well as his tenure in Satan’s seminary of the dark arts- the Scholomance.
“Dracula: Book 1- 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 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.”
Check out the cover and preview pages above and watch for more about Dracula: Book 1- The Impaler soon!
