Eisner-winning writer Saladin Ahmed and acclaimed artist Dave Acosta announced their new horror graphic novel DRAGON — a creator-owned comic that launched today on Kickstarter.
DRAGON is set at the dawn of the Ottoman Empire — a rich, grisly world of dazzling arts and brutal massacres, opulent palaces and bloodthirsty kings. DRAGON tells the story of Adil, a fallen old Muslim warrior, and Marjorie, a zealous young Christian nun, two scarred heroes who must overcome inherited bigotries and mutual distrust to hunt a demonic creature that wears the skin of a prince — Vlad the Impaler, known to history as Dracula.
“DRAGON is the Dracula story I’ve always wanted to tell, full of all the stuff that matters to me — terrifying monsters, vivid history, and battered heroes from very different worlds coming together to face great evil,” said Ahmed.
Ahmed won the Eisner Award in 2017 alongside Christian Ward for Black Bolt. His short fiction has been anthologized by George RR Martin and performed by Levar Burton. His novel Throne of the Crescent Moon (2012) was nominated for the Hugo Award, earned starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and Kirkus, and was cited in the Dungeons and Dragons Player’s Handbook. His creator owned comic Abbott (2018) was nominated for the Bram Stoker award. He has written for the forthcoming Foundation television series on Apple TV+, and currently writes MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN and THE MAGNIFICENT MS. MARVEL for Marvel Comics.
In addition to Ahmed, the DRAGON team includes artist Dave Acosta (Elvira: Mistress Of The Dark for Dynamite,Vampirella, The Shadow, Doc Savage, Twelve Devils Dancing); colorist Chris O’Halloran (Image, Marvel, Dark Horse, Boom, Dynamite); letterer Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou (Red Sonja, X-O Manowar, Protector); and editor Nate Cosby (Thor The Mighty Avenger, Red Sonja, Jim Henson’s The Storyteller, World War Hulk).
“When I began to conceive this story, I knew I wanted Dave Acosta to draw it,” said Ahmed. “The way he filters period details through pulp horror and classic comic influences is just breathtaking. He’s outdone himself with DRAGON, evoking Ottoman palaces and haunted forests in a way that totally immerses the reader.“
Ahmed is the latest comic creator to take to Kickstarter as 2020 has seen an upheaval in the traditional comics industry pipeline.
“For years, fans have been asking when I would launch an original story on kickstarter, and I’ve finally taken the plunge! DRAGON is a story that screams to be rendered as a beautiful physical object, and Kickstarter is the perfect way to get that object directly into readers’ hands.“
The story, which will be published as an oversized deluxe-format hardcover in 2021, is available exclusively through a Kickstarter from July 7-August 6.