Tales of the Vampires

Tales of the Vampires is a five issue American comic book limited series (later collected in a single trade paperback), published by Dark Horse Comics and set in the Buffyverse. It comprises an anthology of short stories written by Joss Whedon, Jane Espenson, Ben Edlund, and Drew Goddard. Each story tells the tale of one or more Buffyverse vampires, and the otherwise unrelated collection is strung together by a bridging story written by Whedon.

Tales of the Vampires
Trade paperback cover
Publication information
PublisherDark Horse Comics
ScheduleMonthly
Format32 pages (per issue), full color
GenreHorror
Publication dateDecember 10, 2003 - April 28, 2004
No. of issues5
Main character(s)
Creative team
Created byJoss Whedon
Written by
Artist(s)
Penciller(s)
Inker(s)
  • Derek Fridolfs
Colorist(s)

The anthology is presented as a series of stories told by an ancient vampire to a group of young Watchers. Tales of the Vampires is the tale of that storytelling session and functions as a bridge among the other items in the anthology. The stories in this series are generally considered to be an official part of the Buffyverse canon.

Dark Horse published a new one-shot special based on the Tales of the Vampires concept by Becky Cloonan, Vasilis Lolos, Gabriel Bá and Fabio Moon in June 2009. Specifically, this one-shot is a tie-in with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight storyline following "Harmonic Divergence" in which vampires become very popular with the public at large.[1]

Issues

Drawing on Your Nightmares

Halloween one-shot special (September 10, 2003)[2]

TitleWriterArtist
DamesBrett MatthewsSean Phillips
A noirish tale in which a gambling vampire meets his match while scouting casinos in 1930s Las Vegas, United States, which appeared in one-shot sample Drawing on Your Nightmares.

Issue #1

Published (December 10, 2003) cover by John Totleben[3]

TitleWriterArtist
Tales of the Vampires Part IJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
At a Victorian Watcher's academy, the instructors are teaching a group of young Watchers about vampires by allowing them to hear tales from a particularly evil vampire captive, Roche.
The Problem with VampiresDrew GoddardPaul Lee
Days before the events of "School Hard", we see how Spike and Drusilla leave Prague while chaos.

Drusilla has been captured by a human inquisitor and thrown into a Prague jail. The inquisitor proceeds to torture Drusilla in a unique chair built for that purpose in 1478. He hopes Dru will remember the pain forever, serving as a warning to other vampires to stay away from the people of Prague.

Drusilla tries to recount the things that make her happy, including little girls lost at the fair and little boys wandering too far from home, so that she can forget the torture. Spike is lying imprinted into the ground under the bridge he was thrown from by a Prague mob that shoved a stake into his chest, inches from his heart, not dusting him so that he can flee and warn other vampires to stay away from Prague. He then moves across the city, finds Drusilla, and dispatches her captor.

Spike picks up a damaged Drusilla and carries her out the door, headed for a first showdown with a Slayer in a town with a Hellmouth called Sunnydale.

StacyJoss WhedonCameron Stewart
A young teenage vampire named Stacy explains how, while human, she was enchanted by the idea of magic. Stacy's tale starts with her explaining that she is different and special because she understands magic. As she tries to explain this to her two friends, Jason and Dwayne, during a Lord of the Rings showing that captivates her, we learn that she remains isolated in her beliefs.

After the movie, in her vision of magic she is an elf princess, battling orcs. In reality, she spends time battling her friend Jason's unwanted advances. Stacy again reminds us that most people think her magic is silly, but then surprises us by stating that most people have never been murdered either. We are then taken through Stacy's siring at a party from which she rises up after two days in the bushes. No one found her in all that time.

This young girl then becomes connected—"evil, but connected" She finally realizes that the magic lies not with the solitary elves, but with the orc hordes, the monsters. She claims her magic with a band of other vampires.

Issue #2

Published (January 14, 2004) cover by Ben Templesmith[4]

TitleWriterArtist
Tales of the Vampires Part IIJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
Edna, one of the young trainees at the Watcher's academy begins to voice her suspicions about Roche's motivation for telling his tales.
Spot the VampireJane EspensonScott Morse
Spot the Vampire is a poem punctuated. The artwork is influenced by 1950s style children's magazine games and New Yorker magazines. The story is simply a single frame from a 1950s-looking department store on Christmas shopping day. The reader is then invited to look at each person in the frame to discover which is the vampire.
JackBrett MatthewsVatche Mavlian
The story opens up in late 1888 London with another crime being reported to police Superintendent Mallory. Inspector Whitcomb is on Jack's case but holds a secret of his own.

Issue #3

Published (February 11, 2004) cover by Eric Powell[5]

TitleWriterArtist
Tales of the Vampires Part IIIJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
Edna, one of the young trainees at the Watcher's academy uses her suspicions to provoke a violent reaction from Roche.
FatherJane EspensonJason Alexander
The tale of a long relationship between a vampire and his human son told over the lifespan of the latter.
AntiqueDrew GoddardBen Stenbeck
Buffy, Kira, and another scythe-activated Slayer break into the stronghold of the legendary vampire, Vlad Dracula, in an effort to rescue Buffy's comrade, Xander who had been placed in a trance to serve as Dracula's manservant. After a brief battle, Dracula finally reluctantly agrees to release Xander from the trance and return him to Buffy. This story marks the first appearance of Buffy and Xander following Chosen, the final episode of the television series.

Issue #4

Published (March 17, 2004) cover by Ben Edlund[6]

TitleWriterArtist
Tales of the Vampires Part IVJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
Roche finally reveals his origins.
Dust BowlJane EspensonJeff Parker
Joe Cooper is trying to work a barren field that rain hasn't touched as the 1933 Dust Bowl approaches. He is soon 'turned' into a vampire, but must face this new experience by himself.
Taking Care of BusinessBen EdlundBen Edlund & Derek Fridolfs
A vampire from the 15th century who was formerly an inquisitor has become maddened over the centuries and believes that the clergy should be killed because they are too 'certain' that God exists and that God prefers doubt. He thinks that he is an agent of God - until one night when he is buying candy at a gas station in San Gabriel. A confrontation of minds ensues between the vampire and a collared man who claims to be God.

Issue #5

Published (April 28, 2004) cover by Ben Edlund[7]

TitleWriterArtist
Tales of the Vampires Part VJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
Edna reveals Roche's sire as their plan reaches its conclusion.
Some Like it HotSam LoebTim Sale
A vampire seeks fun in the sun through some unusual surgery.
NumbBrett MatthewsCliff Richards
Fleshes out some brief events that happened to Angel, as he controls his evil side during "Amends".
Tales of the Vampires Part VIJoss WhedonAlex Sanchez & Derek Fridolfs
Edna is revealed to be Edna Fairweather, the grandmother of Rupert Giles, as she is rescued by the Watchers but curses them for their incompetence.

See also

References
  1. "NYCC: Becky Cloonan on "Buffy" and "Pixu"". comicbookresources.com. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  2. "Drawing on Your Nightmares". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  3. "Tales of the Vampires #1". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  4. "Tales of the Vampires #2". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  5. "Tales of the Vampires #3". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  6. "Tales of the Vampires #4". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  7. "Tales of the Vampires #5". Dark Horse Comics. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
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