It wouldn’t be Halloween unless someone adapted some vampire fiction in the comics trends of 2024. Marvel features Blood Hunt. DC has World War V. For Kickstarter, you’ve got the legendary Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones for part two of a DRACULA story that features the Brides of Dracula aptly titled DRACULA—BOOK II: THE BRIDES.
“One of the most eerie and memorable parts of the Dracula legend is the presence of his vamipiric Brides,” said writer Matt Wagner regarding adapting the second book’s source material. “In both the novel and the litany of screen adaptations, the appearance of these beautiful and seductive sirens is always an indelible part of the narrative. And, of course, this presents us with yet another dark and beguiling story to be told. Who were these women before they became part of Dracula’s sinister harem? How and why did he come to claim them as his undead paramours? And what role do they ultimately play in his ongoing saga?”
“I was so freaking excited when Matt first told me that the second volume in our DRACULA epic would be titled THE BRIDES,” followed artist Kelley Jones. “And, wow… the story he’s written is absolutely chilling! It’s a complex portrait of what, up until now, have only ever been gruesome pin-up versions of these three women. And, make no mistake… this isn’t an attempt to shoehorn a contemporary agenda into the story. One of the things I love about Matt’s scripts is the distinct lack of modernity. These tales all feel completely accurate to the time period in which they’re set.”
“Again, our Dracula is an absolute monster,” continued added Wagner. “His relationships with anyone are grounded purely in self-interest and conquest. Whenever I’m writing these stories, I’m always picturing how wonderfully Kelley is going to draw these scenes… how he’s going to take my descriptions and transform them into something even more dramatic and terrifying. And every time he delivers visualizations that are even better than I could have imagined. Readers who enjoyed BOOK I—THE IMPALER will be blown away by BOOK II—THE BRIDES. This volume is bigger, badder and bloodier in every way!”
Check out the preview pages by Kelley Jones below:
DRACULA: BOOK II—THE BRIDES! DRACULA—BOOK II: THE BRIDES is now live on Kickstarter and has already fully-funded. The first volume of Wagner and Jones’s DRACULA saga was a runaway hit, breaking the Top 20 in Kickstarter’s all-time most successful graphic novel campaigns.
In volume 2, Wagner and Jones are once joined for this creepy foray into the shadows of Castle Dracula by the stellar talents of José Villarrubia on colors and lettering by Rob Leigh. The European-album sized hardcover editions of the books are also exclusively available only on Kickstarter.
Here’s some praise for the book:
“It is no easy thing to update the most famous horror story in history while staying totally true to the source material, but Wagner & Jones’ DRACULA does it in glorious, horrific, Lovecraftian style. The book evokes the classic elements and themes of Bram Stoker’s original while bringing an entirely new layer of eldritch terror to its most mysterious character, Vlad Dracula himself. I absolutely feasted upon the art and story alike.”—Ryan Condal (co-creator/showrunner, THE HOUSE OF THE DRAGON)
And in in our review we also loved the original:
“Wagner and Jones approach their version of Dracula with a classic sense of dark fantasy, not unlike the kind found in the pages of older horror magazines like Creepy and Eerie. It’s apt, and it creates a richly textured stage for Dracula to play in as he seeks Satan’s tutelage in the dark arts.”—COMICS BEAT
DRACULA—BOOK II: THE BRIDES runs from now until the end of the Month/Halloween.
