A few weeks ago, inspired by Doctor Sam Hirsts online lecture series #RomancingtheGothic, I wrote a post about gothic novels I thought would make exceptional graphic novels. Thispast Saturday we delved into a topic that has permeated nearly facet of pop culture in ways sexy, hilarious, perfidious, and terrifying: vampires.
For the purposes of the lecture, we focused on the development of vampire lore from the medieval through gothic periods, ending with the vampire as Byronic hero (Dr. Hirsts areas of expertise). The lecture got me thinking, however, about how cool a comics anthology following the progression of vampire lore from the ancient world to the most modern takes would be. All of that history, all of those stories, bound together in a single volume; not only the words humans have written and spoken about the children of the night over the millennia, but the various images our imaginations have conjured of them as well.
If this were my projectand who knows, maybe it will be somedayI think Id collect all the stories I could find and then have own voices historians and writers come in to choose the most important and impactful from each era. Own voices translators to make sure the language, literal, implied, unspoken, nuanced, are all captured. Art historians and artists from the nations and cultures being represented to collaborate with comic artists to create visual accompaniments that capture the true spirit of each tale.
A massive undertaking for sure and proof, if youre still looking for it, that comics are real books.
Below are three contributions Id recommend, because even having read/watched pretty widely on the subject of vampires, Im well aware Ive only surveyed a fractionof the lore. These are stories from my background and my framework. Im not qualified to tell yours and I wouldnt presume to (see above).
Lilith may originally have gotten her name from the Sumerian wordlil (wind) which also referred to any of a number of spirits that blew out of the desert wastes. According to Mark Collins Jenkinss Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend (National Geographic), the mythological figure Lilith found temporary redemption (at least within the Judeo-Christian framework) in her marriage to Adam but was banished once more to the sandy backwater when she insisted upon being treated as his equal rather than his workhorse (interesting considering Eves inferior status in canon is based on a mistranslation; she was not created from Adams rib, but rather from his side. As in half of is body. Anequal half). Once she was cast out, Liliths name became conflated with the Aramaic/Hebrew word for night and her confident, smart, take-no-shit self morphed into a hairy, night-flying monsterthe female sexual predator. I wonder who was behind that?
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Category ID: 13095
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Id love for the art paired with this story to reflect the carvings common to ancient stelae and altars. Haruichi Furudate, best known for Haiky!! and the webcomic adaptation of Claudia Grays Leia: Princess of Alderaan, would do a phenomenal job.
A gothic story of German origin, Wake Not the Dead was long (and incorrectly) attributed to Johann Ludwig Tieck. In it Walter, a lord of Burgundy, is distraught when his first wife, Brunhilda, with whom he shared recklessfrenzied passiondied, leaving him inconsolable for, like, five whole minutes before Swanhilda came traipsing along and caught his fancy. Being lesserturbulent, than her predecessor, Walter grew bored of Swanhilda once she pumped out an heir and a spare and found himself pining, once more, for Brunhilda. During one of said nocturnal graveside pining sessions, Walter met a sorcerer who was most certainly not doing anything shady in a graveyard in the middle of the night. The sorcerer explains theres a way to raise Brunhilda but cautions Walter against doing the thing. Walter does the thing, which involves, among other steps, pouring blood out of a human skill (also assuredly not shady). Brunhilda hops out of her grave, Walter takes her back to the castle, Swanhilda is out, Brunhilda is in, and people start dropping dead. It isnt until Brundhilda sucks the life out of Walters children he finally realizes shes been bleeding everyone dry. He does a jaccuse, she points out hes the one who couldnt leave well enough alone, and Walter spends the rest of his life trying to make sure Brunhilda stays in her grave while the sorcerer has a good laugh.
While this is most definitely a gothic story, the sensibility and language are so very baroque I want Brunhilda dressed in all sorts of lace and satin with an enormous wig on her head and the castle to be some sort of carved and marbled fantasy land with red velvet drapes and all kinds of gilding. Its 100% anachronism but the drama simply begs for it. Leila del Duca captures that drama and flare in the set dressings for Sleepless but Wake Not the Deadneeds CJ Wards colors and ethereallayering to hit that perfect pitch.
via GIPHY
Okay, hear me out.What We Do In the Shadows is a rare combination of parody and commentary that combine to distill a thing into the perfect version of itself. In this particular case, the thing is a representation of a modern vampire. Theyve been evil spirits, sexual predators, murderers, bogeymen, sparkly boyfriends, hybrid daywalkers who hunt their own kind, symbols of sin, symbols of sexual freedom, scapegoats, heroes, villains, and legends. Now, like the rest of us, they just want to live. Find a place, settle down, enjoy the company of friends and significant others. Get a decent meal, go out once in a while. A little drama here and there to keep things interesting, turn into a bat for a few hours, no harm, no foul, no werewolves, no swear wolves.
While the movie definitely has moments of pathos, it is for the most part, an odd and/but delightful romp. When I think of odd/delightful comics, I think of Gurihiru (The Unstoppable Wasp). This amazing team took Nadia from fight night through her first manic episode to the love and support of her found family with such gentleness and strength, and theyre the perfect artists to follow our bizarrely well-intentioned vampires through the trials and tribulations of the modern world.
Well, now that Ive written this all up, I kind of want to put it together. Or, ideally, have someone else do all the work and then have the satisfaction of reading it. Thanks again to Dr. Hirst for setting the brain wheels in motion. Cant wait to see where they roll next.
Link:
Vampires Through the Ages: the Comics Anthology We Need - Book Riot
- Who Does Matt End Up With in The Vampire Diaries? - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Oregon Man Staked His Mother's Throat Believing She Was a Vampire [Horror IRL] - Dread Central - April 21st, 2024
- V Rising 1.0 will let you sip the blood of history's greatest vampire - PCGamesN - April 21st, 2024
- Mourning the Muse You've Never Met | Mary Boone by Vampire Weekend - Impact 89FM - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Directors Reveal the Method to Their Vampire Madness - Syfy - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' takes audiences on bloody vampire heist The Daily Texan - The Daily Texan - April 21st, 2024
- New Teaser For Anne Rice's Interview With The Vampire Reveals 'Laws Of The Vampire' - Age Of The Nerd - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Review: The ballerina vampire film is on pointe, and its a blast - Fort Worth Report - April 21st, 2024
- Music Monday: Vampire Weekend's Fifth Studio Album, Only God Above Us Proves That The Band Was Not Just A ... - Cardinal & Cream - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Filmmakers Radio Silence on Their Genre-Hopping Vampire Thriller and Honoring Angus Clouds Final Performance - Variety - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail Review: Dan Stevens and Melissa Barrera in an Exuberantly Over-the-Top Vampire Horror-Comedy - Hollywood Reporter - April 21st, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire' Season 2 Trailer Learn the Laws of the Undead - Collider - April 21st, 2024
- New Interview with the Vampire Teaser Shares the Laws of the Vampire - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' Review: This Ballerina Vampire Has the Perfect Bite - The Mary Sue - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 to Include 'Cool Twist' Not Seen in Original Books - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 21st, 2024
- Review: New York City is Vampire Weekend's muse on 'Only God Was Above Us' - America: The Jesuit Review - April 21st, 2024
- Ikki Unite, the Feudal Japanese Vampire Survivors-like, Arrives on Switch and Steam - Co-Optimus.com - April 21st, 2024
- 'Abigail' review: A vampire bloodbath with pools of sticky stuff - Detroit News - April 21st, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' #5 Demands a Heavy Price to Bring Down the Vampire's Reign - Marvel - April 21st, 2024
- Vanpires Are Back: 17 Vampire Books to Read - The Everygirl - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire season 2 will be bigger, and include a huge twist that's not in the books - Gamesradar - April 21st, 2024
- A vampire ballerina and hired hitman hit the screens this weekend - WDIV ClickOnDetroit - April 21st, 2024
- Abigail's Directors Tell Us Why They Included The Vampire Ballerina Twist In The Movie's Marketing, But I Still Wish It ... - CinemaBlend - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - El Paso Inc. - April 21st, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Teaser Trailer Unveils the Laws of Being a Vampire - ComingSoon.net - April 21st, 2024
- 'I get bored easily': Jacob Anderson reveals 'worries' about Interview with the Vampire season two - Yahoo New Zealand News - April 21st, 2024
- Amazingly Accurate Real-Life BG3 Astarion Shows The Vampire Ready For Combat - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Star Teases Teases Major Season 2 Twist - ComicBook.com - April 21st, 2024
- 32 astonishing ancient burials, from 'vampire' decapitations to riches for the afterlife - Livescience.com - April 21st, 2024
- Zendaya Becomes A Kick-Ass Buffy The Vampire Slayer In Photo-Realistic Art - Screen Rant - April 21st, 2024
- Nosferatu: First Footage Shows Off Bill Skarsgard as the Vampire - TheWrap - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend and Amber Coffman Cover Grateful Dead's Peggy-O - Pitchfork - April 12th, 2024
- Watch: Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre - jambands.com - April 12th, 2024
- Woman found dead in Italian church was dressed like vampire and looking for ghosts - Express - April 12th, 2024
- Goose Welcome Vampire Weekend for Half-Hour Jam on Night Four at The Capitol Theatre (A Gallery + Recap) - Relix - April 12th, 2024
- A Guide to Vampire Weekend's Most Jewish Songs and Lyrics - Alma - April 12th, 2024
- Review: Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' sinks its teeth into nihilistic perspectives - Washington Square News - April 12th, 2024
- Watch Vampire Weekend Join Goose for a 31-Minute Redition of "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" | Exclaim! - Exclaim! - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend's Only God Was Above Us: Review - Consequence - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covers The Grateful Dead's 'Peggy-O' On SiriusXM - Digg - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Covered Grateful Dead With Amber Coffman On SiriusXMU: Watch - Stereogum - April 12th, 2024
- Savannah Basley Co-Stars in SyFy's REGINALD THE VAMPIRE Season Two - BroadwayWorld - April 12th, 2024
- Review | Vampire Weekend's 'Only God Was Above Us' is sure to get stuck in your head - UI The Daily Iowan - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Contra Crossover DLC Will Come to PlayStation Later in the Summer - Push Square - April 12th, 2024
- OGWAU Is Vampire Weekend Keeping Things Fresh - HeadStuff.org - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors is Crossing Over With Contra - GameRant - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors Headed to PS5 and PS4 This Summer - News - VGChartz - April 12th, 2024
- Vampire Survivors teams up with Contra for new DLC and fangs its way onto PlayStation consoles this summer - VG247 - April 12th, 2024
- The face of a 500-year-old vampire with a brick between her teeth - Metro.co.uk - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists recreate face of 16th-century vampire buried with brick inside mouth - WION - March 24th, 2024
- Montreal daily apologizes following backlash over Netanyahu vampire cartoon - The Times of Israel - March 24th, 2024
- This Major Aspect of 'Interview with the Vampire' Makes It Better Than the Movie - Collider - March 24th, 2024
- Stare Into the Screen Not the Sun: Vampire Weekend to Livestream Special Solar Eclipse Show - Rolling Stone - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Dormitory Anime Cast to Cover Every Little Thing Song for Ending Theme - Crunchyroll - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend will livestream Austin eclipse show - Brooklyn Vegan - March 24th, 2024
- 10 Essential 80s Vampire Movies You Might Have Missed - Flickering Myth - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend, Slightly Stoopid, Portugal. The Man, and more shows announced at Dillon Amphitheater (so far) - Summit Daily - March 24th, 2024
- 'Interview With the Vampire': Meet the Real Armand With Assad Zaman (VIDEO) - TV Insider - March 24th, 2024
- Xbox Game Pass gets cowboy vampire-slayer classic today, just in time for weekend - ReadWrite - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend Tease Punky, Jammy New Offshoot With An Imaginary Backstory - Stereogum - March 24th, 2024
- The GLAAD Wrap: Trailers for The Acolyte and Interview with the Vampire, New Music from Xana, Anglica Garcia ... - GLAAD - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With the Vampire Season 2 Will Unlock Deeply Hidden Memories - Gizmodo - March 24th, 2024
- Netanyahu caricatured as vampire in Canadian newspaper: 'Every Jew understands the meaning' - Ynetnews - March 24th, 2024
- Vampire Weekend tease a new offshoot project with an "imaginary back story" - NME - March 24th, 2024
- Scientists Reconstruct Face Of 16th Century 'Vampire Woman' Buried With Brick In Mouth - Study Finds - March 24th, 2024
- Here's a haunting, beautiful Interview With The Vampire season 2 trailer - The A.V. Club - March 24th, 2024
- Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Most Important Moment Features One Word - Den of Geek - March 24th, 2024
- TV Shows Like 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' That'll Suck You In - The Lineup - March 24th, 2024
- Remember When Pedro Pascal Was on Buffy the Vampire Slayer? - Remezcla - March 24th, 2024
- Interview With The Vampire Season 2 Goes Bigger Than Ever, See The Extended Look Into Fan-Favorite Series Return - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- Fury Over Antisemitic Canadian Newspaper Cartoon Depicting Netanyahu as Blood-Sucking Vampire - Algemeiner - March 24th, 2024
- INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE: Memory Is The Monster In Stunning Extended Season 2 Trailer INTERVIEW WITH ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire Season 2 Extended Look: Memory Is Monster - Bleeding Cool News - March 24th, 2024
- Interview with the Vampire trailer season 2 trailer is brimming with queer lust and the return of Lestat - Gay Times Magazine - March 24th, 2024
- Everything we're obsessed with in the new 'Interview With the Vampire' trailer - Pride.com - March 24th, 2024
- Pedro Pascal Was Saved By Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Giant Freakin Robot - March 24th, 2024
- AMC reveals an extended look at Interview with the Vampire Season 2 - Claire and Jamie - March 24th, 2024
- "Interview with the Vampire" Season 2 Trailer Previews the Return of AMC's Anne Rice Series on May 12 - Bloody Disgusting - March 24th, 2024
- Scream directors explain how their new vampire horror movie fits into the Universal Monsters universe, and share ... - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- 'Blood Hunt' Connecting Cover Holds the Line Against the Vampire Armies - Marvel.com - March 16th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero