Acclaimed comics creator Zoe Thorogood is taking on vampires with a punk-rock twist. The multiple award-nominated creator of It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth, Hack/Slash: Back to School, and Joe Hill’s Rain is teaming with Joe Whiteford for Vampire on Aisle 6.
Image Comics will launch the all-new paranormal miniseries in December. The project will run for three issues and pair the comic with original music.
Thorogood’s Rapid Rise in Comics
Thorogood first drew major attention with the critically acclaimed UK release of her semi-autobiographical graphic novel The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott. She later worked with New York Times bestselling author Joe Hill, creator of Locke & Key, to illustrate and adapt one of his prose short stories into the standalone graphic novel Joe Hill’s Rain.
Her profile climbed even higher after Image Comics released her graphic-nonfiction memoir, It’s Lonely at the Centre of the Earth. The book sold out and returned to print several times during its first year.
The memoir went on to sell 100,000 copies across formats. Thorogood’s breakout success also earned her five Eisner Award nominations in 2023, making her the most-nominated creator that year.
She later won the Russ Manning Most Promising Newcomer Award. The honor further established her as a rising force in the comics industry.
A Vampire Trapped Under Fluorescent Lights
Vampire on Aisle 6 introduces Luka, a man who claims he is a vampire. He is trapped inside a mascot-themed superstore, the sun will not set for another 10 hours, and he has just made his first kill.
Luka’s problems begin after a mysterious man bites him at the end of an already disastrous week. Soon, he develops symptoms that appear unmistakably vampiric.
His bloodlust intensifies. His reflection shatters, he refuses to go outside, and his life begins to fall apart.
A Story About Change and Isolation
Thorogood described the project as both a comic and an album, with the vampire story serving as a vehicle for exploring something more personal.
“Vampire on Aisle 6 is a comic + album about a self-proclaimed vampire trapped in a mascot-themed grocery store,” said Thorogood. “It’s a story about traumatic change and the isolation that follows. We hope readers/listeners are ready for an unconventional vampire story and understand, that really, It’s All Just Meat.”
The concept blends horror with themes of isolation and personal upheaval. It also places those ideas inside the deliberately strange setting of a corporate grocery store.
Harley Poe Music Expands the Story
Whiteford said Thorogood transformed an idea he had carried for years into a collaboration that combines comics, music, horror, and anti-corporate themes.
“Zoe took an idea I’ve had in my head for years and has created a bloody, heart felt, anti-corporate, sexy comic released along side 8 new Harley Poe songs that reveal insight to the story and its characters. It’s a lovely punk rock collaboration of music and art, and it’s definitely not your average vampire tale.”
The eight new Harley Poe songs will provide additional insight into the story and its characters. Together, the comic and album are designed as complementary parts of the same creative project.
Vampire on Aisle 6 #1 will be available at comic book shops and through digital platforms on Wednesday, December 23. The issue launches the three-part supernatural series from Image Comics.
