Vampyrates! - by Fred Van Lente (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Empress Nira of the Vampirium fights to reclaim her throne in this bloody rags to bloody riches tale of vengeance written by New York Times bestselling author Fred Van Lente with illustrations by visionary artist Luca Pizzari.

They took everything...her throne, her name, her power. Fanatics blinded by faith, led by a bloodstained traitor, thought they could erase her. But Empress Nira of the Vampirium is not so easily forgotten.

Industry titan Fred Van Lente (The Incredible Hercules, Marvel Zombies) alongside visionary artist Luca Pizzari (X-Men: Red, Black Night) take to the high seas in an all-new bloodstained, swashbuckling adventure!

Betrayed by her treacherous cousin and barely escaping a coup led by religious zealots, the young, sword-wielding Empress Nira stows away on a pirate ship. Under the guise of cabin girl, she hungers for vengeance as she fights her way up the ranks of the crew to win her captain's trust.

This is not just a fight for a crown. It is a war for her soul. And Empress Nira will not stop until she reclaims her throne.

Collecting Vampyrates! #1-5 for the first time, this dark saga of vampires and pirates awaits those who dare to follow into the shadows.

About the Author

Fred Van Lente is a six-time New York Times bestselling comics writer, novelist, and playwright whose work spans mystery/thrillers to historical fiction to superheroes to comedy. Van Lente burst onto the scene with his first collaboration with cartoonist Ryan Dunlavey, Action Philosophers, which became a YALSA Best Book for Teens, a 2025 Ringo Award nominee for Best Humor Comic, and which the New York Times called "intensely goofy but intellectually rigorous". From there he went on to a long career at Marvel, where he worked on titles like The Amazing Spider-Man, Captain America, and Marvel Zombies. He's also written for DC, Archie Comics, Dark Horse, BOOM! Studios, Dynamite Comics, and Valiant, where his run on Archer & Armstrong was nominated for a Harvey Award for Best Continuing Series.

Luca Pizzari was lured by Italian editions of Marvel superhero comics at a very early age and decided right there to make a living out of it, much to his mother's still-ongoing dismay. Since then, he has penciled and inked interiors and covers for books like Spider-Man, Conan, Weapon X, Star Wars, Thanos, Transformers, Moon Knight, G.I. Joe, and more, with the likes of major publishers like Marvel, IDW, and BOOM! Studios.