Rodney Barnes and Jason Alexander’s Original Graphic Novel Sequel to the Classic MGM Film Sells Out At Distributor
LOS ANGELES CA–Zombie Love Studios, the newly launched publishing home to the work of Rodney Barnes(American Gods, HBO’s Winning Time, and the record-breaking new Star Wars: The Mandalorian comic book series) released the first of its 2023 releases in January with the critically acclaimed sequel to the classic 1972 film Blacula from the team behind the hit Image Comics series Killadelphia; writer Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander. Less than two months later, the first printing has sold out at Diamond, with the last remaining copies on shelves in comic shops and bookstores.
Writer and publisher Rodney Barnes says “So excited and grateful for the tremendous response folks have had for Blacula! Looking forward to the hardcover edition and the new adventures to come!”
Set in Los Angeles, two souls; one looking for vengeance and the other seeking the truth, share one thing in common; they are both searching for the legendary vampire Blacula. Tina Thomas is a reporter for the blog Dark Knights, which chronicles all things unnatural, uneasy, and undead. She meets a young man named Kross, who asked her to help him kill Blacula, after his family was forever changed by the vampire.
Blacula: Return of the King brings the same high emotional stakes storytelling fans have come to expect from the long-running vampire epic Killadelphia to the classic characher, redefining and reinventing him for a modern audience seeking thought-provoking horror in comics and beyond.
Blacula: Return of The King is now sold out at Diamond, with the last remaining copies on shelves at your favorite comic book shop, and limited stock available through Amazon and other online book retailers.
About Rodney Barnes:
Veteran award-winning screenwriter and producer Rodney Barnes has established himself as a Hollywood mainstay, with his vibrant, emphatic voice and producing expertise securing him an overall deal with HBO in September 2020. From Adult Swim’s The Boondocks to Hulu’s Wu-Tang: An American Saga, Barnes has displayed versatility across a variety of genres in the industry’s largest and most influential programs.
Barnes is currently executive producer for HBO’s series, which chronicles the professional and personal lives of the 1980s Showtime Lakers during the team’s wild and fast-paced golden years, with the original film Ride Around Sharing in development at Netflix. The second arc of his critically acclaimed graphic novel Killadelphia was released in August 2020, with a television show in development at Levantine TV, has been tapped to pen a creative feature for New Regency with Jordan Vogt-Roberts attached to direct, and is writing a miniseries based on the life of golf great Tiger Woods. As well, he has signed a two-year overall agreement to write, direct, and produce original content for HBO. He has also formed Zombie Love Studios, a graphic novel production studio that will both adapt and create original graphic novels, beginning with a sequel to legendary cult blaxploitation film Blacula in 2023. Currently, he writes Killadelphia and Nita Hawes Nightmare Blog for Image Comics, and publishes original content through his Dark Apocrypha Presents Substack newsletter.
About Jason Shawn Alexander:
Jason Shawn Alexander is an expressionist figurative painter, illustrator, and comic book creator. Alexander pulls from the vulnerability, fear, and underlying strength of his rural upbringing, just outside of the haunting home of the Delta Blues.
Alexander’s work has been the subject of number of solo exhibitions, including the Corey Helford Gallery, Culver City, CA, and 101/exhibit. In 2009 his portrait hung in the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC. His work is collected both in the US and abroad. Alexander has also worked over 20 years as an illustrator and comic book creator. He has earned two Eisner Award Nominations and the Silver Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He has co-created and provided art for titles at DC/Vertigo, Dark Horse Comics, and Image Comics. He’s also worked with the publishers Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, and Oni Press. He has also supplied art and storyboards for independent and short films, as well as motion comics for films like Pan’sLabyrinth and Predators.
From his first solo exhibition Insomnious at 101/exhibit in 2009, it was evident that Alexander had traced the thread and was pulling it through. A reviewer from ART NEWSwas moved to write, “Recalling Bacon’s portraits, the figures seem to cry out… Alexander’s impassioned application of oil paints underscores the barely contained violence of the visions, lingering like intimations of half-remembered dreams.”
Jason Shawn Alexander is painting and drawing in Los Angeles, CA with his wife and daughter. They also have two dogs.
