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 Cover of American Vampire #1 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Vertigo (DC Comics) |
| Schedule | Monthly |
| Format | Ongoing series |
| Genre | Gothic Western, Weird West |
| Publication date | March 2010 |
| No. of issues | 34 (First Cycle) 11 (Second Cycle) 10 (1976) Also 13 issues in mini-series, one-shots, and anthologies |
| Main character(s) | Pearl Jones Skinner Sweet |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | Scott Snyder Rafael Albuquerque |
| Written by | Scott Snyder Stephen King (#1–5) |
| Artist(s) | Rafael Albuquerque Mateus Santolouco |
| Colorist(s) | Dave McCaig |
| Collected editions | |
| Hardcover | ISBN 978-1-4012-2830-9 |
American Vampire is an American comic book series created by writer Scott Snyder [1] and drawn by artist Rafael Albuquerque. It was published by DC Comics under its Vertigo imprint. American Vampire continued under the newly created DC Black Label imprint after Vertigo was closed in January 2020. [2] The series imagines vampires as a population made up of many different secret species, and charts moments of vampire evolution and inter-species conflict throughout history. The focus of the series is a new American bloodline of vampires, born in the American West in the late 19th century.
Contents
- Plot
- Publication history
- Issues
- Collected editions
- Omnibus editions
- DC Compact Comics
- Characters
- Notes
- Further reading
- External links
The first of this new species is a notorious outlaw named Skinner Sweet, who wakes from death, after being infected, to find he has become a new kind of vampire, something stronger and faster than what came before, impervious to sunlight, with a new set of strengths and weaknesses. The series goes on to track his movements through various decades of American history—along with the movements of his first and only known progeny: Pearl Jones, a young woman working as a struggling actress in the 1920s silent film industry when she is attacked by a coven of European vampires hiding in Hollywood. Sweet saves her (uncharacteristically) by giving her his blood, thereby turning her into an American vampire like him, at which point she seeks revenge on the classic vampires who attacked her in life. The complicated and charged relationship between Jones and Sweet is another focus of the series.
The first five issues featured two stories—one by Scott Snyder and the other by Stephen King, both drawn by Rafael Albuquerque. [3] [4] With the sixth issue, Scott Snyder took over as sole writer. [5] The original series ran from 2010–2013 and lasted 34 issues. A second series called American Vampire: Second Cycle ran from 2014–2015 and lasted 11 issues and the third and final series called American Vampire: 1976 ran from December 2020 – October 2021 and lasted 10 issues.
American Vampire spun off two mini-series. The first, "Survival of the Fittest", illustrated by Sean Murphy focuses on the cases files of the V.M.S., the vampire hunting organization of the series. The second, "Lord of Nightmares", illustrated by Dustin Nguyen further focuses on the mythology presented by "Survival of the Fittest". A one shot co-written by Snyder and Albuquerque (who also illustrates the 64-page issue), entitled "The Long Road to Hell", which features vampire hunter Travis Kidd, was released in June 2013. Two American Vampire anthologies have also been released, the first in 2013 and the second in 2016.
