Vampirella

For the manga version of this character, see Vampi.

Vampirella
Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969). Cover art by Frank Frazetta
Publication information
Publisher	Warren Publishing (1969–83) Harris Publications (1991–2010) Dynamite Entertainment (2010–Present)
First appearance	September, 1969
Created by	Forrest J Ackerman Trina Robbins
In-story information
Alter ego
Species	Vampire
Place of origin	Drakulon
Notable aliases	Vampi
Abilities	Vampirism Shapeshifting Immortality Inhuman Nature Superhuman Strength Superhuman Speed Superhuman Senses Night Vision Healing Factor Superhuman Endurance Flight Superhuman Agility Hypnosis Telepathy
Vampirella
Series publication information
Schedule	Monthly
Format	Ongoing series
Genre	horror, fantastic
Publication date	(Warren) September 1969 - March 1983 (Harris - vol. 1) November 1997 - April 2000 (Harris - vol. 2) March 2001 - August 2003 (Dynamite) November 2010 - Present
Number of issues	(Warren): 112 (Harris - vol. 1): 26 (Harris - vol. 2): 22 (Dynamite): 10 (as of October, 2011)
Creative team
Writer(s)	(Warren) Archie Goodwin (Harris - vol. 2) Mike Millar (Dynamite) Eric Trautmann
Artist(s)	(Warren) Jose Gonzalez Gonzalo Mayo (Harris - vol. 1) Louis Small (Harris - vol. 2) Mike Mayhew (Dynamite) Fabiano Neves

Vampirella is a fictional character, a comic book vampire heroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and costume designer Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969). Writer-editor Archie Goodwin later developed the character from horror-story hostess, in which capacity she remained through issue #8 (Nov. 1970), to a horror-drama leading character.

Publication history

Warren Publishing

Vampirella initially appeared in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror-comics magazine Vampirella #1 (Sept. 1969), running to issue #112 (March 1983). The title was a sister magazine of Warren's horror anthologies Creepy and Eerie. 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, 34-5), Billy Graham (#13-16), Bill DuBay (#21-50, 87-95, 101-102) and Louise Jones (#51-86).

As comics historian Richard J. Arndt describes, "Forrest Ackerman 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 artist Trina Robbins. The character's first story artist was Tom Sutton. Artist Frank Frazetta's first-issue cover "was a substitute for the original cover by European artist Aslan."

Jose Gonzalez 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, Esteban Maroto, José Ortiz, Escolano, Rudy Nebres, Ramon Torrents, Pablo Marcos, Jim Janes, John Lakey, Val Lakey, and Louis Small, Jr..

Backup features appearing in Vampirella included "Tomb of the Gods", "Pantha" and "Fleur". Vampirella herself also appeared in a story with fellow Warren characters Pantha and the Rook in Eerie #94-95, and with most of the Warren characters in a company crossover special in Eerie #130. The final issue of the original Vampirella was cover-dated March 1983.

Harris Publications

Upon Warren's bankruptcy shortly afterward, Harris Publications 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 published Vampirella stories in various series and miniseries from 1991 to 2007. Harris also published Vampirella #113, a one-issue continuation of the original series, containing solely reprinted stories, in 1988.

At the Fangoria Weekend of Horrors convention in January 2007, Scott Licina, editor-in-chief of Fangoria Comics, 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 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.

Fictional character biography

Vampirella was originally presented as an inhabitant of the planet Drakulon, a world where people lived on blood and where blood flowed in rivers. Draculon orbits twin suns that were causing droughts across the planet, marking certain doom for Vampirella and her race. The race of which Vampirella was born, the Vampiri, were able to transform themselves into bats at will, sprout wings when required, and drink blood.

The story begins with the inhabitants of Drakulon dying slowly due to the drying up of its blood. The last few lie dying when a spaceship from Earth crashes on the planet. Vampirella, sent to investigate, is attacked; retaliating, she discovers that the astronauts have blood in their veins. In order for her race to survive, she manages to pilot the ship back to Earth where her adventures begin. Vampirella becomes a "good" vampire, and devotes her energy to ridding our world of the homegrown "evil" kind.

Harris Comics revived Vampirella in the miniseries Morning In America, written by Kurt Busiek. Soon thereafter, Vampirella was established as being brainwashed by her sister and brother (in the story "Mystery Walk") and led to believe she was from the planet Drakulon. She learned that she was, in fact, the daughter of Lilith, whom popular medieval Jewish lore depicts as the first wife of Adam. Lilith would not submit before Adam and was cast out of Eden. She mated with demons in hell, giving birth to vampires who would kill the offspring of Adam and Eve on Earth. Later, she sought redemption from God and gave birth to Vampirella, whom she sent to Earth to kill all evil vampires. According to this account, Drakulon was a part of Hell where Lilith lived and ruled.

Characters

Vampirella Lives #2 (Jan. 1997). Cover art by Adam Hughes.

• Vampirella

The heroine is considered a vampire, since she needs blood to survive and has many of the typical vampiric powers, including increased strength and reflexes, shapeshifting into a bat, and a mesmeric stare. She is not prone to the group's traditional weaknesses, such as daylight, holy water, garlic, or crosses. She cannot, most importantly, transform others into vampires. She does not attack people to drink their blood, except occasionally when she herself is attacked. She is almost always scantily clad in her signature red sling suit with a white collar and wearing shiny black knee-high boots.

• Conrad van Helsing

A blind, psychic vampire hunter. He was pursuing Dracula 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. Adam was killed in Vengeance of Vampirella #25 by Mistress Nyx.

• 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.

• Pendragon / Mordecai the Great

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.

• The Blood-Red Queen of Hearts

Formerly the Whore of Babylon, her spirit became infused with a Queen of Hearts playing card. Whenever a woman touches the card, she magically becomes this topless serial killer. Originally the Queen wanted to marry the mad-god Chaos, and she needed a dowry of seven human hearts. Vampirella's heart was to have been the last, but the Queen's demon lost his eyes and tore the Queen's out in anger. The Queen later cut out Vampirella's eyes in revenge, but the former was killed by the same demon and the latter had her eyes restored by a space doctor. The Queen's "sister," actually another woman possessed by the card, had an incubus kill six women for their hearts and planned to have Vampirella become the bride of Chaos. She then killed the incubus and used his heart to summon Chaos. But his spilled blood drove Vampirella into a feeding frenzy and she broke her bonds. She drank much of the Queen's blood, and then threw her into the mad-god's giant hand. He then took the latest Queen to his hellish dimension. The Queen later possessed Vampirella and her friends in the Queen's Gambit story arc.

• Madek and Magdalene

Evil brother and sister of Vampirella, who planted false memories of the planet Drakulon in Vampirella's mind. Vampirella also has a blonde twin sister, Draculina, who appeared only once, in Vampirella #2.

• Nuberus

The demon who tempted Vampirella with her true origin in order to gain access to Earth.

• Von Kreist

A former Prussian World War I officer, now a lich, 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.

• Mistress Nyx

The daughter of a liaison between the Mad God Chaos and Lucrezia Borgia, as originally recorded in Vampirella #16. 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 Trixie 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. She is generally portrayed as more violent and feral than Vampirella. 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. Based on the Lilith from an alternate version of the events of Genesis, she was the first wife of Adam, and the mother of demons. She sent her daughter to Earth to atone for her mistakes. Vampirella Revelations #0-3 (see Bibliography) revealed a more sinister side to her.

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)

Statement date / Published in	Average, copies printed	Average, total paid circulation	Percent of run returned / Sell-through at retail
Oct. 1, 1974 / #42 (May 1974)	170,850	95,735	22.2% / 56.0%
Oct. 1, 1975 / #49 (March 1975)	175,150	97,530	20.0% / 55.7%
Oct. 1, 1976 / #58 (March 1976)	162,740	90,725	20.0% / 55.7%
Nov. 30, 1977 / #67 (March 1977)	165,400	92,125	20.0% / 55.7%
Sept. 30, 1978 / #76 (March 1978)	166,395	92,550	20.0% / 55.6%
Sept. 30, 1979 / #85 (March 1979)	161,745	90,050	20.0% / 55.7%
Sept. 30, 1980 / #94 (March 1980)	137,345	76,468	20.0% / 55.7%
Sept. 28, 1981 / #104 (April 1981)	129,311	71,923	20.0% / 55.6%
Oct. 1, 1982 / #112 (March 1982)	123,592	68,728	43.2% / 55.6%

Collected editions

Warren magazine stories

• Vampirella vs. the Cult of Chaos (reprints from #8-9, 11-16)
• Vampirella: Transcending Time & Space (reprints from #17-23)
• Vampirella: A Scarlet Thirst (reprints from #30-31, 36, 71-72, 92, 94-96, 110)
• Vampirella & the Blood-Red Queen of Hearts (reprints from #49, 60- 62, 65-66, 101-102)
• Vampirella Classic #1-5
• Vampirella of Drakulon #1-5, special issue #0
• Vampirella Retro #1-3
• Vampirella: Silver Anniversary Collection #1-4
• Vampirella: Legendary Tales #1-2
• Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles
  • Volume 1 (reprints from #1-10), 2004, ISBN 978-0910692960
  • Volume 2 (reprints from #11-18), 2004, ISBN 978-0910692953
  • Volume 3 (reprints from #19-28), 2005, ISBN 978-0910692946
  • Volume 4 (reprints from #29-41), 2006, ISBN 978-0910692915
• Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles Maximum Volume 1 (reprints from #1-37), 448 pages, 2008, ISBN 0-910692-85-8

Film

Vampirella is a 1996 direct to video movie adaptation of the comic starring Talisa Soto, Roger Daltrey, Richard Joseph Paul, and Corinna Harney, directed by Jim Wynorski. A sequel was intended and announced in the ending credits, but it was not produced.

Live models

A variety of models have donned various versions of the trademark scanty outfit for magazine covers, posters, trading cards, and live appearances. The first model to wear the costume was Barbara Leigh on the cover of the original Warren Vampirella magazine (issue #67, March 1978). Other officially licensed models have included:

Kitana Baker Lola Beth Kathy Bushman Cathy Christian Leslie Culton Maria Di Angelis Diana Knight

Sascha Knopf Masuimi Max Avery Misuraca Caroline Munro Arban Ornelas Patricia Rosario Heidi Saha

Carolyn Renee Smith Talisa Soto Brinke Stevens Julie Strain Angelique Trouvere Cristiva Turner Alexxus Young

External links

• Official site
• Vampirella at the Internet Movie Database
• Swierczynski, Duane (January 6–12, 2005). "Jim Warren Meets Vampirella". Philadelphia City Paper. http://citypaper.net/articles/2005-01-06/cover.shtml. 
• Arndt, Richard J. (February 3, 2010). "The Warren Magazines: Interviews". EnjolrasWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. http://webcitation.org/5qUyTl9z0. Retrieved 2010-09-22. 
• Arndt, Richard J. (July 3, 2005). "The Warren Magazines". EnjolrasWorld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-06-15. http://webcitation.org/5qUvq2bec. 
• Dean, Michael (June 2003). "The Vampirella Wars: The Untold Story of James Warren's Custody Battle with Harris Comics (excerpt)". The Comics Journal (253). Archived from the original on 2010-09-22. http://www.webcitation.org/5swey7SYy. 
• Sascha Knopf
• Anderson, Martin (January 2, 2008). "To Hell With Spandex - Dead sexy: a look back at Vampirella and the occult superheroes/heroines of the naughty 1970s". Den of Geek. http://www.denofgeek.com/misc/9013/to_hell_with_spandex.html.