Vampire

Vampire was an Australian horror comic, self-published by its chief writer-artist, Gerald Carr. Launched in 1975 and sold through newsagencies, Vampire capitalised on the popularity of such American 'adult' horror comics as Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella, which were also reprinted in Australia during the mid-1970s by the KG Murray Publishing Company.
Featuring colour covers and black & white interior artwork, Vampire included self-contained stories featuring such archetypal horror figures as vampies, werewolves and zombies. Vampire was geared towards an adult readership (some covers featured the byline 'Recommended for the mature comic fan') and frequently depcited violence, bloodshed, nudity and implied sexual situations. Vampire is notable for not only being one of the earliest Australian horror comics, but also for being the first major Australian comic to be released commercially since the collapse of the postwar Australian comics industry in the early 1960s.
The most memorable stories to appear in Vampire featured Carr's Chinese vampire, Fire Fang. The third issue of Vampire (published circa 1977) introduced the character in 'The Exile of Fire Fang', which was set in Gold rush-era Australia. The same issue concluded with a follow-up story, 'Who Freed Fire Fang?', which saw the once-executed vampire unwittingly resurrected by a pair of young gold prospectors in modern-day Australia.
A sequel, of sorts, appeared in Vampire No.5, titled 'The Brothers of Fire Fang', which concerned the adventures of young European traveller in 19th century China, battling a band of vampires.
Carr later wrote, illustrated an published a one-shot comic, titled Fire Fang, in 1982. The comic depicted the undead Chinese vampire being hunted down in modern-day Sydney and featured a shoot-out between Fire Fang and the NSW Police Force atop the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
==Publication==
The first series of Vampire ran for six issues and was published between 1975-79. Gerald Carr published a second series of Vampire circa 1995, under his Meteor Comics imprint. Published for the American direct sales comic market, this latter version reprinted a selection of stories from the original 1970s series.
==External links==
* AusReprints: a History of Australian DC Reprints
* Vixen Comics: Vampire
Category:Comics
Category:1970s comics
Category:Horror comics