Before
Vampirella was marked by the Cult of Chaos as a living sacrifice
to Lady Umbra, the Queen of Shadows, she worked as an field operative for
Cestus Dei, the Vatican's version of MI-6. In this one-shot, set before
the "Our Lady of Shadows" story arc, Vampirella
must go undercover at a French convent to investigate a series of weird
deaths and odd disappearances believed to be the work of a long-dead
evil witch known as
Metifa, Satan's Mistress. That's right - one of the
classic Warren-era menaces makes her Dynamite debut, 40+ years since her last appearance!
I wrote
Prelude To Shadows as a tribute to Grindhouse 'eurotrash' such as Mario Bava's
Black Sunday (1960), Juan L. Moctezuma's
Alucarda (1977), and Jess Franco's
Venus In Furs (1969); Italian giallo cinema ala Dario Argento's
Suspiria (1977) and Lucio Fulci's
Don't Torture A Duckling (1972); as well as nunsploitation films like Ken Russell's
The Devils (1971)
and Gilberto MartÃnez Solares'
Satanico Pandemonium (1975). I hope you enjoy it!
In stores October 22nd, just in time for Halloween!