The TV writer, known for ‘Runaways’ ‘Winning Time: Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga, is teaming with his ‘Killadelphia’ artist Jason Shawn Alexander for a Blacula graphic novel.
Blacula is rising again. The cult classic horror character is returning in a new graphic novel from Rodney Barnes and artist Jason Shawn Alexander. The Blacula graphic novel has long been a passion project for Barnes, a veteran TV writer and producer whose credits include the Marvel/Hulu series Runaways and Starz’s American Gods.
Barnes grew up on the Universal monster movies, and his notion of what horror could be changed when he saw Blacula at age eight.
“I’d never seen anything with people of color prominently positioned in the piece,” Barnes told The Hollywood Reporter from the set of the upcoming HBO Lakers drama he is executive producing. “I was blown away. It was a lot more authentic than anything else I’d seen up until that point. It sort of lit a small flame in my imagination.”
Now Barnes is gearing up to publish the first of three planned graphic novels later in 2022. The first will pit Blacula against Dracula, and just like the films, there will be the opportunity to use horror to examine society.
“Blacula and Dracula have lived for hundreds of years. They’ve seen it all. So the
y have a different perspective, being able to hear the past, speak to the present,” said Barnes. “You really don’t have that with any other monsters because other monsters are just monsters, but vampires are manipulative. They also have good memories. They know who they were.”
MGM currently has a Blacula film in the works, while Barnes would be interested in pursuing something in television. Says the writer: “I’d love to be able to explore him beyond where we are now.”
Reposted from The Hollywood Reporter