''Dampyr'' is an Italian comic book series created by Mauro Boselli and Maurizio Colombo and first published by

Sergio Bonelli Editore Sergio Bonelli Editore (formerly CEPIM and other names) is a publishing house of Italian comics founded in 1940 by Gian Luigi Bonelli (1908–2001). It takes its name from its former president, comic book writer Sergio Bonelli (1932–2011), son of ...

in 2000.

Plot

Characters

*Harlan Draka, also known as "Dampyr", is a Serbian vampire hunter revealed to be a

dhampir In Balkans folklore, dhampirs (sometimes spelled ''dhampyres'', ''dhamphirs'', or ''dhampyrs'') are creatures that are the result of a union between a vampire and a mortal human. This union was usually between male vampires and female mortal huma ...

, son of the Master of the Night Draka. *Emil Kurjak, a Bosnian soldier and mercenary during the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, SFR Yugoslavia from ...

, becomes Harlan's friend and trusted ally. *Tesla Dubcek, a German girl turned into a vampire, decides to join Harlan in his fight against the Masters of the Night. *Caleb Lost, human incarnation of the angel

Camael Camael, ( he, חַמּוּאֵל ''Ḥammūʾēl, "''God has warmed") also spelled Chamuel, Khamuel, Camiel, Cameel and Camniel, is the archangel of strength, courage and war in Jewish and Christian angelology. According to poet Gustav Davidson' ...

, lives in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

as a special agent against the Masters of the Night. *Draka, Harlan's father and powerful Master of the Night. *Nergal, main antagonist and chief of the Secret Police of Hell.

Publication history

The first issue of ''Dampyr'', titled ''Il figlio del diavolo'' ("Devil's Son"), was published in Italy by

on 14 April 2000. The series has been published in

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...

by Veseli Četvrtak and occasionally in other territories including Turkey (Oglak), Greece (Jemma Press), Slovenia (Grafart), Finland (Artic Banana), Croatia (Strip Agent), France (Clair de Lune), Germany (Kult Editionen), Spain (Aleta Ediciones) and Brazil (Mythos, Editora 85). A selection of eight issues was released in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

in 2005.

Adaptations

A feature film adaptation has been announced by Sergio Bonelli Editore at 2018 Lucca Comics & Games, as the first installment of the "Bonelli Cinematic Universe". It was directed by Riccardo Chemello and produced by Bonelli, Eagle Pictures e Brandon Box. Filming started in

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

in October 2019. On 1 November 2019 the cast has been revealed, with

Wade Briggs Wade, WADE, or Wades may refer to: Places in the United States * Wade, California, a former settlement * Wade, Maine, a town * Wade, Mississippi, a census-designated place * Wade, North Carolina, a town * Wade, Ohio, an unincorporated communi ...

as Harlan "Dampyr" Draka, the titular character. Other cast members include

Stuart Martin Stuart Martin (born 8 January 1986) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles in the Channel 4 comedy-drama ''Babylon'' (2014), as well as the historical dramas '' Medici: Masters of Florence'' (2016), '' Jamestown'' (2017–2019), and ''M ...

and

Frida Gustavsson Frida Gustavsson (born 6 June 1993) is a Swedish model and actress. Career Gustavsson was discovered at an IKEA when she was 12 years old. She began modeling locally in 2008, and in the same year she moved to Japan to pursue modelling. She ope ...

as Dampyr's allies Emil Kurjak and Tesla Dubcek, David Morrissey as the antagonist Gorka, Sebastian Croft as Yuri and

Luke Roberts Luke Justin Roberts (born 25 January 1977) is a sports director and former Australian racing cyclist specialising in both track cycling and road bicycle racing. Born in Adelaide, South Australia, he resides both in Adelaide and in Cologne, G ...

as Draka, Harlan's father. On September 21, 2022 the poster and trailer for the movie were released, announcing October 28, 2022 as the release date in Italy.

References

External links

* *{{Cite web, url=https://www.comics.org/series/42126/, title=Dampyr, website=Grand Comics Database, access-date=7 December 2019 Italian comics titles 2000 comics debuts Horror characters Italian comics characters Comics characters introduced in 2000 Fictional Serbian people Italian comics adapted into films Italian superheroes Comics set in Serbia