As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I grew up with comic books and remained a fan through my college years. My interest waned after I left grad school as work, marriage, and children took increasing chunks of my time. However, as my kids reached an age to show an interest in comics, I sought out a new local comic shop in the 2010s and gradually began collecting again. Lurking on the shelves near the end of the alphabet was a woman vampire in a red outfit that was revealing by bathing suit standards. As a fan and writer of vampire stories who is also not immune to artwork designed to attract the male gaze, I picked up a copy or two. I don’t remember much about the earliest issues I read. The writing didn’t engage me enough to keep reading. I’ve since learned this was a period when the writing of Vampirella could be uneven, and a lot of the writers were experimenting with the character’s backstory.
Back around the new year, Tom Hutchison of Big Dog Ink Comics offered a special on some copies of the Vampirella archive editions. These hard cover books collected the earliest Vampirella comics as published by Warren Magazines starting in 1969. In that era, Warren sought to get around the restrictions of the Comic Code Authority by publishing black-and-white horror comics in magazine-sized editions. Their flagship publications were Creepy and Eerie, which I remember seeing on the shelves back in the day.
Vampirella was introduced as a third title to join the lineup in 1969. The title character was intended to be a horror hostess in the style of Vampira, who had been on television about a decade earlier. Vampirella’s “job” was to introduce different stories in each issue of the magazine. Vampirella herself was designed by cartoonist Trina Robbins and “revamped” by Frank Frazetta. Publisher James Warren had famed fan and writer Forrest J. Ackerman create a backstory for Vampirella, introducing her as an alien from the planet Drakulon where blood flowed in rivers, but began to dry up in the heat of the twin suns. When a hapless Earth space vessel crashed on Drakulon, Vampirella discovered that humans have blood in their veins and found her way to Earth. The story proved popular enough, a sequel was penned which described Vampirella on Earth, entering a contest to become Warren Magazine’s new hostess.
The Vampirella Archive Editions collect complete issues of those early magazines. You get the Vampirella stories and the stories she hosts. The Archive Editions are well worth reading if you want to see those early Vampirella stories in context. However, if you want to follow just her story arc, Dynamite Publishing has collected her stories into Vampirella: The Essential Warren Years.
The first two stories were silly, pun-laden fun, but weren’t really designed to engage the reader at a more emotional level. Still, something remarkable happened. Readers continued to want Vampirella stories, so Warren hired Archie Goodwin to pen several stories and the stories turned really good. Goodwin’s writing is enhanced by the art of Jose Gonzalez.
Ackerman’s last story imagined that Vampirella was on her way to a hosting gig when her plane crashed. Goodwin picked up the ball and imagined that one of her fellow passengers was a descendent of renowned vampire hunter Abraham Van Helsing. The younger Van Helsing is found dead, drained of blood. Of course, Vampirella is blamed. The younger Van Helsing’s brother Conrad, and nephew Adam, begin to chase the hapless refugee from Drakulon. In the meantime, Vampirella takes refuge at a hospital where one of the doctors develops a blood serum that allows her to feed without drinking human blood. Unfortunately, the hospital also happens to be the lair of the Cult of Chaos, a group devoted to evil. Vampirella escapes the cult and eventually takes a job as assistant to a nearly washed-up, drunken magician Pendragon. Vampirella’s need for blood is nicely contrasted with Pendragon’s need for drink.
Authors such as Tom Sutton and Len Wein take up Vampirella’s story in later stories which were clearly inspired by such sources as the Hammer films of the late 1960s and early 1970s. There’s a strong story arc about Vampirella meeting Dracula. This is followed by a poignant story of Pendragon finding out what happened to his estranged wife and daughter. There’s even a story that posits that vampires have their origin in Ancient Egypt and that Vampirella is, in fact, the reincarnation of an Earth vampire of the period. I couldn’t help but wonder if Anne Rice took some inspiration from these stories when she conceived of the Egyptian origins of her vampires.
Returning to these early stories has allowed me to look at some of the later Vampirella stories with a fresh eye. I see how the writers have envisioned her as a good-hearted, but often misunderstood vampire. The best writers seem to acknowledge her campy and fun roots, while also giving her a solid adventure story.
While I can’t honestly say I was inspired by Vampirella, I was inspired by many of the writings and movies that inspired Warren’s authors. My vampires have ties to aliens. Like Vampirella, many can transform into bats. The vampires of my world attempt to help humanity and while they don’t have a blood serum, they try not to take lives unless it’s absolutely necessary. Author Lyn McConchie recently said my latest Scarlet Order novel was “A clever book that amused and enthralled me.” You can learn more about my Scarlet Order vampires at: http://davidleesummers.com/books.html#scarlet_order
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