Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Comics, dynamite, entertainment, Jenny Frison, Mike Mayhew, Nancy Collins, vampirella

"Vampirella Is The Last Daugther Of Lilith…" – Nancy A Collins Talks Vampirella's Parents

Published Thu, 09 Apr 2015 07:00:00 -0500

Doug Murray, co-writer of Jungle Girl: Season 3 #1, talks with writer Nancy Collins about Vampirella #11, both on sale this week. Cover art by Mike Mayhew and Jenny Frison.

DOUG MURRAY: The world has, in recent years, been inundated by vampire stories. What makes Vampirella different from the other vamps that are so prevalent in literature?

NANCY COLLINS: Unlike a lot of the more recent fictional vampires, Vampirella has her roots in action-adventure as well as horror. She is a proactive heroine who hunts vampires and other monsters, despite being one herself. And she's the first of her kind, in that regard. Like Red Sonja and Wonder Woman, she's something of an archetype.

DM: Vampi has been around for a long time, and has now had several origin stories. How is yours different from the others and how does it fit in the overall history of Vampi?

NC: One of the things I definitely wanted to do when I took over the writing chores on Vampirella was clarify who her biological father truly was, as there has been a great deal of conjecture over the years as to his identity, or even if she had a father at all. My version of Vampirella's origin is loosely based on both Tom Sniegoski's "Mystery Walk" and David Conway's "World's End", in that Vampirella is the last daughter of Lilith, the powerful sorceress and Adam's first wife, and was raised to hunt/kill vampires in order to rectify her mother's sins while Lilith was secretly using her to consolidate power in order to overthrow the Powers That Be in her favor. Now that the biblical Cain has been revealed as her bio-dad that means both her parents are actually human–cursed ones, of course, but human nonetheless–which helps explain her empathy for the human race, despite the fact she was born and raised as a vampire.

DM: The concept of Cain and Abel has turned up quite often recently—most recently in the Supernatural TV series. Do you have any idea as to why this is happening?

NC: Cain and Abel is a classic story that speaks to us on an allegorical level and, as such, is woven into the tapestry of Western culture, so I'm not surprised when the brothers show their faces in pop culture. Believe it or else, I only started watching the Supernatural series via Netflix a couple of months before scripting the "Accursed" story arc. When I realized that Cain and the Mark of Cain would be a part of the series, I curtailed my viewing until I finished my scripts, as I didn't want to risk being influenced. I believe "my" Cain is considerably different from theirs, and the curse on his bloodline is my own idea.

DM: Vampi's costume has always seemed to exist solely for the entertainment of male readers. Can you give us a rational explanation of why she wears it?

NC: I refer to it as her "battle costume", and it's what her mother gave her to wear. So she looks like that because her mama dressed her funny. However, I've made a point of having her wear normal clothes when she's not fighting, as opposed to traipsing about like that 24/7. Patrick Berkenkotter has drawn her wearing some very elegant ensembles of late.

DM: The Kabal seems an interesting group. Do you have plans for them in the future? How about Devillina? Will we continue to see her?

NC: Yes, The Kabal will feature prominently in Vampirella's life for the foreseeable near-future. And I think you mean Draculina …Yes, I have plans for her down the line as well.

For more on Vampirella Vol 2 #11, click here.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!