This Valentine's day is going to get a bit bloody according to the December Previews catalog, which revealed the Vampirella Valentine's Special 2022 and Red Sonja Valentine's Special 2022. These romance-filled one-shots will be published by Dynamite Entertainment in February, a month jam-packed with publishers printing their own love-themed books for the month, including DC Comics and their Weird Love Tales one-shot.
Both characters have previously been featured in Valentine's day related one-shots. First, there was a Vampirella Valentine's Special back in 2019 written by Leah Williams and Michael Golden with artwork by Maria Sanapo and Michael Golden. This took place in New Orlean's where Valentine's Day is akin to Halloween, waking the spirits. Then in 2021, there was a Red Sonja Valentine's Special written by Fables creator Bill Willingham with artwork by Giuseppe Cafaro. The one-shot featured the villainous Kulan Gath falling for Red Sonja, and the titular warrior had to try her best not to kill him.
In an official announcement from Dynamite Entertainment, a gorgeous variety of cover art was released for Vampirella Valentine's Special 2022 and Red Sonja Valentine's Special 2022. This is said to be the first time the social media sensational artist Sozomaika will be working with a publisher on the main cover art for both one-shots, although she did previously do the cover art for Action Lab's Killswitch #1. There will also be variant covers by Lesley "Leirix" Li, who previously worked on covers for titles such as Jennifer Blood and Red Sonja, as well as epic cosplay covers featuring model Rachel Hollon dressed as the titular characters. The Sozomaika and cosplay covers are shown below.
The writer for the Red Sonja one-shot is Chuck Brown (Aquaman, Bitter Root) alongside artist Lee Ferguson (Kato, G.I. Joe: Snake Eyes), whose "Burning Love" story featured the title character gaining fire powers and taking on ice wizards while also tackling a lovers quarrel that involved a literal exchange for power in the form of giving away a heart and soul. In the Vampirella one-shot, the story description is a bit more vague, promising that the super-powered vampire will be traversing the often interconnected emotions of love and hate. The writer and colorist is Dearbhla Kelly (Red Sonja, Dejah Thoris), who is joined by artist Jonathan Lau (Green Hornet, The Bionic Man) amongst others in this special issue.
The Red Sonja Valentine's Special 2022 and Vampirella Valentine's Special 2022 will both hit comic book stores in February 2022. This news drops around the same time that fans learned from Dynamite Entertainment that Vampirella's sister Draculina will be getting her own spin-off series. So, there will be plenty for newcomers and longtime fans to enjoy from some of Dynamite's strongest characters in 2022.
Source: Dynamite Entertainment