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Vampirella #1
Bloodstalk
VAMPIRELLA IS HER NAME...AND SHE LUSTS FOR BLOOD!WHO IS SHE?Beautiful. Sleek. deadly. An animal of prey, she stalks the streets, hunting for a victim.WHERE DOES SHE COME FROM?From the blackness of space itself. Pulled from her native planet by a secret Earth space probe, she is Earth's first extraterrestrial visitor.WHY IS SHE HERE?Trapped by accident on a world far from her own, Vampirella must drink blood to survive. She must kill - or adapt - or die!
Paperback
First published November 1, 1975
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About the author
Ron Goulart
603 books98 followersPseudonyms: Howard Lee; Frank S Shawn; Kenneth Robeson; Con Steffanson; Josephine Kains; Joseph Silva; William Shatner.
Ron Goulart is a cultural historian and novelist. Besides writing extensively about pulp fiction—including the seminal Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines (1972)—Goulart has written for the pulps since 1952, when the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction published his first story, a sci-fi parody of letters to the editor. Since then he has written dozens of novels and countless short stories, spanning genres and using a variety of pennames, including Kenneth Robeson, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. In the 1990s, he became the ghostwriter for William Shatner’s popular TekWar novels. Goulart’s After Things Fell Apart (1970) is the only science-fiction novel to ever win an Edgar Award.
In the 1970s Goulart wrote novels starring series characters like Flash Gordon and the Phantom, and in 1980 he published Hail Hibbler, a comic sci-fi novel that began the Odd Jobs, Inc. series. Goulart has also written several comic mystery series, including six books starring Groucho Marx. Having written for comic books, Goulart produced several histories of the art form, including the Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004).
Ron Goulart is a cultural historian and novelist. Besides writing extensively about pulp fiction—including the seminal Cheap Thrills: An Informal History of Pulp Magazines (1972)—Goulart has written for the pulps since 1952, when the Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction published his first story, a sci-fi parody of letters to the editor. Since then he has written dozens of novels and countless short stories, spanning genres and using a variety of pennames, including Kenneth Robeson, Joseph Silva, and Con Steffanson. In the 1990s, he became the ghostwriter for William Shatner’s popular TekWar novels. Goulart’s After Things Fell Apart (1970) is the only science-fiction novel to ever win an Edgar Award.
In the 1970s Goulart wrote novels starring series characters like Flash Gordon and the Phantom, and in 1980 he published Hail Hibbler, a comic sci-fi novel that began the Odd Jobs, Inc. series. Goulart has also written several comic mystery series, including six books starring Groucho Marx. Having written for comic books, Goulart produced several histories of the art form, including the Comic Book Encyclopedia (2004).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
October 31, 2020
Vampirella is an alien brought to Earth by forces beyond her control, and has to drink blood in order to survive. She falls in with Pendragon the magician, who becomes her (alcoholic) mentor, and eventually forms a romantic relationship with monster hunter Van Helsing. They are in continuing conflict with the evil Cult of Chaos, and have to face all manner of monsters, both human and supernatural and all stops in between. The stories are fast-paced fun, and never boring or offensive. Based on the famous comics character, the first couple of books more or less follow storylines from the magazines, but Goulart soon goes off into his own continuity. The books were obviously very hastily written, but are great quick, fun reads. There's no erotic content, despite the look of the covers, but considerable description of her appearance would no longer be accepted as correct. I bought the whole series at a science fiction convention one fine summer afternoon a decade after they were published from Rusty Hevelin, a friendly, lovely man who was a book dealer and well known as a fan, and that probably influences my memory of the series. The Vampirella books are elegant trash, and the first thing I think of when I hear the phrase "guilty pleasure."
June 18, 2022
Un cómic de hace casi 40 años atrás (1970). Obviamente, muchas reminiscencias a la Coca Sarli jajaja. Obviamente, es en blanco y negro (sepia), pero los dibujos estaban delineados y definidos.
October 2, 2014
Ron Goulart wrote a series of six Vampirella novels back in the 70s which are now a bit hard to find. I have read them all, and I did enjoy them. The major issue with the series, however, was the fact that it just adapted the comic book stories into novel form. The six novels adapt the first 2 years or so of the original Vampirella comic magazine, and there's really no new material.
The stories aren't bad, you get plenty of vampires and other monsters and they stand alone well enough as horror novels, but since I was so familiar with the material before I read them, I wonder if someone who's never read any Vampirella comics would find them as interesting, or if they would feel like they dropped in during the middle of the story.
If you are a comic fan who would only read the novels for new stories, then I would say skip it and read the comics. If you are a fan of novels and don't read comics, but would like to check out the Vampirella character, then these would be perfect for you. If you a person that likes both, such as myself, you would probably enjoy the novels but just keep in mind you won't find anything new here.
The stories aren't bad, you get plenty of vampires and other monsters and they stand alone well enough as horror novels, but since I was so familiar with the material before I read them, I wonder if someone who's never read any Vampirella comics would find them as interesting, or if they would feel like they dropped in during the middle of the story.
If you are a comic fan who would only read the novels for new stories, then I would say skip it and read the comics. If you are a fan of novels and don't read comics, but would like to check out the Vampirella character, then these would be perfect for you. If you a person that likes both, such as myself, you would probably enjoy the novels but just keep in mind you won't find anything new here.
October 4, 2022
Her face streaked with blood, corners of her face, her hands bloody too, knuckles smeared, fingers encrusted, from the distant planet of Drakulon, blood to drink, to give life, crashing to Earth, Vampirella. A strange doctor finds her in the snow, discovers she is a vampire and creates a serum which is a blood substitute and gets her to drink it to stop her cravings for human blood. Van Helsing hammers a stake through his blood drained brother, can't have him turn into a vampire. Vampirella will escape an evil devil worshipping cult and decide to create the serum so she will not crave human blood and have to kill. Vampirella wants to destroy the cult of chaos. A carnival made a pact with a heinous, grotesque gigantic human looking caricature that will feed of the bodies and souls of customers coming to the carnival in the house of mirrors. Vampirella will destroy the cult and continue to fight.
June 29, 2017
Pretty awful...
April 23, 2019
These books are fun. Simply written, nothing fancy, but they capture the right spooky occult vibe for the subject.
February 14, 2020
Interesting. Her arrival and beginning.
August 17, 2015
I have a real soft spot for Ron Goulart's vampirella novels - they're pulp fiction at its most trashy and yet wonderfully readable.
Bloodstalk sets the scene. Vampirella has arrived on Earth from the dying planet Drakulon. She kills Van Helsing's brother before discovering the blood substitute serum. Then she gets captured by the Evil Cult of Chaos, brings them down and makes her mission to track down the other chapters of the cult one of which is a decaying carnival. All the way blind psychic Van Helsing and his hunky son Adam are one step behind.
As with a lot of Goulart's books this has sparse writing and a lightening pace - it would make an excellent film - indeed the copy I have says 'soon to be a major film' which has got to be the Hammer project that never happened. Scenes do feel like Hammer's vampire circus - we have vampires, zombies, a scary carnival and a demon dimension behind the hall of mirrors.
Total guilty pleasure.
Bloodstalk sets the scene. Vampirella has arrived on Earth from the dying planet Drakulon. She kills Van Helsing's brother before discovering the blood substitute serum. Then she gets captured by the Evil Cult of Chaos, brings them down and makes her mission to track down the other chapters of the cult one of which is a decaying carnival. All the way blind psychic Van Helsing and his hunky son Adam are one step behind.
As with a lot of Goulart's books this has sparse writing and a lightening pace - it would make an excellent film - indeed the copy I have says 'soon to be a major film' which has got to be the Hammer project that never happened. Scenes do feel like Hammer's vampire circus - we have vampires, zombies, a scary carnival and a demon dimension behind the hall of mirrors.
Total guilty pleasure.
November 15, 2015
An early Urban Fantasy based on the comic character.
April 11, 2016
This books needs some art! The story without comics is bit silly.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews