The Dhampire series was intended to continue beyond this one-shotgraphic novella, but as of 2022 there have been no further stories published due to several problematic circumstances.
Background and creation
In June 1994, at an art opening, author Nancy A. Collins ran into her friend, DC Comics editor Lou Stathis, who asked if she'd be interesting in writing a "Gothic" graphic novel about vampires that'd appeal to Generation X.[1] Collins, whose recently completed novel Paint it Black included the "dhampire" character Jen, immediately suggested incorporating a similar half-human, half-vampire character into the story, an idea which Stathis liked.[1]
Days after this impromptu meeting, Collins began writing notes towards a preliminary proposal, including story concepts and possible character names.[1] According to these notes, Collins' protagonist would have the surname "Gaunt" and the given name of "Nicholas", "Natalie", or some other name beginning with "N".[1] She'd chosen the name "Gaunt" as the word connoted "thinness and pallor, qualities associated with the 'undead'", as well as in reference to H. P. Lovecraft's nightgaunt creation.[1] Collins ultimately settled on the first name "Nicholas" because Nick is a nickname for the devil in Christianity, she'd recently seen Nicholas Nickleby, and as a tribute to Jack Nicholson.[1]
On June 25, 1994, Collins hand-wrote a draft letter to Stathis, in which she proposed "the idea of an alienated 'slacker' who discovers under hypnosis that the woman he thinks is his mother is really his grandmother and that his real mother is a teenager who was bitten by a vampire when she was pregnant, giving him vampire traits, and who later becomes a vampire after being shot and killed by cops."[1] Also included in this letter were various titles that Collins was considering, specifically Dhampire, Dhampir, Vampire X, Bleake, and Ghaunt.[1] On October 2, Collins sent a formal proposal of her concept to Stathis.[1] After the project's approval by DC Comics, Collins created a script breakdown and then a full-fledged script with Stathis strictly "fixing and tightening language and improving the flow of the narrative".[1]
In January 1996, Paul Lee was approached by DC Comics to illustrate Dhampire: Stillborn.[1] Upon Lee's acceptance of the position, Stathis provided the artist with written character descriptions, a story synopsis, and a scene-by-scene breakdown, from which Lee created sketches for approval.[1] Once his sketches were approved, Lee painted each of the panels for the finished work.[1]
In July 1996, at which point the project's editing was already completed, Stathis was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer causing Axel Alonso to step-in and supervise the production's final stages.[2]
In 1996, an "On the Ledge" feature about Dhampire: Stillborn was included in all of November's cover-dated monthly Vertigo issues and full-color house ads for it appeared in the October and November cover-dated issues of Essential Vertigo: The Sandman.[5] In 2000, art from Dhampire: Stillborn was reprinted in the Vertigo Visions: Artwork from the Cutting Edge of Comics hardcover.[6]
Legal dispute
In November 1996, the co-creators of the then-unpublished comic book Matchsticks, Francis Hogan and Daniel Masucci, filed a federal courtcomplaint of copyright infringement and idea misappropriation on the part of Dhampire: Stillborn against DC Comics, Warner Communications, Inc., Time Warner Entertainment Co., L.P., Nancy A. Collins, and Paul Lee.[7] The grounds for the suit were similarities between the two books' protagonists and premises, specifically regarding how both centered around a half-vampire named Nicholas Gaunt who uncovers his supernatural origins.[8] Furthermore, Hogan and Masucci had made a "professional submission" of Matchsticks in August or September 1994 to DC Comics, specifically to then-assistant editor Axel Alonso, who would later work on Dhampire: Stillborn in its final stages.[9]
On February 28, 1997, Judge Thomas McAvoy of the Northern District of New York dismissed part of the suit but upheld the copyright infringement claim.[10] On September 2, Judge McAvoy granted a motion for reconsideration but denied a motion for summary judgment, as he determined that the two works could be substantially similar.[11] On January 26, 1999, the case was transferred to Judge Shira Scheindlin of the Southern District of New York who reviewed both books thoroughly and determined that they were not substantially similar.[1] Furthermore, Judge Scheindlin accepted proof that Collins had created the idea independently, specifically noting a written proposal for Dhampire that was submitted to DC Comics prior to Hogan and Masucci's submission of Matchsticks to the company.[8] As such, Judge Scheindlin granted the motion for summary judgment and dismissed the case.[1]
Synopsis
At birth, Nicholas Gaunt is mistaken as stillborn until an orderly, who took the seemingly-dead baby to the morgue, discovered otherwise.[12] Gaunt develops into a troubled child, exhibiting behavioral problems such as killing small animals, attempting suicide, and fighting schoolmates, which culminates in him being expelled after biting a fellow student on the neck.[1] After his third suicide attempt, Gaunt is committed to a psychiatric ward under the care of Dr. Merrick, who uses hypnotherapy to unlock Gaunt's repressed memory of an older sister named Natalie trying to abduct him when he was three-years-old.[1]
With Gaunt gaining an interest in uncovering more about this memory, which Dr. Merrick equates with increased psychological health, Gaunt is released from the hospital and immediately travels to his mother's house to confront her about the incident.[1] Gaunt's mother reveals that she is actually his grandmother and that Natalie was his birth-mother, though that she has been dead for twenty years.[1] In light of this new information, Gaunt begins a search, accompanied by a stripper named Tanith, for his father.[1]
While visiting his mother's grave, Gaunt encounters Natalie, who is a vampire and has recently killed Tanith, turning her into one of the undead.[1] Natalie reveals that she was bitten by the vampire Iscariot while pregnant, causing her unborn child to become a half-human, half-vampire hybrid known as a "dhampire".[12] She also explains that in order for a dhampire to become a full-vampire, it must commit hideous crimes and suffer a violent death, which Gaunt proceeds to do.[12] Rising from the dead a full-vampire, Gaunt is greeted by Tanith and his mother, who asks if he's ready to meet Iscariot.[12]
Sequel
Near the end of 1994, the editor of Dhampire: Stillborn at DC Comics, Lou Stathis, asked Nancy A. Collins if she'd be interested in developing the originally commissioned one-shotgraphic novel into a monthly series.[13] Over the next four to six weeks, Collins devised plot outlines for three or four story arcs, each of which would be three or four issues in length.[1] This planned continuation followed the book's protagonist, Nicholas Gaunt, delving more into vampire society, eventually killing his birth-mother, Natalie, and her vampiric "sire", Iscariot.[1] After Collins had completed the script for issue two and artist Ted Naifeh had produced preliminary sketches for the monthly series, DC Comics cancelled it prior to any formal announcement.[14]
In 1997, pending a dismissal of a then-ongoing legal dispute, Collins tentatively planned a follow-up titled Dhampire: Heir Apparent which would've taken "the character & storyline into what (I hope) will be highly unexpected territory for readers".[15] As of 2022, no new Dhampire comic books have been published.[16]
The lack of any published sequels has been variably attributed to three problematic factors: the terminal health diagnosis of the project's editor, Lou Stathis; the collapse of the comic book speculator market; and the legal issue concerning the title.[17] Furthermore, Collins was unable to continue Dhampire without DC Comics, as the company co-owned the copyright, though she did repurpose concepts from it in her young adult fiction series Vamps, specifically the idea of a vampire society divided between New Bloods and Old Bloods that are reigned over by a synod as well as the half-vampire protagonist who must deny her human heritage in order to be accepted.[18]
Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and a screenwriter. His works include the comic book series The Sandman and the novels Good Omens, Stardust, Anansi Boys, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals. He is the first author to win both the Newbery and the Carnegie medals for the same work, The Graveyard Book (2008). In 2013, The Ocean at the End of the Lane was voted Book of the Year in the British National Book Awards. It was later adapted into a critically acclaimed stage play at the Royal National Theatre in London.
The Sandman is a comic book written by Neil Gaiman and published by DC Comics. Its artists include Sam Kieth, Mike Dringenberg, Jill Thompson, Shawn McManus, Marc Hempel, Bryan Talbot, and Michael Zulli, with lettering by Todd Klein and covers by Dave McKean. The original series ran for 75 issues from January 1989 to March 1996. Beginning with issue No. 47, it was placed under DC's Vertigo imprint, and following Vertigo's retirement in 2020, reprints have been published under DC's Black Label imprint.
Nancy A. Collins is an American horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A' Walkin' and her own one-shot issue Dhampire: Stillborn.
Vertigo Comics, also known as DC Vertigo or simply Vertigo, was an imprint of American comic book publisher DC Comics started by editor Karen Berger in 1993. Vertigo's purpose was to publish comics with adult content, such as nudity, drug use, profanity, and graphic violence, that did not fit the restrictions of DC's main line, thus allowing more creative freedom. Its titles consisted of company-owned comics set in the DC Universe, such as The Sandman and Hellblazer, and creator-owned works, such as Preacher, Y: The Last Man and Fables.
Vincent Patrick Deighan, better known by the pen name Frank Quitely, is a Scottish comic book artist. He is best known for his frequent collaborations with Grant Morrison on titles such as New X-Men, We3, All-Star Superman, and Batman and Robin, as well as his work with Mark Millar on The Authority and Jupiter's Legacy.
The House of Mystery is the name of several horror, fantasy, and mystery comics anthologies published by DC Comics. It had a companion series, The House of Secrets. It is also the name of the titular setting of the series.
Michael Dalton Allred is an American comic book artist and writer. He is most well known for his independent comics creation Madman and for co-creating and drawing the comic book series iZombie. His work often draws upon pop art, as well as commercial and comic art of the 1950s and 1960s.
Michael Zulli is an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator.
Ted McKeever is an American artist known for his work in the comic book industry. A master of pen-and-ink, McKeever has also fully painted many comics. He is known for his distinct graphic style and "bold, angular lines, which gives his work a fantastic, almost Kafka-esque edge."
Peter K. Hogan is an English writer and comics writer, best known for Resident Alien, which he co-created with artist Steve Parkhouse. Hogan began his comics career as editor of cult British comic Revolver in 1990–1991, before working for 2000 AD, American comic book publishers Vertigo, America's Best Comics and Dark Horse Comics
James H. Williams III, usually credited as J. H. Williams III, is an American comics artist and penciller. He is known for his work on titles such as Chase, Promethea, Desolation Jones,Batwoman, and The Sandman: Overture.
Duncan Fegredo is a British comic book artist.
Dean Ormston is a British born comic book artist. His most notable work has been for the British comic 2000 AD and for DC Comics' Vertigo imprint.
Richard Case is an American comics artist best known for his work for DC Comics especially the Vertigo imprint.
Steve Leialoha is an American comics artist whose work first came to prominence in the 1970s. He has worked primarily as an inker, though occasionally as a penciller, for several publishers, including Marvel Comics and later DC Comics.
This is a list of works by Neil Gaiman.
The Witching Hour is an American comic book horror anthology published by DC Comics from 1969 to 1978.
Hogan v. DC Comics (Court case). 48 F. Supp. 2d 298. N.D.N.Y. September 2, 1997. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
Hogan v. DC Comics (Court case). 983 83 F. Supp. 82. S.D.N.Y. January 26, 1999. Archived from the original on March 25, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
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