| Andrew Bennett | |
|---|---|
Who's Who Profile pic. Art by Tom Sutton. |
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| Publication information | |
| Publisher | DC Comics |
| First appearance | House of Mystery #290 |
| Created by | J. M. DeMatteis Tom Sutton |
| In-story information | |
| Alter ego | Lord Andrew Bennett |
| Notable aliases | Lord Andrew Bennett |
I...Vampire was a 24 issue series, created by writer J. M. DeMatteis,[1] that appeared in House of Mystery between 1981 and 1983. It originally started as a backup story among House of Mystery's three story format but soon became so popular that it eventually overtook the title on the cover. Even I...Vampire's finale was almost book length.
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In 1591, after being turned into a vampire himself, Lord Andrew Bennett turned his lover, Mary Seward, into a vampire, and she became corrupted by the power. She took the name Mary, Queen of Blood and created a group of vampires called The Blood Red Moon bent on taking over the world. The series followed Bennett into the modern day as he tried to undo his mistake and take down Mary and The Blood Red Moon.
He was helped by his two companions Deborah Dancer, a beautiful young woman who Bennett saved from Mary at Woodstock (and was also his girlfriend) and Dmitri Mishkin, a Russian man whom Bennett had rescued from Mary when Mishkin was a child.
To try and keep his humanity, Bennett made a vow to only drink the blood of animals and bottled human blood (which created a subtext of alcoholism).
Bennett has attempted suicide on several occasions to end his curse, and has also been brought back to life after each attempt due to a higher power, as seen in the 1988 run of Doctor Fate. During this run, we also see Andrew Bennett interact with the Lords of Chaos and Order to seek an end to time, which does occur due to the vampire's involvement but is later reversed. He also appeared in Day of Vengeance as a background character in the Oblivion Bar, which became Shadowpact's headquarters. He appears as a supporting character in Doctor Thirteen backup stories in the 2006 miniseries Tales of the Unexpected.
Andrew Bennett has the powers of an Elder Vampire, as according to the DC Universe.[2] He can transform into mist, a bat, and a wolf among other more monstrous beasts[3] and he has superior strength far beyond that of a mortal man. He also possesses immortality, the ability to turn others into vampires, a healing factor, and limited telepathy. Also, his image cannot be seen, such as reflected in a mirror or captured on film.
However, he also has the weaknesses of a vampire, as well. He is severely weakened by sunlight, losing most of his Vampire powers,[4] and he can be killed by silver, decapitation and a stake to the heart. Like other vampires he cannot look upon a cross or crucifix, and he is cursed to drink the blood of the living. Unlike other vampires, he can reconstitute himself some time after being killed.
Andrew possesses full control over his curse, and he doesn't submit to the same blood lust that other vampires do.
The title was relaunched as part of the DC Universe "New 52" reboot in September 2011. The initial creative team is Joshua Hale Fialkov writing and Andrea Sorrentino as penciller.[5]