Children of the Atom/the Night
Comic books are awesome because they provide a medium in which a whole bunch of weird concepts can be thrown together in a way that makes sense... Or at least in a way that makes acceptable nonsense.
Take vampires, for instance. Adding vampires to superhero comics works because hey, why the hell not? We've already got radioactive spider bites, cosmic rays, alien civilizations, assorted gods, and a giant purple man who eats planets, so really--are magically immortal demonic bloodsuckers any weirder? Do they some how lessen the seriousness of a universe where a giant orange rock monster went back in time to become Blackbeard the Pirate, or a naked silver man flies through space on a surfboard? Again, I say no.
So bring on the X-men/Vampires crossover, people. It can't get any weirder, and it might even be fun.
Behold, Upcoming Vampire Shenanigans. Solicitations for July 2010!
Death of Dracula #1 Cover Artwork!
He is the legendary Lord of the Vampires. Dracula. Who would dare attempt to overthrow him? Only Dracula's son Xarus, a ruthless and clever upstart with the bold ambition to unite all the world’s vampire sects under one flag. But Xarus's older brother Janus isn't sure he likes the idea of a new regime and seeks allies to oppose Xarus. The ultimate battle to control Earth's Creatures of the Night unfolds, with the future of the vampire race - and possibly the Marvel Universe - at stake.
... "at stake." Get it? Marvel's version of Dracula, by the way, is totally badass. If the use of Dracula here--even if it does involve minor annoyances like giving him never-before-seen offspring--is even HALF as awesome as his appearances in the criminally canceled Captain Britain & MI:13 mentioned in the above link, this is gonna be a hoot. And I'm thinking it's gonna tie in to this little gem...
X-Men #1 Exhibit A. Exhibit B*. Can YOU spot the differences between these two pictures?
THE HEROIC AGE IS HERE!
“MUTANTS VERSUS VAMPIRES,” PART 1
When a suicide bomber strikes in downtown San Francisco, it gets the immediate attention of the X-Men. But this is not your garden variety terrorist - and he’s not acting alone. Vampires from around the globe are descending en masse on the City by the Bay, staking a brutal claim for the patch of land the X-Men call their home. What is their agenda? Who is their mysterious leader? The X-Men are about to find out, as they brace themselves for a war of the species that will wrack the Marvel Universe.
Holy shit, it's the X-Men versus some goddamn vampires. And oh look, they've brought some** friends along for the adventure.
Yes, that's Vampire Jubilee, folks.
I'm actually kind of excited by this, in case the whole posting about it wasn't a dead giveaway (the vampires showing up thing, not necessarily Vampire Jubilee, that is). Mostly because for as out of left field as this seems, it kind of makes sense. The vampire arc in Captain Britain was all about Dracula leading an invasion of vampires against the UK (from his moonbase by means of flying magic pirate ship, of course) to create a new vampire homeland and end the Vampire Diaspora. That didn't end well for them. So now they're looking to claim new real estate where Marvel's Merry Mutants have set up shop. Again, attacking a discrete island "nation." As choice targets go, of course, a speck of floating rock in San Francisco Bay populated almost entirely by a superpowered paramilitary force and assorted allies seems like a bad idea, strategically, but really fun for the purposes of over-the-top storytelling.
... I was going to close with "I hope it doesn't suck," completely unironically. Really, I actually wrote that before catching what an idiotic pun that made. So rather than think of something else to say, I'm just gonna stop rambling right here.
And as dessert, I give you the article that started it all for me, Marvel Dracula + Twilight = WIN.
*Because what Wolverine really needed was more claws.
**Yes, that's PROBABLY Jean Grey's reincarnation with some BFGs and the Daywalker. Again, I'm more excited than I should be.
Take vampires, for instance. Adding vampires to superhero comics works because hey, why the hell not? We've already got radioactive spider bites, cosmic rays, alien civilizations, assorted gods, and a giant purple man who eats planets, so really--are magically immortal demonic bloodsuckers any weirder? Do they some how lessen the seriousness of a universe where a giant orange rock monster went back in time to become Blackbeard the Pirate, or a naked silver man flies through space on a surfboard? Again, I say no.
So bring on the X-men/Vampires crossover, people. It can't get any weirder, and it might even be fun.
Behold, Upcoming Vampire Shenanigans. Solicitations for July 2010!
Death of Dracula #1 Cover Artwork!
He is the legendary Lord of the Vampires. Dracula. Who would dare attempt to overthrow him? Only Dracula's son Xarus, a ruthless and clever upstart with the bold ambition to unite all the world’s vampire sects under one flag. But Xarus's older brother Janus isn't sure he likes the idea of a new regime and seeks allies to oppose Xarus. The ultimate battle to control Earth's Creatures of the Night unfolds, with the future of the vampire race - and possibly the Marvel Universe - at stake.
... "at stake." Get it? Marvel's version of Dracula, by the way, is totally badass. If the use of Dracula here--even if it does involve minor annoyances like giving him never-before-seen offspring--is even HALF as awesome as his appearances in the criminally canceled Captain Britain & MI:13 mentioned in the above link, this is gonna be a hoot. And I'm thinking it's gonna tie in to this little gem...
X-Men #1 Exhibit A. Exhibit B*. Can YOU spot the differences between these two pictures?
THE HEROIC AGE IS HERE!
“MUTANTS VERSUS VAMPIRES,” PART 1
When a suicide bomber strikes in downtown San Francisco, it gets the immediate attention of the X-Men. But this is not your garden variety terrorist - and he’s not acting alone. Vampires from around the globe are descending en masse on the City by the Bay, staking a brutal claim for the patch of land the X-Men call their home. What is their agenda? Who is their mysterious leader? The X-Men are about to find out, as they brace themselves for a war of the species that will wrack the Marvel Universe.
Holy shit, it's the X-Men versus some goddamn vampires. And oh look, they've brought some** friends along for the adventure.
Yes, that's Vampire Jubilee, folks.
I'm actually kind of excited by this, in case the whole posting about it wasn't a dead giveaway (the vampires showing up thing, not necessarily Vampire Jubilee, that is). Mostly because for as out of left field as this seems, it kind of makes sense. The vampire arc in Captain Britain was all about Dracula leading an invasion of vampires against the UK (from his moonbase by means of flying magic pirate ship, of course) to create a new vampire homeland and end the Vampire Diaspora. That didn't end well for them. So now they're looking to claim new real estate where Marvel's Merry Mutants have set up shop. Again, attacking a discrete island "nation." As choice targets go, of course, a speck of floating rock in San Francisco Bay populated almost entirely by a superpowered paramilitary force and assorted allies seems like a bad idea, strategically, but really fun for the purposes of over-the-top storytelling.
... I was going to close with "I hope it doesn't suck," completely unironically. Really, I actually wrote that before catching what an idiotic pun that made. So rather than think of something else to say, I'm just gonna stop rambling right here.
And as dessert, I give you the article that started it all for me, Marvel Dracula + Twilight = WIN.
*Because what Wolverine really needed was more claws.
**Yes, that's PROBABLY Jean Grey's reincarnation with some BFGs and the Daywalker. Again, I'm more excited than I should be.