Image Comics
has announced a new pulp horror graphic novel from the minds of Alex De Campi (Archie vs Predator) and Erica Henderson (Squirrel Girl). The novel is titled Dracula, Motherf**ker! and is described as an action-packed psychological horror twist on the classic work by Bram Stoker. From Image: “Straddling two different timelines, Dracula, Motherf**ker travels between Vienna, 1889 where Dracula’s brides nail him to the bottom of his coffin and Los Angeles, 1974: wherein an aging starlet decides to raise the stakes. Crime scene photographer Quincy Harker is the only man who knows it happened, but will anyone believe him… before he gets outlined in chalk himself? ”
The plot sounds like a fairly run of the mill Dracula adaptation, but what really stands out about this release is its art and distinct sense of style, which is an homage to both exploitation cinema and anime. From author Alex De Campi: “Another thing I wanted to bring to this pulp fantasia was a sensibility from horror anime, with its love of transformation and of the noncorporeal, to push the element of man-as-monster in directions specifically suited to sequential art. Things like the abstract portrayal of Alucard (or Pride in FMA: Brotherhood), and the use of Superflat art in Madoka Magica were tremendously inspirational in this book, especially as that use of flatness dovetails nicely with the work of Gustav Klimt in with the book’s 1889 prologue, and with late-1960s pop art and the psychedelic liquid-light projections of the Joshua Light Show.”
This wildly distinctive art is supplied by Erica Henderson, of Squirrel Girl fame, whose incredible artistic range is on full display in these sample pages, provided by Image:
The art alone makes this graphic novel a must-read– if the vibrant and expressive colors weren’t enough, the shifting and undefined form of Dracula definitely sold me. Dracula, Motherf**ker! releases October 7th and will be available in bookstores on October 13th. The book will be available in both physical and digital formats and is available for preorder from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, IndieBound, Indigo, and your local comic book shop!
