Dynamite Entertainment is expanding its lineup of classic Vampirella collections with two new releases aimed at longtime fans and new readers. The publisher will release the Vampirella: Kurt Busiek Collection Compact Edition in October, while also preparing the eighth paperback volume of its ongoing Vampirella Archives series.
Both collections revisit important periods in the history of the Daughter of Drakulon. Together, they spotlight stories from the Warren Publishing and Harris Comics eras while showcasing creators who helped shape the character across multiple generations.
Kurt Busiek Stories Join Dynamite’s Compact Line
The Vampirella: Kurt Busiek Collection Compact Edition marks the third release in Dynamite’s new line of affordable Compact Editions. At 480 pages and priced at $9.99, it will also be the publisher’s largest Compact Edition to date.
The book measures 5.5 by 8.5 inches and collects the classic 1991 Vampirella miniseries known as “Morning in America.” It also includes the Summer Nights special and the first four issues of the series that followed, featuring the “Dracula War” storyline.
Harris Comics originally published the material before Dynamite took over the character. These stories helped establish the next phase of Vampirella following the original Warren Publishing era.
Writer Kurt Busiek, known for Marvels and Avengers, played a major role in that reinvention. The collection also includes some of the earliest Vampirella work from longtime writer Tom Sniegoski.
Artists featured in the volume include Louis La Chance, Louis Small Jr., Dave Cockrum, James Fry, Richard Howell, and others. The collection gives readers a broad look at a key transitional period in the character’s publishing history.
Dynamite is positioning the Compact Edition as an affordable entry point for readers. The publisher also says additional volumes in the format are planned.
Vampirella Archives Returns to the Warren Era
Dynamite is also continuing its paperback Vampirella Archives line with an eighth volume. The collection will include issues #50 through #56 of the original Vampirella magazine published by Warren Publishing.
Those issues originally appeared from spring through winter 1976. The new volume will run more than 300 pages and include Vampirella stories alongside horror, science fiction, fantasy, and other anthology material.
Each of the eight Vampirella Archives volumes can be read independently. Together, they preserve a substantial portion of the character’s early publishing history and the wider anthology material that surrounded her adventures.
The seventh volume introduced the beginning of writer Bill DuBay’s run as the primary architect of Vampirella’s continuing stories. That collection also featured work by Jose Gonzalez, Gonzalo Mayo, Esteban Maroto, and others, along with a retelling of Vampirella’s origin.
Issue #50 Leads the New Collection
Volume eight opens with the oversized issue #50, which features a nearly full-length crossover story. The 40-page adventure brings together Vampirella, Pantha, Fleur, and a special cameo from a comics icon.
The collection also includes additional Vampirella stories written by Gerry Boudreau. His work becomes an important part of the material featured across this stretch of the original series.
Other creators represented in the volume include Howard Chaykin, Bruce Jones, Richard Corben, Roger McKenzie, Rafael Auraleon, Leopold Sanchez, Jan Strnad, Jose Ortiz, and more. Their work reflects the range of styles and genres that defined Warren’s Vampirella magazine.
More Classic Vampirella Ahead
Dynamite is already looking ahead to a ninth paperback volume of the Vampirella Archives. That collection will center on an even larger full-issue story by Gerry Boudreau, Gonzalo Mayo, and Carmine Infantino.
The ninth volume will also include stories featuring the raven-haired anti-heroine by writer Roger McKenzie. McKenzie later played a pivotal role in the evolution of Marvel’s Daredevil.
With the new Compact Edition and another Archives volume on the way, Dynamite continues to make major eras of Vampirella history available in new formats. The releases give readers access to both the character’s Warren-era foundations and the Harris Comics reinvention that helped carry her into a new generation.
