Dynamite Begins New Originals Line With ‘Vampirella: Black, White & Blood ‘
by Erik Amaya
Dynamite is going original.
The company announced Thursday a new imprint, “Dynamite Originals.” The first endeavor in the initiative is Vampirella: Black, White & Blood from Arancia Studio, Mirka Andolfo, and “a heavy-hitting roster of creators taking on the company’s flagship character.” The entire book will feature black & white art with splashes of red to highlight, well, Vampi’s tendency to get bloody.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled about this book,” Andolfo said in a statement. “Vampirella is such an iconic character … I had the pleasure of drawing her before, but this is my first time writing her. And I really hope it’s not my last, because I had a lot of fun, also because I was surrounded by phenomenal creators! You’re going to see some great things…”
She teams with artist Greta Xella for “Redefining Shadows.” The tale features what Dynamite calls “the most unlikely team-up for the Daughter of Drakulon” as she faces “a group of talented female artists, writers, and creatives, setting out to redefine their approach to fiction and challenging the dominant male narratives and gaze in the comics industry.”
Tim Seeley and Zulema Scotto Lavina offer up “Undercover,” in which the Daughter of Drakulon is the prime suspect in a series of violent murders. To clear her name, she “goes undercover, embedding herself in a gang of vicious vampire hunters.” But getting to the heart of the mystery may lead her to someone closer than she expected.
In “The Ballad of Blind Love,” Steve Orlando and Alessandro Amoruso depict “a love story like no other.” A mob boss’s affection for Vampi leads to increasingly extreme offerings and “heinous sacrifices.” Eventually, she demands the ultimate from him. Will his devotion prove true?
Andolfo also provides a cover for the book, as do Stjepan Šejić, Jae Lee, and Joseph Michael Linsner as seen in the gallery above). Each will available in standard editions and as special variants via the Vampirella: Black, White & Red Kickstarter. Other variants, signed editions, and graded copies will also be available through the campaign, which begins April 16th.
