This morning THE DAILY BEAST revealed a 3 page preview from AMERICAN VAMPIRE #1 and an interview with the master of horror: AMERICAN VAMPIRE co-writer Stephen King.
And StephenKing.com has an awesome trailer for you to view.
Salvating yet? Don’t walk. Run to pick it up this Wednesday.
AMERICAN VAMPIRE is about to be unleashed on March 17. Before you pick it up, get to know about author Scott Snyder’s love of scary stories and his collaboration with Stephen King and artist Rafael Albuquerque. Read his On the Ledge here.
We are very excited to announce that the exclusive first preview of AMERICAN VAMPIRE issue #1 will run on Monday March 15th with THE DAILY BEAST, the influential and popular news and arts website started by co-founder and editor-in-chief Tina Brown. And to accompany the preview, they will have an interview with the master of horror: AMERICAN VAMPIRE co-writer Stephen King.
Folks, make no mistake about it, this is big news.
When we first announced AMERICAN VAMPIRE we generated national mainstream press attention: USA TODAY, THE NEW YORK TIMES, THE DAILY BEAST and much more. Wave two of the publicity campaign has already begun in earnest this week:
* We unveiled co-publisher Jim Lee’s variant cover to issue #1 right here on Graphic Content.
* Interviews with AMERICAN VAMPIRE co-writer and creator Scott Snyder appear in this month's MAXIM Magazine and this week's PUBLISHERS WEEKLY/COMICS WEEK.
*The April issue of WIZARD Magazine (#223) includes a two page feature story on artist Rafael Albuquerque.
And that's just the beginning. In addition to widespread press coverage, you’ll see unique pieces and sneak peeks posted here on Graphic Content. So keep checking back.
The new breed of vampire is coming.
I can’t wait for you to see it . . . just days away….
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Today, I’m ecstatic to reveal the variant cover of AMERICAN VAMPIRE #1. Not only is the story going to keep you captivated, so are all the covers. This is the first variant as the next 4 issues will also have variant covers by some of the top names in the industry.
I asked Jim Lee about working on the cover of this amazing new series and here’s what he had to say:
“One of the unique challenges of contributing a cover to a brand spanking new series with original, never seen before characters is obviously not knowing who the characters are: how they act, the way they hold themselves, the forces that shaped their personal histories. Luckily for me, American Vampire's artist-Rafael Albuquerque-made it a non-issue. From just a single illustration, I could see the world he was creating, and it made drawing Pearl and Skinner for this alternate cover both a breeze and a hella lot of fun. The drawings are that good.
The fact there are words to accompany the pictures is pure gravy. Speaking as a fan, I can't wait to read what Scott Snyder and Stephen King have come up with. They have a lot to live up to :)” –Jim Lee
And here’s what the one and only Stephen King had to say about Jim’s cover:
“That's one of the best comic mag covers I've seen since the days of my misspent youth, when I haunted the newsstands in Brunswick, Maine each month for the new Creepy or Eerie. Kudos to Mr. Lee.” –Stephen King
Pretty cool, huh?
“Every time Rafa sends a cover (or anything, really), it makes my day. He's a main driving creative force behind the series - his story-telling instincts, the different tones he creates for my story and Steve's, the expressiveness of the characters, the way he brings them to life on the page... What I love about his covers specifically is the way he manages to conjure up two really compelling but completely different moments from the issue - one from Steve's story and one from mine - and somehow put them together to make this weirdly coherent, beautiful, spooky whole. Like his pages, his covers are bold and striking and fiercely original. The bloody candy gave me chills when I first saw it. I honestly feel like the luckiest guy at Vertigo to get to work with Rafa.” --Scott Snyder, author of AMERICAN VAMPIRE
"The idea here was picturing teenage vampire lovers, but in the 'American Vampire way'. I really like the top panel, with the candies and blood. Feel happy about the way this cover came out." --Rafael Albuquerque, artist of AMERICAN VAMPIRE
Now, check out Rafael 's cover to AMERICAN VAMPIRE #3:
Hi Graphic Content Readers!
Rafael Albuquerque here! Pamela Mullin asked me to talk about the creative process for AMERICAN VAMPIRE #2 cover!
So... The main ideas for the cover concept of AMERICAN VAMPIRE are:
-Presenting the characters in a mysterious way
-Reiterate the format of the book, which brings together two tied-in stories.
Following this little briefing, I decided to use our anti-hero Skinner Sweet on this cover, using an old west hat (that was the easiest part, 'cause we've already used Pearl Jones on the #1) on the bottom. The top, however, was way trickier.
The idea was creating an image that could remind the Hollywood glamour and also death, so my first thought was showing part of the famous sign, and some ravens over it (see image attached).
The editors thought that we needed something more directly related to the story core, so after some try-outs, I came up with the idea of a bloody hand opening a dressing room door.
The editors liked it! YEAH!
The main color took a little time to be chosen. I tried versions of purple:
And green (green one was actually approved by everybody):
But after a visit from Gabriel Bá (Daytripper), he suggested a darker color. A beautiful and desaturated kind of blue. It killed any doubts we had about colors. (Valeu Bá!)
Really hope everybody enjoys this one. It's my personal favorite so far! I’ve got to go now and think about the next covers and draw some pages before Mark Doyle kicks my ass out of the book!
Cheers!!
Rafael.
