Via Popverse, Dark Horse Comics imprint Berger Books have announced “Carmilla: The First Vampire,” an original graphic novel by writer Amy Chu (“Poison Ivy: Cycle of Life and Death”) and artist Soo Lee (“Ash and Thorn”). Based on Sheridan Le Fanu’s novel Carmilla, the reimagining relocates the story to New York City in 1996, and follows a Chinese American social worker investigating the murders of several homeless LGBTQ+ women, leading her to Carmilla’s, a newly opened nightclub in Chinatown. “There, she meets Violet – a woman who might be the next target of the killer.”
Published in 1872, Carmilla tells the story of a teenage girl who was groomed by the titular vampire woman since childhood. It is considered the prototype of the lesbian vampire subgenre, and has been adapted into film, TV, and previous comics, although certainly not to the same extent as Dracula, which followed Le Fanu’s book in 1897. Chu tells Popverse, “Everyone is familiar with Dracula, but few know [vampires in pop culture were also] inspired by the vampire Carmilla, who fell in love with the many young women who became her victims. Bringing the story to ’90s New York let me explore themes of cultural identity, gentrification, homophobia and racism. It’s definitely the darkest, most mature storyline I’ve ever written!”
Soo Lee adds, “Goth, horror, and vampires make up the classic backdrop to ’90s New York. Using the colorful ambience of the city and cultural references, Amy and I bring back to life to an old NYC that I know and love in this retelling of Carmilla.” Karen Berger, the founder and overseer of Berger Books, states, “Not only is ‘Carmilla’ a mesmerizing, steamy and decadent thriller, but Amy and Soo have delivered a story with important cultural themes which resonate in today’s antagonizing times.”
“Carmilla: The First Vampire” will be released in comic book stores on January 11, 2023, and follow readers into bookstores on January 24.
