Warning: contains a preview for West of Sundown #1!
A new Western horror comic is coming to Vault Comics from the writer behind DC Comics’ Grayson and Nightwing. West of Sundown blends classic horror and classic film with folklore and mythology. The series is a loving homage to both film genres, while being a story that plays with them in a new way.
West of Sundown has the creative team of Tim Seeley, Aaron Campbell, Jim Terry, Triona Farrell, and Crank! Tim Seeley is best known for his work involving DC Comics’ Dick Grayson within the series Grayson and Nightwing. Aaron Campbell will co-write, making this the comic artist’s writing debut. Previously, he illustrated Infidel and John Constantine: Hellblazer, while also doing comic work involving iconic characters, such as Batman, Harley Quinn, James Bond, and The Shadow.
Now, CBR has shared a preview of West of Sundown. This Western horror series – coming in March of 2022 – will incorporate Southwest mythology, culture, and history, alongside classic archetypes of the genres it marries. In particular, this series is heavily inspired by Sergio Leone Westerns, as well as Hammer Horror films. Check out the cover, synopsis, and preview here:
A beautiful ancient vampire must flee monster slayers in New York City, and reclaim the ancestral soil that restores her undead flesh. But things have changed since she was reborn in the New Mexico desert, and now Constance Der Abend and her loyal ex-Confederate assistant Dooley must adapt to life in the rough frontier town of Sangre De Moro. A Western tale of survival starring a cast of literary horrors.
Series covers will be provided by Aaron Campbell and Jim Terry. On Twitter, Campbell revealed that each of the covers he does for the series will be in the style of Hammer Horror and Sergio Leone film posters. Hammer Film Productions is best known for its horror films – and the numerous sequels spawned from them – featuring iconic horror monsters and characters, including Dracula, the Mummy, and Frankenstein. Sergio Leone was known for his Spaghetti Westerns, which helped define the genre. His films include the Dollars Trilogy (A Fist Full of Dollars, For a Few Dollars More, and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly), and Once Upon a Time in the West.
Aaron Campbell describes this Vault Comics series as “Dracula meets La Llorona, Lovecraft meets El Cucuy, Frankenstein meet the Skinwalker somewhere in the northern frontier of New Mexico all while the west was being won.” La Llorona and El Cucuy are part of Mexican and Southwest American folklore, while Skinwalkers originate from Navajo culture. The incorporation of cultural horrors for the setting of the story is one of the most interesting components since these are elements that are not frequently included within the Western genre.
Tim Seeley adds:
West of Sundown is about the great mythologies of the old world slamming into the folklore of the new world…the legends of Europe, and the birth of the American beast. And, taking that theme as a skeleton, we’ve draped it with the sewed together skin of Sergio Leone Westerns and Hammer Horror films. Gritty sunset meets foggy nights. The gothic graveyard meets Boot Hill. What horrors lie in our shared unconsciousness, and how do we stuff them all into a too-tight corset?
This Western horror story certainly sounds like an ambitious undertaking that promises a new twist on familiar genres. This won’t be the usual kind of Western story from the past, which makes it a great way of refreshing the genre in a new light – which has been a theme in some comics as of late. The writer behind Grayson and Nightwing, teamed up with an incredible art team and co-writer is a great collaboration that will hopefully find success when West of Sundown #1 from Vault Comics releases March 3.
