If you’re going to retell the legend of Dracula at this point, you’d better do something new with it. That’s exactly what comics legends Matt Wagner and Kelley Jones did with the beginning of their Dracula cycle last year. In Dracula Book I: The Impaler, they went back long before Bram Stoker to fill in the gap between Vlad Tepes, the alleged historical model, and the Lord of the Undead that has gripped our imaginations for almost 150 years.
In short, they sent him to Hell. That’s a glib description of a gorgeous book brought to life by the sumptuous art of Jones. But it’s hard to say much more without spoiling things — suffice to say that Wagner has us convinced that Point A might have been noble by the standards of his time, but something had to take him to the Point B of monstrous. That something might as well have been Satan.
It’s Dracula, after all, so it’s not that simple. The creative team did call that Book I, and so this fall we get Book II, which fills out some blanks before one hapless Jonathan Harker may journey to Castle Dracula. Believe me, it will be worth it. Dracula Book II: The Brides arrives November 18, 2025.
From Dark Horse:
In 1897, Bram Stoker’s classic novel introduced the most famous literary character of all time—the terrifying vampire lord, DRACULA. Now Dark Horse Comics and legendary comic-book creators Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage) and Kelley Jones (Batman: Red Rain, The Sandman) have teamed up to fill in the tantalizing gaps in the undying centuries of Dracula’s blood-drenched biography in an epic ongoing series of graphic novels. After the resounding runaway success of their first volume DRACULA: BOOK I—THE IMPALER, these legendary masters of the comic-book arts are returning to the story of the count with DRACULA: BOOK II—THE BRIDES, which explores the mysterious identities of the beautiful and seductive sirens that make up Dracula’s sinister harem. Dark Horse Comics will publish the second of four planned volumes in bookstores on November 18, 2025 and in comic shops on November 19, 2025.
“Readers who enjoyed the first volume of our epic exploration into the secret history of the world’s most famous literary character—DRACULA: BOOK I–THE IMPALER—will find even more sinister and horrifying thrills in our next chapter, BOOK II—THE BRIDES,” said writer Matt Wagner. “This ongoing project is a real labor of love for both Kelley and me and we couldn’t be happier with our results. Whereas BOOK I was a look into Dracula’s hellish origins, THE BRIDES is even bigger, badder and bloodier than ever as we unveil the unique and mysterious backstories for this sinister trio of vampiric vixens whose brief appearance in the book is so utterly unforgettable. But this is still Dracula’s story…we’ll see how the centuries he’s spent in his decaying castle lead him closer and closer to the events of Bram Stoker’s classic novel. And, after all, how few days go to make up a century.”
“The blood of Dracula, and that of his Brides he so lusts for, pumps swiftly through my veins as I draw Matt’s amazing epic of the Impaler’s unlife,” said artist Kelley Jones. “I can easily say nothing like this has been told and nothing like this has been seen before. Dracula can now be shown in his total horrific glory. His dangerous and beautiful wives will make the undead lord reveal more of himself. Each page is one more step to his fate and each volume is one more century he comes closer to us on a cursed journey you must read to believe. Man, I am glad Matt and I get to bring this to you all. It’s the book I was born to draw.”
The first volume of Wagner and Jones’s DRACULA saga was a runaway hit, breaking the Top 20 in Kickstarter’s all-time most successful graphic novel campaigns. DRACULA: BOOK II—THE BRIDES presents 120 pages of sexy and sinister story and art, almost 30 pages longer than BOOK I. Wagner and Jones are once joined for this creepy foray into the shadows of Castle Dracula by the stellar talents of José Villarrubia on colors and lettering by Rob Leigh.
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In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz, City Lights Theater Company and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].
