Vault Comics has announced Hollow Heart, a queer horror story from writer and letterer Paul Allor, and artist Paul Tucker. Hollow Heart reunites the two Tet creators for a queer monster love story about the choices we make between giving our loved ones what they want and giving them what we think they need.
The release of Hollow Heart marks the official expansion of Vault’s horror imprint, Nightfall, into a year-round publishing imprint. Instead of occurring once a year in autumn, Nightfall horror titles will now be released throughout the entire year.
Hollow Heart follows EL, who used to be human, but now he’s a jumble of organs in a bio-suit. El is also in tremendous pain and has been for a very long time. Hope arrives in the form of Mateo, a mechanic brought in to work on EL’s suit. Mateo sees EL in a way no one else ever has. And what’s more: Mateo offers EL an escape.
Hollow Heart#1 hits store shelves in February 2021, and will launch with a Vault Vintage variant cover by Nathan Gooden and Tim Daniel that pays tribute to Frank Miller and Paul Rubenstein’s legendary cover to Rom: Space Knight #1.
Vault Comics has announced The Picture of Everything Else, a dark new literary horror story from star writer Dan Watters, artist Kishore Mohan, letterer Aditya Bidikar, and designer Tim Daniel.
As the 20th century dawns, art promises to change the world…and steep it in blood. A rash of impossible killings sweep through Paris, tearing the rich and beautiful apart in their beds. When two art thieves stumble upon the portraits of the victims damaged in the exact same manner they died, it appears the man who once painted the immortal portrait of Dorian Gray has returned—with darker plans for future works. From the minds of Dan Watters (Coffin Bound, Lucifer, Deep Roots) and Kishore Mohan comes a haunting balance of depravity and beauty.
The Picture of Everything Else#1 hits store shelves in December 2020, and will launch with variant covers by Nathan Gooden and Adam Gorham.
Vault Comics has announced I Walk With Monsters, a dark, heartfelt horror series from writer Paul Cornell, rising star artist Sally Cantirino, and colorist Dearbhla Kelly.
In Jacey’s past is the Important Man who took away her brother. Now Jacey has David, who sometimes transforms into a terrifying beast. Together, they’ve found a way to live–and to hunt, sniffing out men who prey on the vulnerable. But Jacey and David are about to run into the Important Man again. From Paul Cornell and Sally Cantirino comes a haunting story about the monsters that walk beside us all, and sometimes lurk within.
I Walk With Monsters #1 hits store shelves in November 2020, and will launch with variant covers by Nathan Gooden and Jen Hickman.
The White Wolf/Onyx Path RPG Vampire: the Masqueradereturns to comics courtesy of Vault, and this issue is a wonderful entry point into a complex world of alliances, hierarchies, and yes, bloodthirst. Tim Seeley, Devmalya Pramanik, and Addison Duke handle the lead story of Vampire: the Masquerade #1 focusing on Cecily Bain, who is muscle for a vampire clan in Minneapolis. However, she also has a fiercely independent streak and the tiniest trace of a soft side beneath her murderous, take no shit attitude. On the flip side is Tini Howard, Blake Howard, and Nathan Gooden’s backup story about the anarch, Colleen, who isn’t beholden to the Twin Cities power struggle and just wants to make sure her and her vampire buddies survive to the next day. It was really nice to get two incredibly different perspectives on this rich world, especially as a newcomer to the franchise. (My only real exposure to Vampire the Masquerade was in the Baphomet/Morrigan-centric issue of WicDiv even though the lore has always fascinated, and I picked up some of the RPG sourcebooks via Humble Bundle.)
Seeley and Pramanik set up Cecily as an anti-hero with a heart of gold in Vampire: the Masquerade #1’s opening story. She proves her ruthlessness by killing the clan accountant’s girlfriend (He’s just valuable enough.) in the opening scene, but then she shows tenderness with her sister Karen, who has dementia, and a new vampire, Ali. Pramanik with the help of colorist Addison Duke uses intense shadows to create intimacy in their visuals and hint that Cecily is strongly considering turning Karen into a vampire so she doesn’t have to deal with the pain of completely losing her and also that her youth is restored.
This concern for the weak continues to Ali, who was sired by an anonymous vampire and is clan-less drifter in a highly hierarchical world except this may not be the case thanks to some suspenseful silent sequences from Seeley and Pramanik. Visually, Devmalya Pramanik and Addison Duke lean into an industrial, post-punk vibe that hints at past “glory days” for Cecily and Karen and also hinting that Cecily might have a sense of nostalgia between her tough, get the job done veneer. Her interest in alternative culture and music does dovetail nicely with her refusal to be more of a company woman and just do her job for the Prince instead of getting the vampire clan equivalent of a desk job and lose some of her precious freedom. (And, by extension, a lack of prying eyes on Karen.)
In both stories, Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, and Blake Howard lean on characterization and easy-to-connect-with personal relationships instead of the deep Vampire the Masquerade lore to drive the story. Without the vampirism, Colleen and her band of anarchs (Basically, vampire without a cause.) could be young people with wanderlust that favor the open road instead of stable jobs and lifestyles. The character sheet for Colleen (And Cecily too, while we’re here.) adds real depth to her character and the messed up relationship with her husband/sire Mitch and also acts as a rare peek at the bottom of the author’s theoretical iceberg. The backup is a free spirit to the rigid structures that Cecily encounters in the main story, and Addison Duke uses a lighter palette because as a thin blood, Colleen can actually go out during the day. The Howards and Gooden’s story adds depth and perspective via a momentum-filled On the Road with vampires plotline instead of relying on boring exposition to show what life as another kind of vampire is like.
With two memorable leads and a focus on showing readers what it’s like in the universe instead of exhaustively explaining its rules, Vampire: the Masquerade #1 is an enjoyable read even if you’re not familiar with the RPG. The dual nature of immortality shows up a lot in the comic, but Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, Blake Howard, Devmalya Pramanik, Nathan Gooden, and basically Gothic set-dresser Addison Duke dive into other implications of being a vampire in this world like navigating bureaucracies and complicated interpersonal relationship. Hey, it sounds like the real world, but with hotter outfits, blood, and fangs.
Story: Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, Blake Howard Art: Devmalya Pramanik, Nathan Gooden Colors: Addison Duke Letters: Andworld Story: 7.9 Art: 8.7 Overall: 8.5 Recommendation: Buy
Vault provided Graphic Policy with a FREE copy for review
Vault Comics has announced The Devil’s Red Bride, a brutal samurai grindhouse epic by writer Sebastian Girner, rising star artist John Bivens, colorist Iris Monahan, and letterer Jeff Powell. Set in 16th century Japan, The Devil’s Red Bride is a blood-drenched love letter to Samurai fiction in a chilling tale of guilt, trauma, and vengeance.
The fates of warlords ebb and flow like tides of blood, none more than the Aragami Clan who follow their lord clad in the ‘Red Devil’ mask into every battle. But when Lord Aragami succumbs to illness, his daughter, the fierce Ketsuko, hatches a plot to save her people, no matter the cost…Years later, as Ketsuko wanders the heaving battlefields of her ruined homeland, she discovers a chance to avenge the terrible wrong done to her clan, even if it means stepping back onto a road steeped in slaughter.
16th century Japan. The fates of warlords ebb and flow like tides of blood, none more than the Aragami Clan who follow their lord clad in the ‘Red Devil’ mask into every battle. But when Lord Aragami succumbs to illness, his daughter, the fierce Ketsuko, hatches a plot to save her people, no matter the cost…
Years later, as Ketsuko wanders the heaving battlefields of her ruined homeland, she discovers a chance to avenge the terrible wrong done to her clan, even if it means stepping back onto a road steeped in slaughter.
From writer Sebastin Girner (Shirtless Bear-Fighter!, Scales & Scoundrels) and artist John Bivens (Creature Feature, Spread) comes a blood-drenched love letter to Samurai fiction in a chilling tale of guilt, trauma, and vengeance.
The Devil’s Red Bride #1 hits store shelves in October 2020, and will launch with a variant cover by Nathan Gooden and Tim Daniel.
Vault has announced a set of new Vampire: The Masquerade #1 variant covers from legendary artist David Mack.
The gorgeous, painted piece by Mack will come in two different printed variants. The first, in a lush purple and blue, will be a standard, open order variant. The blood red version will be a special, deluxe variant, printed on thick card stock, with silver foiling and spot-gloss highlights, and will retail for $9.99.
Each issue of the Vampire: The Masquerade will include exclusive material for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition of the tabletop RPG from Modiphius Entertainment. These materials enable readers to play alongside the unfolding comic events in their own in-game chronicles.
Sink your teeth into the hidden world of vampires, ghouls, and hunters who live in the shadows and scheme among us. In the comic series, Cecily Baine, an enforcer for the Twin Cities’ elite cabal of Kindred (vampires), takes a mysterious young vampire under her wing and is swept up in a conspiracy that can shake the foundations of vampire society.
Vampire: The Masquerade is co-written by Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, and Blake Howard, with art by Devmalya Pramanik and Nathan Gooden, with colors by Addison Duke, letters by AndWorld Design, design by Tim Daniel, and covers by Aaron Campbell, Nathan Gooden, and David Mack. The first issue will hit store shelves on August 5th, 2020.
When Cecily Brine, a courier for the Twin Cities Camarilla, takes a mysterious younger vampire under her wing, she’s dragged into an insidious conspiracy. Will she be able to escape with her unlife and protect her aging, Alzheimer’s afflicted sister, or will she be yet another pawn sacrificed to the Masquerade?
Meanwhile, an Anarch coterie investigates a mysterious killing.
Vault Comics has announced Shadow Service, a dark and magical new series co-created by writer Cavan Scott and artist Corin M. Howell, with colors by Triona Farrell, letters by Andworld Design, and design by Tim Daniel.
Worried your partner is cheating? Need a missing person found? Gina Meyers is the Private Investigator for you. Sure, she’s a witch who worries that her powers make her more of a monster than the crooks she’s trying to catch, but it’s not like London’s criminal underworld is literally going to hell… is it? This is Shadow Service. Spy craft meets black magic in the shadowy world of MI666.
Shadow Service#1 hits store shelves in July 2020, and will debut with a Pulp & Paint B cover by Nathan Gooden and Tim Daniel.
Vault Comics has revealed Giga, an epic new sci-fi series co-created by writer Alex Paknadel and artist John Lê, with colors by Rosh, letters by Aditya Bidikar, and design by Tim Daniel.
Nobody knows why the skyscraper-sized mechs known as ‘Giga’ fought their bitter, centuries’ long war. All they know is that when the fighting finally stopped, the dormant Giga became humanity’s new habitat and new gods in one. When disgraced engineer Evan Calhoun finds an apparently murdered Giga, his society and the fascistic tech-centered religious order that controls it are rapidly thrown into chaos.
Giga #1 hits store shelves in the summer of 2020, and will debut with a Vault Vintage B cover by Nathan Gooden & Tim Daniel, that pays homage to Herb Trimpe‘s iconic cover to Shogun Warriors #1, published by Marvel Comics.
Vault Comics has announced that they have partnered with Paradox Interactive to publish the official Vampire: The Masquerade comic book series. The first comic in the series will be available for purchase from comics retailers across the US in July 2020. The comic is co-written by Tim Seeley, Tini Howard, and Blake Howard, drawn by Devmalya Pramanik, Nathan Gooden, and colored by Addison Duke, with covers by Aaron Campbell.
From the internationally bestselling World of Darkness universe, Vault brings readers an official Vampire: The Masquerade comic series. Sink your teeth into the hidden world of vampires, ghouls, and hunters who live in the shadows and scheme among us. In the comic series, Cecily Baine, an enforcer for the Twin Cities’ elite cabal of Kindred (vampires), takes a mysterious young vampire under her wing and is swept up in a conspiracy that can shake the foundations of vampire society.
Each issue will include exclusive material for Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition of the tabletop RPG from Modiphius Entertainment. These materials enable readers to play alongside the unfolding comic events in their own chronicles.
Vault Comics has announced Engineward, a zodiac-inspired, twelve-issue science-fantasy comic series written by George Mann, drawn by Joe Eisma, colored by Michael Garland, lettered by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou and designed by Tim Daniel.
In Engineward, Earth is an ancient myth, long forgotten. Now, the god-like Celestials, who embody the surviving zodiac signs, rule with brutal efficiency. When Joss, an Engineward, discovers and reactivates the head of a fossilized Ghoulem, she learns all is not as intended. Her destiny—and the truth about her imperious rulers—lies somewhere far beyond the borders of her shantytown.
Every issue of Engineward will feature a special “Zodiac Cover” drawn by Joe Eisma and designed by Tim Daniel that portrays one of the twelve Celestials of Engineward, released according to the zodiac calendar and the sign they represent.
Engineward#1 debuts with a Pulp & Paint B cover variant by Nathan Gooden and Tim Daniel. It hits store shelves in June 2020.
