What do you think?
Rate this book
Dhampire: Stillborn
/Paul Lee, illustrator Written by bestselling horror novelist Nancy A. Collins. All his life, young Nicholas Gaunt has been tormented by visions of blood and evil, driving him to sadistic and suicidal acts. But when he learns that these violent thoughts stem from an unnatural mingling of human and undead blood before his birth, he must confront his true nature as a half-vampire, or dhampire. Graphic novel format. Mature re
64 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1997
1 person is currently reading
105 people want to read
About the author
Nancy A. Collins
337 books672 followersNancy A. Collins (born 10 September 1959) is a United States horror fiction writer best known for her series of vampire novels featuring her character Sonja Blue. Collins has also written for comic books, including the Swamp Thing series, Jason Vs. Leatherface, Predator: Hell Come A Walkin and her own one-shot Dhampire: Stillborn.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
Collins was born in McGehee, Arkansas, United States. She lived in New Orleans, Louisiana in the 1980s; after time in New York City and Atlanta, Georgia she settled in Wilmington, North Carolina in the late 2000s.
Collins has written twenty novels since 1989, many of which refer to and directly include races of creatures the author calls Pretenders, monsters from myth and legend passing as human to better hunt their prey.
Collins has also written a number of highly acclaimed Southern Gothic short stories and novellas, most of which are set in Seven Devils, Arkansas, a highly fictionalized version of her hometown.
Most recently, she has focused her attention onto the Golgotham urban fantasy series,published by Penguin. Golgotham is the 'supernatural' ghetto of New York City, where creatures from myth and folklore--including witches,shapeshifters,leprechauns and centaurs--live and work in uneasy alliance with mankind.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 19, 2020
#ThrowbackThursday - Back in the '90s, I used to write comic book reviews for the website of a now-defunct comic book retailer called Rockem Sockem Comics. From the December 1996 edition with a theme of "Fantasy":
PROMISING PROLOGUES
CASTLE WAITING: THE CURSE OF BRAMBLY HEDGE (OLIO)
DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN (DC Comics/Vertigo)
Do you like your fantasy light and amusing? Or do you prefer dark and morbid? Two upcoming fantasy series explore those opposite ends of the spectrum by putting new twists on old standards: fairy tales and vampires. The series were recently previewed in special prologue issues which explore the origins of two very different worlds.
CASTLE WAITING takes a new look at the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The brambly hedge of the title is the one which surrounds the castle of Sleeping Beauty. Writer/artist Linda Medley recounts the Sleeping Beauty legend with lots of light, witty dialogue and a plot chock full of funny anachronisms and twists. But Medley's focus is more on the side characters of the Grimm's stories. Indeed, by the end of the issue, the royal family is gone, and only the castle's staff remains -- awaiting a new king. Future stories promise to draw more Grimm characters to the castle. (Rumplestiltskin has a cameo in this one.)
CASTLE WAITING is purely delightful and very well drawn. Medley has previously drawn JUSTICE LEAGUE and DOOM PATROL for DC, but she leaves the superheroes far behind for this book. If you have kids, you may want to read this to them like the picture book it is. Be forewarned, however, that just like in the original Grimm's stories, characters can die sudden and brutal deaths. Medley, of course, handles such heavy stuff tastefully. This book is a treat for kids of all ages.
On the other hand, DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN is for mature readers only. It's chock full of sex, violence, suicide, nudity, adult language, and gore. It may be hard to find a darker story this year (excepting DC's PREACHER). It begins and ends with suicide and murder.
Nicholas Gaunt is insane. At twenty-three, he has made repeated suicide attempts. He is withdrawn but is prone to violent outbursts. He appears to be the product of a dysfunctional family: an unloving mother, a dead father, and an absent older sister. Unknown to him, however, vampire blood is part of his heritage, and it is driving him even deeper into darkness. DHAMPIRE is his story of self-discovery. He makes a trek across Pennsylvania (the closest state name to Transylvania?) to find his sister and himself.
Writer Nancy A. Collins is no stranger to vampires. She has written several novels about the vampire Sonja Blue: SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK, IN THE BLOOD. Her previous comics work includes a run on SWAMP THING.
DHAMPIRE is painted by newcomer Paul Lee, whose style looks like the middle ground between Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams.
DHAMPIRE is bleak but well done. It has surprising twists and turns. It's not for the faint of heart or readers seeking sympathetic characters. In this world, everyone is evil.
Both of these prologues promise good things to come. Watch future issues of PREVIEWS for the regular series. Meanwhile, DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN remains available on DC Comics' backlist.
CASTLE WAITING - Grade: A-
DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN - Grade: B
PROMISING PROLOGUES
CASTLE WAITING: THE CURSE OF BRAMBLY HEDGE (OLIO)
DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN (DC Comics/Vertigo)
Do you like your fantasy light and amusing? Or do you prefer dark and morbid? Two upcoming fantasy series explore those opposite ends of the spectrum by putting new twists on old standards: fairy tales and vampires. The series were recently previewed in special prologue issues which explore the origins of two very different worlds.
CASTLE WAITING takes a new look at the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. The brambly hedge of the title is the one which surrounds the castle of Sleeping Beauty. Writer/artist Linda Medley recounts the Sleeping Beauty legend with lots of light, witty dialogue and a plot chock full of funny anachronisms and twists. But Medley's focus is more on the side characters of the Grimm's stories. Indeed, by the end of the issue, the royal family is gone, and only the castle's staff remains -- awaiting a new king. Future stories promise to draw more Grimm characters to the castle. (Rumplestiltskin has a cameo in this one.)
CASTLE WAITING is purely delightful and very well drawn. Medley has previously drawn JUSTICE LEAGUE and DOOM PATROL for DC, but she leaves the superheroes far behind for this book. If you have kids, you may want to read this to them like the picture book it is. Be forewarned, however, that just like in the original Grimm's stories, characters can die sudden and brutal deaths. Medley, of course, handles such heavy stuff tastefully. This book is a treat for kids of all ages.
On the other hand, DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN is for mature readers only. It's chock full of sex, violence, suicide, nudity, adult language, and gore. It may be hard to find a darker story this year (excepting DC's PREACHER). It begins and ends with suicide and murder.
Nicholas Gaunt is insane. At twenty-three, he has made repeated suicide attempts. He is withdrawn but is prone to violent outbursts. He appears to be the product of a dysfunctional family: an unloving mother, a dead father, and an absent older sister. Unknown to him, however, vampire blood is part of his heritage, and it is driving him even deeper into darkness. DHAMPIRE is his story of self-discovery. He makes a trek across Pennsylvania (the closest state name to Transylvania?) to find his sister and himself.
Writer Nancy A. Collins is no stranger to vampires. She has written several novels about the vampire Sonja Blue: SUNGLASSES AFTER DARK, IN THE BLOOD. Her previous comics work includes a run on SWAMP THING.
DHAMPIRE is painted by newcomer Paul Lee, whose style looks like the middle ground between Jon J. Muth and Kent Williams.
DHAMPIRE is bleak but well done. It has surprising twists and turns. It's not for the faint of heart or readers seeking sympathetic characters. In this world, everyone is evil.
Both of these prologues promise good things to come. Watch future issues of PREVIEWS for the regular series. Meanwhile, DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN remains available on DC Comics' backlist.
CASTLE WAITING - Grade: A-
DHAMPIRE: STILLBORN - Grade: B
December 18, 2022
I really enjoyed this dark vampire story. It was such a fun experience going back to the Vertigo comics of the 90s that I love so much and finding something I hadn't read yet. If you like skinny goth male leads, you'll love it. I certainly did. The story was certainly dark, absolutely horror through and through, which makes sense because Nancy A. Collins is primarily a horror writer. It was sex and murder and self-mutilation from the get go, so be aware of that. It doesn't hold back.
July 10, 2017
Guion correcto y dibujo esmerado para un moderno cuento gótico, a ratos dinámico pero finalmente predecible. Quizás pudo ganar con la adición de más páginas y no restringirse a una historia "de origen".
May 15, 2018
Lo leí hace años y ahora lo he vuelto a releer. Las imágenes son fantásticas, me encanta esa ambientación oscura y la historia es atractiva.
September 26, 2018
Dark, deliciously dark and the illustrations are fantastic. I wish there was more of this....is there a sequel?
April 23, 2019
Amazing art, captivating, yet simple storyline.
August 21, 2016
I wish we have more urban, dark fantasy such is this Delicious work of Vampire fiction.
It has everything a great Gothic read needs & gets it right. No cliche, no overwrote melodramatic prose, no needless gore for shock taste that makes you shrivel in ennui & leaves you more than slightly intellectually insulted.
It has a solid cast, an ambivalent protagonist & a sensual & spunky punk companion love interest, and a past so gloomy, so monstrous, it makes you reevaluate the real monsters in the story.
The rich lore, the fantastic characters & the twists of the narrative will keep you gasping & entertained until the last page is turned. and once you do, you feel the heavy, all consuming, sense of sadness; knowing that there is no more story to be told, or that you will find anything as good or even close to it in the stagnant market of fantasy now days. so, pick it up while you can.
Or, Pick The author's sonja blues trilogy of of books.
It has everything a great Gothic read needs & gets it right. No cliche, no overwrote melodramatic prose, no needless gore for shock taste that makes you shrivel in ennui & leaves you more than slightly intellectually insulted.
It has a solid cast, an ambivalent protagonist & a sensual & spunky punk companion love interest, and a past so gloomy, so monstrous, it makes you reevaluate the real monsters in the story.
The rich lore, the fantastic characters & the twists of the narrative will keep you gasping & entertained until the last page is turned. and once you do, you feel the heavy, all consuming, sense of sadness; knowing that there is no more story to be told, or that you will find anything as good or even close to it in the stagnant market of fantasy now days. so, pick it up while you can.
Or, Pick The author's sonja blues trilogy of of books.
January 11, 2011
I probably got this when it was first published as it's been a while since I've read it, but I do remember liking it enough to re-read and wishing that it didn't end where it did. I've always wondered about that. Again, Collins seemed to touch on ideas that have since become extremely popular in culture.
Read
May 3, 2010Haven't read it yet, but I want to))
October 9, 2016
Amazing and creative! One hell of a gothic tale, that's for sure!
¡Increíble y creativo! ¡Esto sí es un buen cuento gótico, eso es seguro!
¡Increíble y creativo! ¡Esto sí es un buen cuento gótico, eso es seguro!
December 11, 2025
The artwork was extraordinarily enticing - I wish the story went on though, at least a fair bit after Nicholas' overdue transformation.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 8, 2014
Silly vampires.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews