''Fiends of the Eastern Front'' was a story published in the British comics anthology '' 2000 AD'', created by Gerry Finley-Day and

Carlos Ezquerra Carlos Sanchez Ezquerra (12 November 1947 – 1 October 2018) was a Spanish comics artist who worked mainly in British comics. He is best known as the co-creator of ''Judge Dredd''. Biography Early work Born in Ibdes, province of Zaragoza, Arag ...

. The series mixed

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s into the general horror of the Eastern front.

Plot

A diary found with an unearthed skeleton casts new light on a lost piece of history from

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. It belongs to a young German soldier who was stationed on the Eastern Front alongside a group of

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditional ...

soldiers who always fought at night. Their true nature is soon revealed and when they change sides all Hell breaks loose.

Characters

German

The

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

were: * Hans Schmitt - The main

Protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

* Karl Mueller - Hans' friend *

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

Brandt - A

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

in 1980

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Russian

The

Russians , native_name_lang = ru , image = , caption = , population = , popplace = 118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 ''Winkler Prins'' estimate) , region1 = , pop1 ...

were: * The

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...

- An unnamed rabbi who performs the

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

* The

Golem A golem ( ; he, , gōlem) is an animated, anthropomorphic being in Jewish folklore, which is entirely created from inanimate matter (usually clay or mud). The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew ben Bezalel, the late 16th-century ...

- Created by the Rabbi to destroy Costanza and his Vampyr * Jesf Charnosov - A member of SMERT KROFPEET

The Vampyr (Blood Pack)

The

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

s were: * Hauptmann Costanza -

leader **

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

Grant - An

alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...

of Costanza's * Corporal Gorgo - Costanza's chief

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

* Corporal Cringu - Costanza's loyal

thrall A thrall ( non, þræll, is, þræll, fo, trælur, no, trell, træl, da, træl, sv, träl) was a slave or serf in Scandinavian lands during the Viking Age. The corresponding term in Old English was . The status of slave (, ) contrasts with ...

* Fourteen other unnamed Vampyr followers

Bibliography

They have appeared in their own series (the original run being released as a single volume by

Rebellion Developments Rebellion Developments Limited is a British video game developer based in Oxford, England. Founded by Jason and Chris Kingsley in December 1992, the company is best known for its ''Sniper Elite'' series and multiple games in the ''Alien vs. Pre ...

in June 2006 and a new series starting to coincide with this) as well as cropping up elsewhere and now feature in a series of novels.

Comics

*''Fiends of the Eastern Front'': ** "Fiends of the Eastern Front", written by Gerry Finley-Day, art by

, in ''2000 AD'' #152-161, February–April 1980 (collected in hardcover, October 2005, ) ** "Stalingrad", written by

David Bishop David Bishop may refer to: *David Bishop (writer) (born 1966), New Zealand novelist, playwright and comics writer *David Bishop (runner) (born 1987), British Scottish international middle-distance athlete *David Bishop (gymnast) (born 1990), New Ze ...

, art by Colin MacNeil, in ''Judge Dredd Megazine'' #245-252, May–December 2006) ** "1812", written by

Ian Edginton Ian Edginton is a British comic book writer, known for his work on such titles as ''X-Force'', '' Scarlet Traces'', '' H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds'' and ''Leviathan''. Career Ian Edginton is known for his steampunk/ alternate history wor ...

, art by Dave Taylor, in ''2000 AD'' #2100–2105, September 2018 ** "Fiends of the Western Front", written by

, art by Tiernen Trevallion, in ''2000 AD'' #2111–2115, December 2018 - January 2019

Cameo appearances in other series

*'' Judge Dredd'': " Helter Skelter" (with Garth Ennis;

(1-7, 10-12) and

Henry Flint Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

(8-9), in ''2000 AD'' #1250-1261, 2001) *''

The Scarlet Apocrypha ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'': "Red Menace" (with

Dan Abnett Dan Abnett (born 12 October 1965) is an English comic book writer and novelist. He has been a frequent collaborator with fellow writer Andy Lanning, and is known for his work on books for both Marvel Comics, and their UK imprint, Marvel UK, sinc ...

and

, in '' Judge Dredd Megazine'' #4.17, 2002) *''Fodder'' (with

Hannah Berry Hannah Berry is a British comics artist and writer based in Brighton. She is the third UK comics laureate and the first woman to be offered the role, taking over from Charlie Adlard in 2019. In 2018 she was inducted as a fellow of the Royal S ...

and Dani K, in 2000AD Free Comic Book Day 2016)

Novels

Black Flame released a series of novels based on the series, all written by

: *''Fiends of the Eastern Front'': ** ''Operation Vampyr'' (December 2005 ) ** ''The Blood Red Army'' (April 2006, ) ** ''Twilight of the Dead'' (August 2006, ) ** ''Fiends of the Rising Sun'' (July 2007, ) The first three books were collected in one volume, ''Fiends of the Eastern Front'' (672 pages, February 2007, ) The novel ''Fiends of the Rising Sun'' deals with the same premise but with vampire samurai in the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

References

''Fiends of the Eastern Front''
at Barney *{{comicbookdb, type=title, id=16199, title=''Fiends of the Eastern Front''

External links

Review of the trade paperback
2000 AD Review Comics set during World War II