Earlier in the month I was glad to bring to you the news of the Kickstarter (sitting right now at 38k of the asked for 10k) for Ricardo Delgado’s Dracula of Transylvania, and today I am lucky to share the few question I was able to ask him about this amazing project!
- Why Dracula? Any other of the genre classics you might want to take a crack at?
RD: Because I love monsters, for one! But also I just felt that there was room for a version that expanded the visual possibilities while placing the story in a real historical context that informed the reader as they go along. Real history is fun to learn but tough to know and by that I mean that there was beautiful and horrific stuff that happened in 1899, in which my story is set, and I wanted the horror and beauty of that history to mirror the horror and beauty of the DRACULA OF TRANSYLVANIA dark fairy tale or ghost story. The weaving of this vampire story within real history and real places in history fascinated me, which is why I annotated much of the story to explain what folks ate in Paris in 1899 and which opera houses were open in Rome, stuff like that, but also to show that Dracula in this context is a grand villain, a conqueror, a shadow in history that has made the European continent tremble with fear for almost a thousand years.
- What’s your process for starting a project like this?
RD: Research, research, research! Yet along with that, finding ways to expand upon the Stoker story in a healthy way to make the story, the setting and the characters around Dracula even more supernatural, if that’s possible, and give HIM an even more expanded supernatural backstory. There’s other vampires in this book. Dracula’s Brides are not left behind in this version, they come along and they suffer no fools, if you take my meaning. Also, there’s demons, skeletons, armies of rats, ghosts and all kinds of fun, spooky stuff.
- What brought the project to Kickstarter? Have you found luck there before?
RD: My first time and I’m excited by the variety of reading possibilities. In this modern world of publishing, having different tiers to accommodate both the casual reader and the ardent follower are really convenient I believe, so super-happy with this format. As a kid I was limited by my purchasing power at times and as an alleged grown up I love the ability to purchase an original piece of art along with the product. Win/win!
- What’s coming next? What can your fans look towards?
RD: Well as usual I am working on another AGE OF REPTILES series. That’s an ongoing title that’ll happen as long as I can keep drawing them, and Dark Horse is always super-cool about my schedule. I also do a lot of limited run (like editions of fifty!) prints that I sell at conventions, so if you see me listed on your favorite convention’s list, come on by! I also usually make the prints affordable to everyone, keeping in mind how much I appreciated that gesture from artists when I was younger. I also want to explore more HIEROGLYPH at a certain point, I get asked about that story a lot. I’m working on a new novel and if DRACULA does well, I do have other stories plotted, so lots still in store, thanks for asking and appreciate the opportunity to interview! Cheers!
*the art is so beautiful for this story, I just had to share it again!
