Vampirella #3
Vampirella #3 (Warren Publishing, January 1970) continues the young series' experiment with giving Vampirella's supernatural family their own solo adventures — this issue is notable for being the first issue in the run where Vampirella herself does not appear in any story, with the spotlight falling entirely on supporting characters and anthology tales. It deepens the mythology of Vaalgania, the dark fantasy realm introduced in #2, through the second Evily story written by Bill Parente and illustrated by Tom Sutton, showing Warren's willingness to let the magazine breathe beyond its title character. The issue also marks the series' first letters page ('Vampi's Scarlet Letters'), establishing a reader-engagement format that would become a fixture of Warren horror magazines. Its unusual cover — a collaboration between underground cartoonist Vaughn Bodé and Larry Todd — distinguishes it visually from everything else on spinner racks at the time.
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Published in January 1970 as the third issue of Warren's bi-monthly black-and-white horror magazine, Vampirella #3 was edited by Bill Parente, who also wrote the Evily feature story with art from Tom Sutton. The cover was produced by Vaughn Bodé and Larry Todd — and according to 'The Art of Vampirella: The Warren Years,' the painting was created first, with the interior story 'Blast Off! To a Nightmare!' written afterward to match the image. The issue's contributors included writers Forrest J. Ackerman, Al Hewetson, Terri Abrahms, and Nicola Cuti alongside artists Billy Graham, Dick Piscopo, Jack Sparling, and Ed Robbins — a cross-section of the diverse freelance talent Warren was drawing on in those formative early issues.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Published January 1970 by Warren Publishing as a bi-monthly black-and-white magazine-format anthology.
- Contains the second appearance of Evily, Vampirella's cousin and sorceress of Vaalgania, in the story 'Wicked Is Who Wicked Does!' — written by Bill Parente with art by Tom Sutton.
- Notable as the first issue in the Warren Vampirella run to not feature any Vampirella story — the title character is absent from all interior stories.
- Marks the debut of the series' letters page, 'Vampi's Scarlet Letters,' which includes a letter by future comics writer Doug Moench.
- Cover art by underground cartoonist Vaughn Bodé and Larry Todd; per 'The Art of Vampirella: The Warren Years,' the cover painting preceded the story it inspired.
- Interior stories include 'Blast Off! To a Nightmare!' (Al Hewetson/Jack Sparling), 'Eleven Footsteps to Lucy Fuhr' (Terri Abrahms & Nick Beal/Ed Robbins), 'I Wake Up...Screaming!' (Billy Graham), and 'The Caliegia!' (Nicola Cuti/Dick Piscopo).
- Content has been reprinted in Vampirella Archives Vol. 1 (Dynamite Entertainment, December 2010), Vampirella: Crimson Chronicles #1 (Harris Comics, 2004), and the Vampirella #3 Facsimile Edition (Dynamite Entertainment, February 2020).
- The series, of which this is an early installment, ran for 112 issues from September 1969 to March 1983 under Warren Publishing.
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Reprinted in Vampirella #11 (1975), Vampirella Archives #1 (2010), Vampirella (1969), Facsimile Edition #3 (2020)
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