Written by: Sam Santiago
Your collection is about to thank you. Your wallet is already filing a complaint.
Dark Horse Comics and Marvel Comics are cracking open the coffin on one of Marvel’s bloodiest deep cuts with "The Best of Marvel’s Vampire Tales Volume One", a new archival hardcover that drags the publisher’s 1970s horror era back into the light, whether it likes it or not.
This isn’t some flimsy nostalgia grab. Comics historians Chris Ryall and John Lind are steering the ship, with Chris Shadoian handling design duties, which means this thing is built to sit on your shelf like a trophy. Expect full color reproductions of the original Vampire Tales covers, a fresh introduction, and a thick stack of stories from the magazine that helped Marvel realize horror fans were more than happy to trade capes for fangs.
Originally unleashed in 1973, "Vampire Tales" was one of Marvel’s black-and-white anthologies that went all in on bloodsuckers, demons, and characters who would absolutely fail a morality test. You get the tragic antihero Morbius, early solo stories from Blade before he became a full-blown icon, and Lilith bringing family drama the only way a vampire can.
And then there’s Satana, the Devil’s Daughter, making her debut and immediately making it everyone’s problem. Subtle she is not. We loved this character and are glad she is getting the respect and recognition in this tome.
The book pulls nearly 300 pages from the first six issues and packs them with work from a murderer’s row of comic talent. Chris Claremont, Gerry Conway, Stan Lee, Marv Wolfman, and Jim Steranko all had a hand in shaping the chaos, along with a long list of artists who clearly understood that horror comics should feel a little dangerous.
The oversized 360 page hardcover lands on August 18, 2026 and will run you $65. Pre orders are already live through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and your local comic shop if you still enjoy the thrill of hunting things down in person.
Bottom line, your shelf is about to look incredible. Your bank account is about to look like it got bitten in a dark alley. Either way, we view this as a win-win and will definitely be adding it to our collections.