Via CBR, Vault Comics have announced “West of Sundown,” a horror western written by Tim Seeley (“Hack/Slash”) and Aaron Campbell (“John Constantine: Hellblazer”), with art by Jim Terry (“Hack/Slash”), colors by Triona Farrell (“Stranger Things”) and lettering by Crank! (“Rick & Morty”).
The book follows Constance Der Abend, a vampire woman fleeing New York City with her ex-Confederate thrall Dooley. She seeks the ancestral soil of her native New Mexico, which renews her undead flesh, “but things have changed since she was reborn,” and now she and Dooley “must adapt to life in the rough frontier town of Sangre De Moro.”
On Twitter, Tim Seeley said, “People think of me as either a horror guy or a superhero guy, but I’m also super goddamn into westerns, which I guess comes from my grandpa always watching the when I was a kid. I’ve wanted to write one forever. But, I mean, of course it has vampires in it.” He ran it by Aaron Campbell, who “had like 50 fuckin’ ideas, so I had to co-write it with him, and accept his amazing cover paintings. POOR ME.”
The book marks Campbell’s writing debut. “For several years now I’ve been meddling in the scripts that come my way,” he told CBR, “adding what bits of story I can get away with. And over those years my urge to tell my own stories has only intensified.” He described the series as combining “the history and culture of the Southwest, the classic archetypes of midcentury western and horror cinema, as well as themes of cosmic horror and weird fiction,” namedropping Lovecraft as well as Dracula and Frankenstein as influences.
Seeley wanted to work with artist Jim Terry, because he considered his memoir “Come Home, Indio” the best comic of 2020. Terry said the title “is a chance to really dig into the texture, tone and mood of two distinct and (to me) beloved genres, while at the same time putting them through a less glorified lens. Personally, I’m relishing the chance to pay homage and work in the shadow of some of the legendary comic artists who’ve delved into these genres before, and see if it’s possible to come up with something entirely unique while doing so.”
“West of Sundown” #1 will be released on March 23, 2022, with Cover A by Campbell, and Cover B by Terry. Head to CBR for more artwork in the meantime.
