Requiem Chevalier Vampire

Requiem Chevalier Vampire

Cover of the Dutch language edition of Requiem, de vampierridder: Verrijzenis  (2003 Prestige).
Art by Olivier Ledroit.
Created by Pat Mills
Olivier Ledroit
Publication information
Publisher Editions Nickel
Schedule Annual
Formats Original material for the series has been published as a set of graphic novels.
Original language French
Genre Vampires in comics
Publication date November 2000 – present
Number of issues 8
Creative team
Writer(s) Pat Mills
Artist(s) Olivier Ledroit
Colourist(s) Olivier Ledroit
Creator(s) Pat Mills
Olivier Ledroit
Reprints
The series has been reprinted, at least in part, in Dutch and English.
Collected editions
Resurrection ISBN 2-91442-004-8
Danse Macabre ISBN 2-91442-001-3
Dracula ISBN 2-91442-002-1
Le Bal des Vampires ISBN 2-91442-005-6
Dragon Blitz ISBN 2-91442-008-0
Hellfire Club ISBN 2-91442-012-9
Le Couvent des soeurs de sang ISBN 2-91442-019-6
La Reine des Ames Mortes ISBN 2-91442-023-4

Requiem Chevalier Vampire (French for Requiem Vampire Knight) is a Franco-British comic, published by Nickel Editions. It is translated in English and published by Heavy Metal in the USA. It is also translated in German and published in Germany by Kult Editions as Requiem Der Vampirritter.

The story is written by Pat Mills (best known for his work on Sláine, Charley's War and ABC Warriors) and the pictures are drawn by Olivier Ledroit (early volumes of the Black Moon Chronicles).

The comic is characterised by its extreme violence and each issue is more daring and is darker than the previous one, sadomasochism is common in this comic and there are several scenes of violent sex. There is a lot of humour in this comic, although it is full of cynicism. About one edition is released a year, a total of 15 issues is expected. Because of the financial weaknesses of Nickel issues had to be released every 8 months at first, with Requiem's successes more time is given to the artists to work.

Contents

Publication history

To break into the French comic market was Pat Mills' dream[1] – in order to do so he established his own comics publishing company in France, as Nickel Editions, with his associates Jacques Collin and Olivier Ledroit. Jacques Collin had previously founded the company Zenda Editions. Mills and Ledroit had previously worked together on Sha.

Requiem Chevalier Vampire was Nickel's first editing job on comics and found a comfortable success in France. Because Nickel Editions was founded for Requiem it was financially very fragile. Nickel did not even have a website for quite some time and employed no one but Mills, Ledroit and Collin. Ledroit did all the blueprints himself with his wife. Roughly 30,000 copies of each issue were published, allowing Nickel not only to survive but to enlarge, getting its own offices and internet website. More artists were recruited by Nickel such as Adrian Smith and Franck Tacito. [2]

Mills has explained some of the thinking behind the series:

It’s inspired by re-incarnation themes which is something else I’m very heavily into. I gave talks on the subject to the Psychic Questing Conference for a couple of years. That gives you some idea of how VERY seriously I take the subject.[3]

Storyline

The story is set in a world called Résurrection, which is often called Hell (however, it seems more like a mixture of Hell and Purgatory, as everyone seems to land in there - even "innocent victims" and the only known way to leave it is through purification or redemption, by being "expired" or "expiring" one's tormentor). In Résurrection people are re-incarnated into monsters according to the sins - or lack thereof - of their life. The lowest ranks are formed by zombies and Kobolds whilst vampires form the elite of the society and the ruling class. The more cruel one was in life, the better he is rewarded on Résurrection. There is therefore an inverted concept of justice in "Requiem Chevalier Vampire". Résurrection has a similar shape as our Earth does, but everything appears to be the opposite way around than on Earth. Land has replaced the oceans, while seas of perpetual fire occupy our known continents and time flows backwards. People do not get older but rejuvenate until they become a foetus and ultimately are forgotten; their memory follows the same cycle and is "lost" as people get younger. In order to avoid madness and total loss of their mind in this process, Résurrection's residents are addicted to a drug based on black opium. People do not land on Résurrection in the same order that they died (for instance, Requiem died before Otto and Claudia but landed on Résurrection after them).

The hero is a German soldier during World War II named Heinrich Augsburg, who is killed on the Eastern Front facing the Soviet Army. He is sent to Résurrection after his death and is attacked by a mob of zombies. During the confrontation he meets a vampire who calls himself Otto von Todt and befriends him. Otto reveals he is a vampire and explains that now Heinrich has become a vampire as well. As the story progresses, the hero discovers the world of Résurrection, its peoples and politics. He is however only interested in retrieving a woman he loved during his lifetime and who he knows by the name of Rebecca.

Races and factions

Characters

Vampires

Others

Publications

French-language edition

The French-language volumes are all published by Nickel Editions:

English-language translations

The series is being translated into English and published in Heavy Metal [4]

  1. "Resurrection" (Volume 27 number 1, March 2003)
  2. "Danse Macabre" (Volume 28 number 1, March 2004)
  3. "Dracula" (Volume 28 number 6, January 2005)
  4. "The Vampire Ball" (Volume 30 number 2, May, 2006)
  5. "Dragon Blitz" (Volume 31 number 2, May, 2007)
  6. "Hellfire Club" (Vol. 32 No. 2, May 2008)
  7. "Requiem" (Vol. 33 No. 3, May 2009)
  8. "Requiem" (Vol. 34 No. 1, March 2010)
  9. "Pirate City" (Vol. 35, No. 1, March 2011)

They are collecting these stories in trade paperbacks (three to each volume):

Panini Comics are also collecting the stories into trade paperbacks (two to each volume):

Dutch-language translations

The series is being translated into Dutch and the volumes are published by Prestige in the series "Requiem, de vampierridder"

  1. "Verrijzenis" (Number 1, 2003)
  2. "Dans met de dood" (Number 2, 2003)
  3. "Dracula" (Number 3, 2003)
  4. "Bal der vampiers" (Number 4, 2004)
  5. "Dragon Blitz" (Number 5, 2005)
  6. "Hellfire Club" (Number 6, 2006)
  7. "Het klooster der Bloedzusters" (Number 7, 2008)
  8. "De koningin der dode zielen" (Number 8, 2010)

Claudia Chevalier Vampire

Claudia Chevalier Vampire is a different story featuring Lady Claudia. It takes place in the same world as "Requiem Chevalier Vampire" and adds new characters to the story. Pat Mills writes the story while pictures are drawn by Franck Tacito. It is translated in German and published in Germany by Kult Editions as Claudia Der Vampirritter. This series is also translated in Dutch and published in the Netherlands by Prestige as Claudia de vampierridder.

Publications

  1. "La Porte des Enfers" (46 pages, December 2004, ISBN 2-91442-007-2) {Heavy Metal 2006 Halloween Issue}
  2. "Femmes Violentes" (46 pages, December 2006, ISBN 2-91442-018-8) {Heavy Metal 2009 (Fall)Terror Special}
  3. "Opium rouge" (48 pages, November 2007, ISBN 978-2-914420-22-8) {Heavy Metal 2010 (Fall)Fright Special}
  4. "La Marque De La Bête"

Awards

Notes

References

External links

Reviews