I...Vampire

I...Vampire (also titled I, Vampire) is a comic book series from DC Comics created by writer J. M. DeMatteis [1] and artist Tom Sutton about a fictional character named Andrew Bennett. The character and storyline originally started as a backup story in The House of Mystery between 1981 and 1983, but was popular enough to become the main feature. The I...Vampire finale was almost book-length.

Concept and creation

J. M. DeMatteis pitched the series to editor Len Wein under the title "Greenberg". Wein liked the concept, but rejected the title and suggested "I...Vampire" instead.[2] DeMatteis would later revive the title for his 1985 Marvel Graphic Novel Greenberg the Vampire.

Fictional character biography (original series)

The New 52

The title was relaunched as part of DC Comics company-wide title relaunch The New 52.[5] The initial creative team is Joshua Hale Fialkov writing and Andrea Sorrentino as penciller.[6] The first issue was very well received critically,[7] and was the 78th best selling comic in September 2011 by units.

In this version, Andrew Bennett is an older vampire (approximately 600 years old) but has the physical appearance of a man in his 20s. His former lover, Mary, Queen of Blood, gathers an army of vampires to take over the world.[8] Wounded trying to stop her, Andrew seeks out help from his old ally Professor John Troughton.[9] They are soon joined by a young vampire hunter Tig, whose father had been turned into a vampire.[10] Traveling to Gotham City, they, along with Batman, confront Mary's horde,[11] but Tig kills Andrew and unwittingly releases Cain, the original vampire, from extradimensional captivity. Cain takes command of the horde of vampires from Mary and begins absorbing magic. Tig, Troughton, Batman, and the Justice League Dark are almost overwhelmed by the vampires when Madame Xanadu manages to resurrect Andrew Bennett, who proceeds to kill Cain and claim leadership of the vampire horde for himself, promising a new era free from conflict with humans.[12]

The series ended in April 2013 with issue #19.[13] Fialkov was told about the cancellation when he finished the script for issue #15 and is satisfied with the conclusion to the series.[14]

Vampire lore

In the New 52 continuity, vampires possess the generic abilities associated with the undead, namely supernatural powers of strength and speed, immortality, and accelerated healing, as well as enhanced senses sufficient to track blood by scent, hear heartbeats and see in the dark. Unlike most popular depictions of vampires, however, they are not burned from exposure to direct sunlight. Instead, similar to the literary Dracula, sunlight dulls their senses and severely weakens their physical attributes to the point of becoming effectively human or even less so in terms of their abilities. These vampires trace their lineage to the Biblical Cain. After being exiled from Paradise and cursed with the Mark of Cain for killing his brother Abel, Cain wandered a vast desert until he came across the first woman, Lilith. Consumed with bloodlust, he turned her out of sheer instinct.

They have shown the ability to shapeshift to a greater extent than before, being able to become a variety of different forms, none of which have been completely defined. Vampires have also shown the ability to create clothes through shapeshifting. While all vampires can turn into wolves, Andrew has shown to be able to combine his wolf form with his natural 'human' form to create a monstrous werewolf-like creature. Andrew has also shown that he is able to change into a mist and back, being able to do this in combat as well to avoid strikes in the "nick of time", rendering him intangible. He has also shown to be able to mist all of his clothes as well as the weapon he was carrying. Andrew can also turn into a swarm of bats or sprout large bat-like wings from his back in order to achieve flight. In addition, Andrew also has the ability to "sway" humans to do his bidding and can alter their memories. After the events from Rise of the Vampires, Andrew can cast magic and do things like resurrect people and vampires,[15]

character name	Andrew Bennett
publisher	DC Comics
debut	The House of Mystery #290 (March, 1981)
creators	J. M. DeMatteis (writer) Tom Sutton (artist)
full name	Andrew Bennett
alliances	Justice League Dark Team 13 Justice League
powers	Traditional vampiric attributes such as immortality and healing, superhuman strength and speed, heightened senses (including night vision), hypnosis, and the ability to transform into a bat (or to manifest bat-like wings), a wolf or werewolf-like creature, or a cloud of fog

Concept and creation

Fictional character biography (original series)

Later stories

Powers and abilities

The New 52

Vampire lore

Alternative versions

Collected editions

References