Vampire King

Prepare unrealistic expectations: Stephen King pens first original comic

The news that Stephen King is writing a comic book gets you excited because he’s one of the world’s greatest talents testing his skills in a slightly different realm. It’s like when Michael Jordan moved from basketball to baseball. But hopefully better.

King’s baseball is American Vampire, a new series that hit shelves yesterday about vampires in—wait for it—America. The book’s basic premise is that vampires can evolve in response to their environment just like living creatures. The idea was originally dreamed up by writer Scott Snyder, who pitched it to Vertigo and planned on penning the whole series himself. He asked King to provide a quote that could be used for promotional purposes, but King liked the idea so much that he asked if he could actually join the project.

Thus, the first five issues of American Vampire will hold two interrelated stories. One written by King, the other by Snyder. King’s tale focuses on a bank-robbing cowboy in the 1880’s who becomes America’s first vampire. This vamp’s big evolutionary leap? He doesn’t mind sunlight. Meanwhile, Snyder’s story follows a female who goes undead in 1920’s Hollywood.

Even without King’s involvement, we’d predict success for this title. The premise is provocative, plus we hear vampire stories are kinda popular these days.

Forward to a Buddy Invite a Buddy