Vampirella () is a

fictional Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, ...

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 ...

superheroine A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...

created by

Forrest J Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction authors, science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror ...

and comic book artist

Trina Robbins Trina Robbins (born Trina Perlson; August 17, 1938, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American cartoonist. She was an early participant in the underground comix movement, and one of the first female artists in that movement. In the 1980s, Robbins beca ...

Warren Publishing Warren Publishing was an American magazine company founded by James Warren (publisher), James Warren, who published his first magazines in 1957 and continued in the business for decades. Magazines published by Warren include ''After Hours (magazin ...

's black-and-white

horror comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

magazine A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...

''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of ''

Creepy Creepiness is the state of being wikt:creepy, creepy, or causing an unpleasant feeling of fear or wikt:unease, unease. A person who exhibits creepy behaviour is called a creep. Certain traits or hobbies may make people seem creepy to others. The ...

'' and ''

Eerie ''Eerie'' was an American magazine of horror comics introduced in 1966 by Warren Publishing. Like '' Mad'', it was a black-and-white magazine intended for newsstand distribution and did not submit its stories to the comic book industry's voluntar ...

''. Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostesses, in which capacity she remained through issue #8 (Nov. 1970), to a horror-drama leading character. The magazine was published continuously until 1983, when Warren Publishing ceased operations and its assets were bought by

Harris Publications Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

. ''Vampirella'' comics, both new and reprints, have continued through various publishers into the 21st century.

Publication history

Warren Publishing

Vampirella initially appeared in

's black-and-white

horror-comics Horror comics are comic books, graphic novels, black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction. In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the ...

magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), running to issue #112 (March 1983),''Vampirella'' (Warren, 1969 Series)
at the

Grand Comics Database The Grand Comics Database (GCD) is an Internet-based project to build a database of comic book information through user contributions. The GCD project catalogues information on creator credits, story details, reprints, and other information useful ...

. plus a 1972

annual Annual may refer to: * Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook ** Literary annual * Annual plant * Annual report * Annual giving * Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco * Annuals (b ...

reprinting stories from the series, and a 1977 special with color reprints of José González stories. The title was a sister magazine of Warren's horror anthologies ''

'' and ''

''. Like those magazines' respective mascots, Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie, Vampirella hosted horror stories, though unlike them, she would also star in her own story, which would headline each issue. ''Vampirella'' was initially edited by Bill Parente. It would later be edited by Archie Goodwin (issues #7–12, 34–35),

Billy Graham William Franklin Graham Jr. (November 7, 1918 – February 21, 2018) was an American evangelist and an ordained Southern Baptist minister who became well known internationally in the late 1940s. He was a prominent evangelical Christi ...

(#13–16),

Bill DuBay William Bryan Dubay (January 11, 1948 – April 15, 2010William Bryan Dubay

Louise Jones (#51–86). According to comics historian Richard J. Arndt, "

Forrest Ackerman Forrest James Ackerman (November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008) was an American magazine editor; science fiction writer and literary agent; a founder of science fiction fandom; a leading expert on science fiction, horror, and fantasy films; a p ...

created, or at least had a strong hand in creating, Vampirella and he clearly had a major influence in shaping the lighthearted bad-girl story style of this issue as well." Her costume and hair style were designed by comics artist

. The character's first story artist was

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort D.A. Russell (Wyoming), Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyom ...

. Artist

Frank Frazetta Frank Frazetta (born Frank Frazzetta ; February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010) was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers, and other media. He is ...

's first-issue cover was a substitute for the original cover by European artist

Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character, he appears in all seven chronicles of the series. Aslan is depicted as a talking lion, and is described as the King of Beasts, the ...

. Additiona
Webcitation archive
José González became the character's primary artist starting with issue #12. Other artists who would draw Vampirella during her magazine's original run included Gonzalo Mayo,

Leopold Sanchez Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name) * Leopold (surname) Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold Bloom, the protagonist o ...

Esteban Maroto Esteban Maroto (born 1942) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Born in Madrid, he began his career in the 1960s with series like ''Cinco por infinito'', published in English by Continuity Comics as '' Zero Patrol'' (heavily retouched by ed ...

, José Ortiz, Escolano,

Rudy Nebres Rodolfo D. Nebres (born January 14, 1937) is a Filipino comics artist who has worked mostly as an inker in the American comic book industry. Known for his lush, detailed inklines, Nebres' most prolific period was in the late 1970s and the 1980s. ...

Ramon Torrents Ramón Torrents (born 6 December 1937) is a Spanish comic book artist. Career Ramón Torrents was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, northern Spain. He began his career drawing for the comic ''Space Ace''. He later worked on romance comics for Brit ...

Pablo Marcos Pablo Marcos Ortega, known professionally as Pablo Marcos
at the

Rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

in ''Eerie'' #94–95, and with most of the Warren characters in a company crossover special in ''Eerie'' #130.

Harris Publications

Upon Warren's bankruptcy shortly afterward,

acquired the company assets at auction in August 1983, although legal murkiness and a 1999 lawsuit by Warren publisher James Warren resulted in his reacquisition of the rights to sister publications ''Creepy'' and ''Eerie''.

Harris Comics Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

published Vampirella stories in various series and

miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

from 1991 to 2007, beginning with ''Vampirella'' #113 (1988), a one-issue continuation of the original series, containing Vampirella reprints and one unrelated new story. Harris subsequently published the all-reprint

one-shot One shot may refer to: Film and television * One-shot film, a feature film shot in one long take with no edits, or manufactured to look like so * ''One Shot'' (2005 film), a Sri Lankan action film directed by Ranjan Ramanayake * ''One Shot'' (2 ...

''Vampirella vs. the Cult of Chaos'', and the four-issue

''Vampirella: Morning in America'' (Sept. 1991 - April 1992) by writer

Kurt Busiek Kurt Busiek ( ) (born September 16, 1960) is an American comic book writer. His work includes the ''Marvels'' limited series, his own series titled ''Astro City'', a four-year run on ''The Avengers (comic book), The Avengers, Thunderbolts (comics ...

and penciler Louis La Chance. Three ongoing series followed: * ''Vampirella'' #1-5, followed by #0 (Nov. 1992 - Dec. 1994), primarily by plotter Busiek, scriptwriter

Tom Sniegoski Thomas E. Sniegoski is an American novelist, comic book writer and pop culture journalist. Career A number of Sniegoski's works have been related to the Buffyverse, the fictional universe established by TV series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and ...

, and penciler Louis Small Jr.; * ''Vengeance of Vampirella'' #1-25 (April 1994 - April 1996) by writer Sniegoski and artist Aldrin Aw (under the pseudonym Buzz), and later pencilers including Kirk Van Wormer, Kevin Sharpe,

David Perrin David John Perrin (born 29 March 1944) is a former Australian politician. He was born in Geelong to Thomas Perrin and Winifred, ''née'' Clarke. An accountant with a Bachelor of Business in Accounting from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Techno ...

Chris Batista Chris Batista is an American comic book artist, known for his work on a number of titles for Marvel Comics and DC Comics, including ''Steel'', ''Spaceknights'' and ''Thunderbolts''. Career Batista is an alumnus of Manhattan's School of Visual Ar ...

, and

Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Ha ...

. * ''Vampirella Strikes'' #1-7 (Oct. 1995 - Oct. 1996) by writers Sniegoski, David Quinn,

Mark Millar Mark Millar (; born 24 December 1969) is a Scottish comic book writer and television producer who first came to prominence with a run on the superhero series '' The Authority'', published by DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint. Millar has written ex ...

, and

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 ...

, and pencilers including

Ed McGuinness Edward McGuinness is an American comic book artist and penciller, best known for his work on books such as ''Superman'', ''Superman/Batman'', ''Deadpool'', and ''Hulk''. His pencil work is frequently inked by Dexter Vines, and as such, their cove ...

Karl Moline Karl Moline is a comic book artist and the co-creator (along with Joss Whedon) of Fray. He provided the artwork for Fray, as well as the associated Fray-centric story in Tales of the Slayers. In 2001 he signed an exclusive contract with CrossGe ...

, and

. The three-issue miniseries ''Vampirella Lives'' (Dec. 1996 - Feb. 1997) featured writer

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is a British comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ( ...

and penciler Conner. Additionally, Harris published several one-shots: ''Vampirella Summer Nights'' (title per its trademarked cover logo) / ''Vampirella's Summer Nights'' (as in the indicia's copyright information) (1992), by writer

Steve Englehart Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett. Early li ...

and penciler Joe Brozowski (under the pseudonym J. J. Birch), ''Vampirella/Shadowhawk: Creatures of the Night'' (Feb. 1995), ''Vampirella Pin-Up Special'' (Oct. 1995), and ''Vengeance of Vampirella: The Mystery Walk'' (Nov. 1995). Harris also reprinted much material. The 1993 trade-paperback collection ''Vampirella: The Dracula War'' reprinted a serialized story from Harris' ''Vampirella'' #1-4. The 1994 ''Cain / Vampirella Flip Book'' reprinted a 1993 Vampirella story by writer Busiek and artist Arthur Adams from Harris' ''Creepy 1993 Fearbook''. The five-issue ''Vampirella Classic'' (Feb.-Nov. 1995) reprinted Warren stories. ''Vengeance of Vampirella: Bloodshed'' (March 1995) reprinted a serialized story from the ''Vengeance of Vampirella'' series. The publisher additionally reprinted Warren stories in the trade-paperback ''Vampirella: Transcending Time & Space'', (1992) ''Vampirella: A Scarlet Thirst'' (1993), and ''Vampirella & The Blood Red Queen of Hearts'' (Sept. 1996); and the series ''Vampirella of Drakulon'' #1-5, followed by #0 (Jan.-Nov. 1996). At the

Fangoria Weekend of Horrors Weekend of Horrors was traditionally a tri-annual (with occasionally more) traveling convention which focuses on horror films. Formerly produced in partnership with Creation Entertainment, the Weekend of Horrors show is now owned exclusively by ' ...

convention in January 2007, Scott Licina,

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

Fangoria Comics Fangoria Comics was an American publisher of horror American comic book, comics, releasing issues solely in the year 2007. It was a distinct unit under the larger Fangoria (magazine), Fangoria Entertainment umbrella, which also included Fangoria M ...

, announced his company had acquired the character from Harris. However, on April 30, 2007, Harris editor Bon Alimagno denied there had been such an arrangement in place and that Fangoria's claim was "not factual". Harris subsequently launched the title ''Vampirella Quarterly''.

Dynamite Entertainment

On March 17, 2010,

Dynamite Entertainment Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of '' The Boys'' franchise across several IP medias. Dynamite primarily publishes adaptation ...

acquired the rights to Vampirella from Harris Comics. The publisher started a new ongoing series with ''Vampirella'' #1, in November 2010. A new monthly series, ''Vampirella and the Scarlet Legion'', was released in May 2011 following the main title. The series lasted 38 issues before concluding in January 2014. The title was rebooted in June 2014 with ''Vampirella'' vol. 2, #1 by author Nancy Collins. The 2014 series would continue with Volume 3 in March 2016, which was noted for giving Vampirella a new costume. A second reboot and fourth relaunch overall, ''Vampirella'' vol. 4, began in 2017. The series was first written by Paul Cornell, and later by Jeremy Whitley. A fifth relaunch, written by Christopher Priest and Ergun Gündüz, began publication in July 2019 and commemorated the character's 50th anniversary. The run lasted 25 issues long and ended with Vampirella's marriage to Dracula, spinning off into a new series in 2021 titled ''Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy!'' Priest has announced a 2022 ''Vampirella:Year One'' series following Vampirella's first year on Earth. In 2019, Dynamite also revived the series ''Vengeance of Vampirella'', which had been the name of a Harris-era comic, and hired the original writer of that series, Thomas Sniegoski, to write a continuation of the original series. A sequel called ''Vampirella Strikes'' has been announced for May 2022. Vampirella appears in the 2020 crossover series ''

Die!namite In comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company or company crossover) is a comic or series of comics in which characters, that at the time of publication are the property or licensed property of one publisher, meet characte ...

'', which depicts her as an ambassador attempting to reach the new Drakulon colony. She has appeared in the sequels of Die!namite called Die!namite Lives and Die!namite Lived, Now It Never Dies!. She fought Purgatori in ''Vampirella vs Purgatori'' (2020)'','' leading into Purgatori's own comic series in 2021. Sniegoski, alongside Jeannine S. Acheson, launched a 2021 Vampirella multiverse comic called ''Vampiverse,'' in which Vampirella must figure out what's killing all the other Vampirellas.A oneshot spinoff has been announced following one of the Vampirellas called ''The Vamp''.

Mike The Pike Productions

On March 2, 2021, Mike The Pike Productions, Inc.'s subsidiary Arowana Media Holdings, Inc. acquired the worldwide film, television and streaming rights to

's Vampirella. Including stories, characters, and derivative works of the Vampirella universe.

Fictional character biography

Vampirella originally hailed from the planet Drakulon, a world where blood flowed like water and where the natives, called the Vampiri, shared traditionally vampiric characteristics. Drakulon orbited a binary star which caused continuous droughts throughout the year. Unfortunately for the Vampiri, these droughts have gradually dried up their blood supply; threatening them with extinction. Vampirella's journey begins when an American space shuttle crashes on Drakulon. Hoping to save her people, she travels to Earth where she begins hunting dark remnants of her own race. Earth's vampires originate from Dracula, a forgotten member of the Vampiri race who left his homeworld centuries ago only to be corrupted by the demonic entity known as Chaos.

Harris continuity

After relaunching Vampirella with the miniseries ''Morning In America'', written by

, Harris Comics published the story "Mystery Walk", which revised Vampirella's origin. She learned she was, in fact, the daughter of

Lilith Lilith ( ; he, Wiktionary:לילית, לִילִית, Līlīṯ) is a female figure in Mesopotamian Mythology, Mesopotamian and Jewish mythology, Judaic mythology, alternatively the first wife of Adam and supposedly the primordial she-demon. ...

, whom popular

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

lore depicts as the first wife of

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

. Lilith would not submit to Adam and, cast out of Eden by God, spawned demons. She later repented and went to Eden to bear children to fight the evil she had created. Her first attempt was Madek and Magdalene, who turned to evil; Vampirella was her second. Madek and Magdalene brainwashed her into believing she was from Drakulon. Further retcons were presented in ''Vampirella Lives'' and in ''Blood Lust''. Drakulon was real, but was a place in Hell. Vampirella was brought to Eden, not born there. It was Lilith, not Madek and Magdalene, who made believe Drakulon was another planet. Vampirella restores the rivers of blood to Drakulon, which weakens Lilith, who is killed by the hand of God. A further revision in the "World's End" storyline revealed Lilith did not really repent and raised Vampirella to be good because she wanted to release the Heart of Darkness (heart of the fallen angel Malkuth) from

Metatron Metatron ( ''Meṭāṭrōn'', ''Məṭaṭrōn'', ''Mēṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭaṭrōn'', ''Meṭaṭrōn'', ''Mīṭṭaṭrōn'') or Mattatron ( ''Maṭṭaṭrōn'') is an angel in Judaism mentioned three times in the Talmud in a few br ...

's lance, which could only be done by a good person. Another retcon, in ''Vampirella: Revelations'', reveals the reason Lilith raised Vampirella to be good was that the existence of vampires made Lilith weaker and she wanted someone to kill them. Lilith used a magic mirror to make Vampirella believe whatever variation on her origin was necessary at the time.

Dynamite continuities

In the initial Dynamite-published series, Vampirella worked reluctantly with Dracula against a rebellious cult of his former followers. Acquiring Sofia Murray as her sidekick, Vampirella became involved in a plot by the Vatican that ultimately resurrected Von Kreist and led to Sofia's death. Vampirella severed her ties with the Vatican and found herself working for the forces of Order again. Reuniting with a resurrected Van Helsing, Pendragon, and other characters from the Warren Magazine run, Vampirella visits the future and discovers the world destroyed by the supernatural. Trying to form a supernatural kingdom to contradict this, Vampirella falls prey to a conspiracy by Dracula and a group of vampire knights that result in reality becoming unraveled. Lilith banishes Vampirella from her universe in order to save her. Vampirella was relaunched with ''Our Lady Of Shadows'' as an agent of the Vatican before being relaunched again with a new costume in ''Hollywood Horror'' under author Kate Leth. In this universe, Vampirella has recently come to Earth and become a Hollywood scream queen. She lives with her live-in boyfriend Tristan and butler Coleridge. After falling into a thousand-year sleep, Vampirella awakes in a bizarre, dystopian future, where she meets her new sidekick and girlfriend, Vicki, and a black cat she names Grit. After going on a journey through her own mind, Vampirella learns she has absorbed all the memories and experiences of a hundred Vampirellas from parallel universes. According to the ''Hack/Slash'' series, Vampirella is currently working as a radio talk show host and has several times teamed up with Cassie and her partner Vlad to stop demons and vampires instead of the standard slashers the series is known for. She and Vlad have an intense physical attraction and relationship, but broke up because his nomadic lifestyle did not mesh with hers. In the 2019 version by Christopher Priest, the writer incorporated all the previous versions of the character's history to make a comprehensive revision of Vampirella's back story. Vampirella has been on Earth for 50 years, and Draklon is an alternate version of Earth's moon. The alternate version of Earth is called Arcadia. We learn that Drakulon and Arcadia were at war which caused Aracadia to die out and Draklon became an archaic society.

Powers and abilities

Vampirella possesses many of the typical powers of mythological vampires. She exerts super-strength when facing her opponents and can move so fast that she appears as a blur of motion.''Vampirella, volume 1, issue #4''''Vampirella, volume 1, issue #10'' Her senses are far beyond those of humans, allowing her to tell one's emotional state through their scent, hear things imperceptible to humans, and see clearly in total darkness. She is very athletic, possessing great stamina, reflexes, and agility beyond that of humans. Her healing factor grants her great resilience and allows her to heal rapidly from her wounds and makes her immune to Earthly illness and toxins. Whether she is able to turn other people into vampires is inconsistent. It was a plot point in the Warren era that she could not because she was a being from another planet and not a supernatural creature, but that origin was since revised and she could do it in the

Shadowhawk ShadowHawk is a fictional antihero created by Jim Valentino. He was first advertised in the ''Malibu Sun'' free promotional magazine in May of 1992. His official Image Comics debut was in the second issue of Rob Liefeld's '' Youngblood'' series. ...

crossover. However, that crossover is out of continuity for Shadowhawk and may be out of continuity for Vampirella. She had the power to grow a giant pair of chiropteran wings to allow self-propelled flight. Her stare and even voice are

hypnotic Hypnotic (from Greek ''Hypnos'', sleep), or soporific drugs, commonly known as sleeping pills, are a class of (and umbrella term for) psychoactive drugs whose primary function is to induce sleep (or surgical anesthesiaWhen used in anesthesia ...

and seductive to humans, particularly males (she has been seen as having the ability to induce sexual arousal in men simply by being in their presence). She is shown to have the power of

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic W ...

as she was able to hear the voices of demons inside Jackie Estacado's mind. She is

immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

. In addition to her supernatural abilities, Vampirella is a formidable hand-to-hand combatant and is shown to be skilled with modern-day firearms.

Spinoffs

Christopher Priest's world of Vampirella has been expanded in spinoffs. The first is ''Sacred Six'' (2020), which follows Lilith, Vampirella's mother, protecting a vampire city with a team consisting of Nyx, Chasity, Pantha, Victory (who takes on the name Draculina), and Katie (the real Draculina). Solo series for Nyx (2021), Pantha (2022), and Draculina (2022) were launched by Dynamite soon after.

Characters

Main protagonists

* Vampirella :The heroine is a

, since she is the daughter of Lilith and needs blood to survive and has many of the typical vampiric powers, including superhuman physical abilities,

shapeshifting In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shape-shifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through an inherently superhuman ability, divine intervention, demonic manipulation, Magic (paranormal), sorcery, Incantation, ...

into a bat,

immortality Immortality is the concept of eternal life. Some modern species may possess biological immortality. Some scientists, futurists, and philosophers have theorized about the immortality of the human body, with some suggesting that human immorta ...

, and a mesmeric stare. She is not prone to the race's traditional weaknesses, such as daylight, holy water, garlic, or crosses. She does not attack people to drink their blood, except occasionally when she herself is attacked or desires to kill. *Pendragon :A former sorcerer, now a sideshow magician. Vampirella calls him "Pendy dearest" and treats him as she would a kindly old uncle. While occasionally his knowledge of magic is useful to her, Pendragon is often a liability. In the Warren stories they often travel together, seeking out evil-doers, but Pendragon is generally depicted as getting lost, getting drunk, falling asleep, or otherwise fumbling at a critical moment, thus causing a crisis. Vampirella is deeply loyal to him, however; he is the only real family she has. * Conrad van Helsing :A blind, psychic vampire hunter. He was pursuing

Dracula ''Dracula'' is a novel by Bram Stoker, published in 1897. As an epistolary novel, the narrative is related through letters, diary entries, and newspaper articles. It has no single protagonist, but opens with solicitor Jonathan Harker taking ...

and initially tried to destroy Vampirella, believing her to be kin to that vampire lord. * Adam van Helsing :Conrad's son, and the last of a long line of vampire hunters, he followed his father's steps and became a paranormal researcher. He is portrayed as more open-minded than his father. He believed Vampirella was not evil, and eventually they fell in love. Vampirella has often helped Adam in his research.

Other characters

* Tyler Westron :A physician who rescued Vampirella after a plane crash. Due to the injuries she sustained, he had to amputate her wings and was able to create a substitute blood serum that keeps Vampirella's thirst under control. *Dracula :Dracula appears as the most frequently recurring villain of the series. * The Blood-Red Queen of Hearts :Formerly known as Jezebel, or the

Whore of Babylon Babylon the Great, commonly known as the Whore of Babylon, refers to both a symbolic female figure and place of evil mentioned in the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Her full title is stated in Revelation 17 (verse 5) as "Mystery, Babylon the Gr ...

, she was once a beautiful woman of ancient Babylon. She served as high priestess of the mad-god

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

, until she offended her master by demanding that he make her his queen. As punishment, Chaos destroyed her body and trapped her soul within a Queen of Hearts playing card. Though she no longer has a physical form of her own, she has continued to exist for thousands of years as the card. Whenever a woman touches the card, she becomes the Queen. * Madek and Magdalene :Evil brother and sister of Vampirella, who planted false memories of the planet Drakulon in Vampirella's mind, in one version of her origin. * Draculina, Vampirella's blonde twin sister, who first appeared in ''Vampirella'' #2 (1969). She would make sporadic appearances in other Harris publications, such as in ''Vampirella Quarterly Summer 2008.'' She began appearing in Dynamite stories beginning in 2015. *Nuberus :The demon who tempted Vampirella with her true origin in order to gain access to Earth. * Sofia Murray :A young punk girl rescued by Vampirella who becomes her sidekick in the first ''Dynamite'' series. * Von Kreist :A former

Prussian Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

officer, now a

lich In fantasy fiction, a lich (; from the Old English , meaning "corpse") is a type of undead creature. Various works of fantasy fiction, such as Clark Ashton Smith's "The Empire of the Necromancers" (1932), had used ''lich'' as a general term fo ...

, who won his state of immortality in a card game with Satan, but at the price of steadily decaying alive. A cruel and sadistic mastermind, with a special victim preference in children. *Chaos :The ruler of Hell and the master of most of the villains that Vampirella faces. * Mistress Nyx :The daughter of a liaison between the mad-god Chaos and

Lucrezia Borgia Lucrezia Borgia (; ca-valencia, Lucrècia Borja, links=no ; 18 April 1480 – 24 June 1519) was a Spanish-Italian noblewoman of the House of Borgia who was the daughter of Pope Alexander VI and Vannozza dei Cattanei. She reigned as the Govern ...

. A demonic persona, who is bent on destroying Vampirella. * Dixie Fattoni :One of two daughters of a Mafioso boss whom she was forced to kill by von Kreist; her twin sister Pixie was turned into a vampire by von Kreist's minions. Vampirella took the orphaned girl under her wing and trained her in combating vampires. * Pantha :Initially, alien shapeshifter from Vampirella's native planet who can morph into a

black panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

. Later stories rewrote her origin to that of an ancient Egyptian cursed by the gods because of a murderous spree. She is cursed to live forever, with periods where she does not know who or what she is. * Lilith :Vampirella's mother and the first woman created by

God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...

. Her story is told in the alternate version of the events of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

, she was the first wife of

, and the mother of demons. She sent her daughter to Earth to atone for her mistakes. In Priest's run she no longer is the first woman but a woman from the Planet Drakulon. * Tristan : Vampirella's boyfriend on Drakulon in the Old Dynamite series. He is Vampirella's boyfriend in the 2016 Dynamite series. He is a werewolf who does not wish to be one and of generally affable demeanor.

Reception

Vampirella was ranked 35th in ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

's'' "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Circulation figures

From annual required Statement of Circulation. "Copies printed" refers to total print run. "Total paid circulation" refers to number of copies actually sold, which is the above number minus returns, lost/damaged copies, and free/promotional copies.

''Vampirella'' (Warren)

Comics bibliography

Spinoff bibliography

Other versions

''Vampi''

In 2000 a comic book series entitled ''Vampi'' began circulation through

Anarchy Studio Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

. The series followed Vampi, an alternate futuristic version of Vampirella that seeks to find a cure for her vampirism. The main series ran for 25 issues. Several miniseries followed under the titles ''Vampi Vicious'', ''Vampi Vicious Circle'', ''Vampi Vicious Rampage'', and ''Vampi vs. Xin''. An omnibus edition collecting the first eighteen issues of the initial run was released in 2012 through Dynamite Entertainment.

''Li'l Vampi''

In January 2014 Dynamite Entertainment released ''Li'l Vampi'', a one-shot comic book by writer Eric Trautmann and artist Agnes Garbowska. The comic followed a child version of Vampirella as she tries to uncover why monsters are destroying the town of Stoker, Maine.

Media adaptations

In 1996, a ''

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of ''Creepy'' ...

'' film adaptation was produced by

Concorde Pictures New Concorde (NC) is an American Los Angeles, California based film distribution company founded by Roger Corman. NC got its start in 1983 when Corman formed the production and distribution Concorde-New Horizons (CNH) as one of the first producti ...

, starring

Talisa Soto Miriam Talisa Soto (born March 27, 1967) is an American former actress and former model. She is known for portraying Bond girl Lupe Lamora in the 1989 James Bond film ''Licence to Kill'', and as Kitana in the 1995 fantasy action film ''Mortal Kom ...

in the title role. In 2021,

announced a new feature film was in development, in addition to plans for television adaptations based on the Vampirella Universe.

References

External links

* *
"Jim Warren Meets Vampirella"
''

Philadelphia City Paper ''Philadelphia City Paper'' was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The independently owned paper was free and published every Thursday in print and daily online at citypaper.net. Staff reporters focused on labor issues, ...

'', January 6–12, 2005
Vampirella
at

Don Markstein's Toonopedia Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

Archived
!-- Yes, the Webcite link, only. --> from the original on July 19, 2015. {{Authority control Adult comics Comics by Archie Goodwin (comics) Comics by Don McGregor Comics by Michael Fleisher Dynamite Entertainment characters Fictional vampires Comics characters introduced in 1969 Mascots introduced in 1969 1969 comics debuts Horror comics Fantasy comics Science fiction comics Horror fiction magazines Fantasy fiction magazines Harris Publications titles Warren Publishing titles Vampires in comics Fictional bisexual females Female characters in comics Female characters in advertising Female superheroes LGBT characters in comics Comics magazines published in Italy Magazine mascots Comics about women Fictional mass murderers Fictional half-demons

Publication history

Warren Publishing

Harris Publications

Dynamite Entertainment

Mike The Pike Productions

Fictional character biography

Harris continuity

Dynamite continuities

Powers and abilities

Spinoffs

Characters

Main protagonists

Other characters

Reception

Circulation figures

''Vampirella'' (Warren)

Comics bibliography

Spinoff bibliography

Other versions

''Vampi''

''Li'l Vampi''

Media adaptations

References

Further reading

External links