MAKING THE MAGIC: The origins of DRAGON

DRAGON, the Ottoman-era Dracula graphic novel by myself and Dave Acosta with Chris O'Halloran and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou, is finally out in the world and meeting people! Kickstarter backers began to receive their hardcovers this month. And a digital copy is already in the hands of Copper Bottle's paid subscribers -- snag yours by clicking the subscribe button!

It's been a long labor of love getting this book out under extraordinarily challenging circumstances. I couldn't be more proud of what we've made, though. That's all due to the hard work of a brilliant crew: Dave has done magnum opus level work -- and we'll be devoting an Ask the Artist feature specifically to his approach to DRAGON in the near future. Chris's colors go from broodingly intimate to garishly gory in perfect time with the story. Hassan's letters and especially his design have elevated the whole project immeasurably. And editor Nate Cosby and Kickstarter manager Laser kept steering the ship masterfully through storm after storm.

I'm very lucky to be surrounded by such professionals. Here, though, I wanted to talk about the more personal side of DRAGON -- where did this thing come from, anyway?

As a kid in the 1980s there was a video store two blocks from my house.