Dark Horse Announces New Vampire Hunter D Comics and Charles Dexter Ward Manga

Dark Horse Manga announced three releases at Anime NYC on Friday: two graphic novels from Hideyuki Kikuchi and Yoshitaka Amano’s Vampire Hunter D franchise, plus a Gou Tanabe manga.

The announced schedule is:

• Vampire Hunter D: Fortress of Blood launches December 16.
• Vampire Hunter D: Rose Princess arrives in English in March 2027.
• Tanabe’s adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s horror novella The Case of Charles Dexter Ward (Charles Ward no Kikai na Jiken) follows in spring 2027.

Fortress of Blood is listed as a four-issue comic series. Its first issue will cost US$4.99.

The creative team includes:

• Writer Chris Condon, whose credits include That Texas Blood and Ultimate Wolverine.
• Artist Filipe Andrade, known for The Many Deaths of Laila Starr and Rare Flavours.
• Colorist Jordie Bellaire, whose work includes Six of Us and Assassin’s Apprentice.
• Letterer Frank Cvetkovic, whose credits include Kingdom of Earth and Batman: Dark Patterns.

Andrade also provides the main cover. Variant covers come from Riccardo Federici, known for The Last God, and Amano, the franchise’s original cover artist, illustrator, and designer.

Later issues will feature cover art by Emma Rios, Dan Quintana, and Eliza Ivanova.

The story follows a vampire lord advancing on human settlements with an army determined to kill everyone. An old fortress blocks his route to the next city.

Inside, a family of outcasts must delay his forces long enough for people to escape. D, the formidable and strikingly beautiful half-human, half-vampire hunter, travels the same road.

In a statement shared by Dark Horse, Kikuchi expressed deep appreciation at finally seeing D adapted into an American comic. He said he had never imagined that transformation for a series originating in Japan.

He thanked Dark Horse Comics, Michael Gombos, editor Judy Khuu, and the others involved. He praised Andrade’s illustrations and Condon’s script, which reshapes his original scenario for the American comic format.

Kikuchi also expressed hope that the comic would help D’s story reach readers worldwide, beyond Japan and the United States.

Rose Princess adapts the ninth Vampire Hunter D novel, “The Rose Princess,” with manga by Saiko Takaki. Kevin Leahy will translate it into English.

Its setting, Sacri, is a fertile village on an otherwise barren frontier. That prosperity carries a price: an immortal vampire princess rules the village and feeds on its residents whenever she wishes.

After a young man tries to protect his lover from a bite, the princess dispatches four savage knights to punish the defiant villagers. D stands against them.

A rebellious young woman, Elena, joins D’s effort to end the princess’s lethal reign. First, they must survive a life-threatening duel with her knights.

Takaki began Rose Princess on Asahi Shimbun’s Sonoroma+ website in July 2024. Asahi Shimbun Publishing released its second volume on January 20.

Her manga adaptation of the broader novel series began in 2007. Digital Manga Publishing issued seven volumes in print and digitally; Kadokawa later published the eighth and final collected volume in English in both formats.

Separately, Unified Pictures announced in April that Brandon Easton and Ryan Benjamin would adapt new Vampire Hunter D novel volumes into a 20-issue comic series. It said the series would launch in summer 2026.

Kikuchi’s original novels began in January 1983. Asahi Sonorama started publishing them in 2005, and volume 57 shipped January 7.

Graphic Audio released audiobook adaptations in 2021. Dark Horse Comics publishes the novels in English and collected the first three in an omnibus released in October 2021.

The novels also inspired these anime releases:

• The Vampire Hunter D original video anime, or OVA, debuted in 1985. Sentai Filmworks’ latest DVD and Blu-ray Disc release came in 2015.
• The film Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust debuted in 2000. Discotek Media’s latest DVD and Blu-ray Disc release also came in 2015.
• Iconic Events Releasing and Anime Expo’s AX Cinema Nights program held the OVA’s 40th anniversary screenings in April 2025.

HIDIVE and Shudder began streaming the OVA in May 2025 in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand.

Tanabe launched The Case of Charles Dexter Ward on April 1 through Kadokawa’s KadoComi website under the Comic Beam label. Zack Davisson is adapting the work, with Steve Dutro handling lettering.

The story follows Charles Dexter Ward, whose behavior changes after journeys to strange places and encounters with unusual companions. His travels center on researching his notorious ancestor, Joseph Curwen.

Curwen, reputedly an alchemist and occult practitioner, died violently. Charles becomes fixated on locating his unmarked grave.

Charles performs strange experiments and chants in his room. He claims to have recovered his ancestor’s secret knowledge, which he believes could transform the world.

His increasingly unpredictable and dangerous behavior leads to confinement in an asylum, from which he apparently escapes. Suspecting a horrifying truth, family physician Dr. Willett alone finds the courage to investigate.

The semimonthly manga continues Tanabe’s adaptations of Lovecraft’s writing. Dark Horse’s releases and announced plans include:

• The Hound and Other Stories, published in August 2017, collects “The Hound,” “The Temple,” and “The Nameless City.”
• At the Mountains of Madness began its Dark Horse release in June 2019. It earned a Best Comic nomination at the 46th Angoulême International Comics Festival in 2019.
• The Shadow Over Innsmouth was released as a single omnibus.
• The Call of Cthulhu won Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel at the Bram Stoker Awards in June 2025.
• The Colour Out of Space came out last July.
• The Shadow Out of Time was released December 16.
• The Dunwich Horror is scheduled for September 29.

Tanabe has also adapted Lovecraft’s The Haunter of the Dark and The Outsider into manga.

His Short Stories about Dreamlands, based on Lovecraft’s Dream Cycle stories, ran from November 2023 through April 2024. Lovecraft no Genei (The Lovecraft’s Phantom) ran in Comic Beam from June through December 2024.

This article was updated with information about The Case of Charles Dexter Ward.

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