™

DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS

™

WRITTEN BY
RON MARZ
ART BY
WALTER GEOVANI
COLORS BY
ADRIANO LUCAS
LETTERS BY
TROY PETERI
COVER BY
PAUL RENAUD

Nick Barrucci, President

Visit us online at www.DYNAMITE.net
Juan Collado, Chief Operating Officer
Joe Rybandt, Editor
Josh Johnson, Creative Director
Rich Young, Director Business Development
Jason Ullmeyer, Senior Designer SFI-00507

Follow us on Twitter @dynamitecomics Josh Green, Traffic Coordinator This label only applies to the text section.
Follow us on Facebook /DynamiteComics Chris Caniano, Production Assistant

PROPHECY™, volume 1, issue #1. First printing. Published by Dynamite Entertainment, 155 Ninth Avenue, Suite B, Runnemede, NJ 08078. Prophecy is ™ and © 2012 Dynamite Characters, llc. All Rights
Reserved. Red Sonja ® & © 2012 Red Sonja, llc. Vampirella and Pantha are ® and © 2012 DFI. All Rights Reserved. All other characters herein are ™ and ® their respective owners. Dynamite,
Dynamite Entertainment & The Dynamite Entertainment logo ® 2012 DFI. All names, characters, events, and locales in this publication are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to actual per-
sons (living or dead), events or places, without satiric intent, is coincidental. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means (digital or print) without the written permission of
Dynamite Entertainment except for review purposes. Printed in Canada

For information regarding press, media rights, foreign rights, licensing, promotions, and advertising e-mail: marketing@dynamite.net
VAMPIRELLA
Real Name: Vampirella
Occupation: Adventurer, Vampire, Vampire Hunter
Identity: n/a
Legal Status: n/a
Other Aliases: Vampi, Last Daughter of Lilith
Place of Birth: Drakulon (sometimes referred to as the Judeo
Christian “Hell”)
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: n/a
Group Affiliation: Vampirella is an unofficially sanctioned agent of
the Vatican
Base of operation: Mobile
First appearance: Vampirella #1 (Warren Series 1969)
First Modern Appearance: Vampirella #1 (Dynamite Series 2010)

History: Vampirella is a creature of mysterious origin. Although she

must feed on blood in order to survive and she possesses the abili-
ties and traits common to vampires, she uses her vampiric needs
and nature to feed on criminal elements and battle evil forces.
Although she refers to herself as a “vampire of sorts” she is associ-
ated with others that are synonymous with myth of the vampire,
including the van Helsing family and Dracula who has become her
arch-nemesis.
Vampirella and Dracula have crossed paths many times;
one of their latest clashes took place in Seattle, WA, where
Vampirella tracked Le Fanu, a female vampire known as the Red
Right Hand to Dracula to a “biter club” called Carmilla. There
Vampirella found a nest of vampires using the allure of a night club
to trap and feed on local youths. Vampirella infiltrated Carmilla only
to become captured by Le Fanu’s followers. During this time she
learns that Le Fanu has become a follower of an old god know as the
Worm but is soon revealed to be Yag-Ath Vermellus. Le Fanu uses
the powers granted to her by the Worm—in the form of venomous
tentacles sprouting from the palms of her hands—to invade
Vampirella’s mind; however, Vampirella is able to break the spell and
momentarily defeat Le Fanu, as well as steal a relic that Le Fanu is
desperate to have back.
After the battle with Le Fanu, Dracula visits Vampirella on
an astral plane which he refers to as “the belly of the Worm.”
Dracula explains that the Worm seeks to swallow all that exists and
that the person who wears the Crown of Worms will be the one to
unlock the gates of the abyss and damn the world unless the wearer
is strong enough to resist the Worm. Having been able to free her-
self from the influence of the Worm once already, Dracula suggests
that Vampirella has the power to prevent the end of the world.
Vampirella tracks Le Fanu once more, this time only to
discover that Le Fanu plans to make Dracula her slave as she now
leads an army of vampires possessed by the Worm. During her bat-
tle with Le Fanu and her horde, Vampirella learns that the relic she
took from Le Fanu is a key that will open the doorway for the Worm.
Overpowered, Vampirella flees Le Fanu only to be met by Dracula;
this time in person. Dracula tells Vampirella that she must give him
the key if they are to stop Yag-Ath Vermellus from devouring the
world. Vampirella is hesitant as she suspects that Dracula himself
has more to do with the coming apocalypse than he is letting on;
nonetheless, she gives him the key. Dracula then places the key on
Vampirella’s forehead.
When Vampirella awakens she finds that she wears the
Crown of Worms and has been selected as the bride of Yag-Ath
Vermellus. However, she is once again able to withstand the influ-
ence of Yag-Ath Vermellus and for the time being is able to defeat
both the old god and Dracula.
Vampirella continues to battle dangerous creatures, both
natural and supernatural, and fight the forces of evil.

Height: 5 feet, 9 inch

Weight: 160 pounds
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Black
Strength Level: Superhuman

Known superhuman powers: Vampirella’s vampirism grants her an

assortment of abilities including shapeshifting, immortality, super-
human strength, superhuman speed, heightened senses, night
vision, elevated healing factor, flight, hypnosis and telepathy. The
extent and limitations of these abilities are not known.

Other abilities: Vampirella has extensive knowledge of the supernat-

ural arts.

Weapons: Vampirella uses an assortment of weapons that are typi-

cally used in the destruction of vampires. Among her arsenal, she
carries wooden stakes, silver bullets and silver throwing knives in
the shape of her bat emblem. She has also been known to use a vari-
ety of firearms.
RED SONJA
Real Name: Sonja
Occupation: Adventurer, Warrior
Identity: n/a
Legal Status: n/a
Other Aliases: Sonja the Red, She-Devil with a Sword, She-Devil
of Hyrkania
Place of Birth: Hyrkania, Hyborian Age
Marital status: Single
Known relatives: Deceased
First appearance: Conan the Barbarian #23 (Marvel Series 1973)
First Modern Appearance: Red Sonja #0 (Dynamite Series 2005)

History: As a young girl growing up in the land of Hyrkania, Sonja

had an innate talent and desire for fighting and swordplay which
she often used to best the young males of her village. One day
while on a hunting trip, she and her father were attacked by
marauders. Sonja was able to escape but her father was mur-
dered. Fleeing to her village, she found the bandits in the process
of pillaging her home and slaughtering her people. The attackers
captured young Sonja, raped her and left her to burn with the rest
of her village. Sonja, however, not only managed to escape, but
she also found a symbol of the attackers’ worship, a small totem
of the dark god Borat-na Fori. Sonja was weakened but her cries
were heard by the goddess Scathach.
According to Sonja, she died and was reborn that day
with the goddess as her mother. The goddess blessed Sonja,
making the young girl her champion for the suffering. Sonja was
granted “wisdom and war” with the condition that “no man can
ever have you ‘less he best you with the blade, for he must be
worthy to receive you.” Young Sonja accepted the blessing of the
goddess and thus she was reborn as Red Sonja. This cycle of
death and rebirth would become a recurring motif in the lives and
adventures of Red Sonja.
Alone in the wilderness, Sonja learned to hunt, fight
and survive. Soon she teamed up a thief named Ozzyus and his
band of criminals. Working with Ozzyus, Red Sonja learned the
ways of the cities and of society, as well the value of reading and
writing. Soon the time to part ways with Ozzyus came and Sonja
continued her pursuit of the followers of Borat-na Fori, taking part
in many adventures and battles along the way which would gain
her legendary status.
As Sonja journeyed the lands of Hyrkania and beyond,
the dark god Borat-na Fori was revealed to be the evil sorcerer
Kulan Gath who not only had a thirst for power but also revenge
against Sonja. Through ancient ritual and sacrifice, Kulan Gath
was reborn and a final battle against Red Sonja became
inevitable. Sonja, however, would not have to face Kulan Gath
alone as she gained the companionship of Osin, a warrior in
search of adventures, and Sumarro who had also been blessed by
the goddess. Unfortunately, with new allies also came new ene-
mies, and as Red Sonja pursued Kulan Gath, undoing his influ-
ence and tyranny along the way, she herself was also pursued by
a follower of the dark god, a mysterious man of magic and might
known as The Hunter.
In order to defeat Kulan Gath and his forces, it was
decreed that Red Sonja would need the help of an old god—a
decision that would force Sonja to succumb to being had by the
old god Kaleval. The final battle between Red Sonja leaves both
Sonja and Kulan Gath dead. However, since Sonja had come to be
known as the most beautiful and fearless woman in Hyrkania, a
distant relative of the original Red Sonja took her name as a good
omen. A noblewoman, this incarnation lived a fairly sheltered
existence, along with her sister Verona and her little niece, long-
ing for a child of her own and waiting for the return of her distant
husband, Lord Daniel.
Eventually she is reunited with her husband, but then
a pirate crew (called upon by Verona’s husband, Lord Lucan, in a
bid for more power) slays him and leaves Sonja on the brink of
death. Sonja is then nursed to health by Osin, the companion
from Sonja’s previous life, now a bard and a gruff swordsman,
who accepted the curse of Claw the Unconquered for himself in
exchange for the ability to locate, and train the new incarnation of
Red Sonja.
As Osin begins her training, he finds that, even if Sonja
has occasional flashes of her former reflexes, she no longer has
access to the full might of the skills bestowed upon her by
Scathach (now an almost forgotten goddess with waning powers)
in her previous life, nor the fit body she once possessed, due to
her sheltered life. Despite these handicaps Sonja is able to learn
faster than presumed and is soon journeying once again.

Height: 5 feet, 8 inches Known superhuman powers: While mortal, Red Sonja has been
Weight: 150 pounds blessed by the power of the Goddess Scathach and the full extent
Eyes: Green of these blessings is unknown.
Hair: Red
Strength Level: Normal human with above average strength, Other abilities: Sonja is extremely intelligent and cunning, also
agility and stamina, possessing exceptional skills as a swordsman employing the skills of the well-trained thief in her adventures.
and warrior.
Weapons: Skilled in all weapons of the Hyborian Age

IN THE NEWS - MAY 2012
DYNAMITE ENTERTAINMENT LAUNCHES
PANTHA ONGOING SERIES!
Following the incredible success of
Dynamite's Vampirella comics series comes
the launch of Pantha in June 2012! First
appearing in Vampirella #30, this ally of
Vampirella is an ancient Egyptian cursed to
live forever by the gods because of a killing
spree she went on in ancient times.
Dynamite Entertainment proudly presents
Pantha #1, which will be written by Brandon
Jerwa and drawn by Pow Rodrix, with covers
by Mark Texiera and Sean Chen!
In Pantha #1, Pantha stalks the night, driving
the forces of Chaos from the shadows and
hunting them down like prey! Much more
than a feral shapeshifter, Pantha is also an
avatar for the Egyptian goddess Sekhmet -
and she's going to learn that history can
repeat in a violent, terrifying way! Featuring
the return of several heroes and villains from
the pages of PANTHA and VAMPIRELLA,
"Dangerous Game" will be an important cor-
nerstone for the future of Dynamite's epic
Vampirella universe! Be sure to pick up
Pantha #1 in June 2012!
"Like her good friend VAMPIRELLA, the char-
acter of PANTHA has many layers," says
To discuss this and more, log onto the Dynamite forums at
WWW.DYNAMITE.NET/BOARDS
FEATURED REVIEWS
VAMPIRELLA #15
(OPINIONS.THEFELLOWSHIPOFTHE
GEEKS.COM):
“This is an interesting, dramatic book run-
ning along a horror theme with some really
nice art (I really like the wings). Good show
all around.”
KIRBY: GENESIS – SILVER STAR #4
(WORDOFTHENERDONLINE.COM):
“The art of this book was different than any
other that I have seen in a while. It almost
looks like the outlines were drawn with a
dark mechanical pencil and the coloring was
done with water color. I really enjoyed the
way they set up the whole art style. Once
again I was able to determine what was
going on most of the time just by looking at
the pictures. Very visually enjoyable, Thanks
for this book, Dynamite.”
writer Brandon Jerwa. "My series is an equal
mix of horror, suspense, mysticism, Egyptian
mythology, and yes, I'll say it: Superheroic
Action. To my mind, this is a comic for people
who love comics as an insane, boundless
platform for storytelling. You don't have to
know anything about Pantha or Vampirella to
understand this book, but I'm confident that
longtime fans will appreciate some familiar
themes and a slew of guest-stars from the
vast Vampirella universe."
"Brandon [Jerwa] will be playing a larger role
in our Vampirella plans as we take a bite out
of 2012," adds Dynamite Editor Joe Rybandt.
"Pantha is his first stab at all the action!"
"We waited to launch Pantha because we
wanted to give her the same long term plan-
ning we have given Vampirella," says
Dynamite Entertainment President and
Publisher Nick Barrucci. "Writer Brandon
Jerwa has presented a great launch pad and
long term plan, and Pow Rodrix's art compli-
ments it very well. The "icing on the cake" are
beautiful and striking covers by Mark Texiera
and Sean Chen. This is a great creative team
that will hit this one out of the park!"
Join the conversation on Twitter with
#Pantha and on Dynamite Entertainment's
twitter page at
ZORRO RIDES AGAIN #9
(OPINIONS.THEFELLOWSHIPOFTHE
GEEKS.COM):
“I’ve always enjoyed Wagner’s writing,
whether it’s his Batman stories or his own
creations Mage and Grendel. For an issue
that doesn’t have a lot of action, tons of stuff
is going on. Snyder’s art is great as always. I
also would like to add that Mike Malbrough
does the coloring and creates a beautiful
atmosphere – bright sunny days, but decides
to use purple for night instead of going with
black. This book was a pleasure to read.”
DARK SHADOWS #4
(COMICSBULLETIN.COM):
“Campbell doesn't hold back on the blood
and gore, but is almost better on the simple
eeriness of levitating witches, glowing pos-
sessed eyes, and the flutter of batwings in
the many looming inky black shadows.”
NEXT ISSUE:
PROPHECY #2
2012: the Mayan Prophecy isn't com-
ing, it's here. As the world falls into
darkness, an army unites. There's
never been a gathering of heroes like
this before ... but we've never faced
the end of the world before! A collec-
tion of Dynamite's greatest charac-
ters, including Red Sonja, Vampirella,
Pantha, Dracula, Eva, Herbert West
the Reanimator, Allan Quatermain,
Athena, Dorian Gray, Purgatory and
many more, must band together in a
desperate attempt to prevent villain-
ous sorcerer Kulan Gath from turning
the world into ash. But when your
allies include the lord of all vampires,
everyone will be at one another's
throats -- literally! An earth-shattering
storyline from crossover-king writer
Ron Marz, and fan-favorite artist
Walter Geovani, with an incredible
cover by Paul Renaud!
www.DYNAMITE.net
Follow us on Twitter
@dynamitecomics
Nick Barrucci, President
Juan Collado, Chief Operating Officer
Joe Rybandt, Editor
Josh Johnson, Creative Director
Rich Young, Director Business Development
Jason Ullmeyer, Senior Designer
Josh Green, Traffic Coordinator
Chris Caniano, Production Assistant
DARK SHADOWS #4
(COMICBOOKED.COM):
“The series continues to build on the moody,
gothic drama established in the series.”
WARLORD OF MARS #16
(JCOMREADER.BLOGSPOT.COM):
“Once again, another excellent issue!”
THE BOYS #65
(COMICBOOKRESOURCES.COM):
“The Boys #65 drops some massive bombs
and certainly entertains. It retains a silly
Ennis quality but at the cost of all the brutal-
ity and tone built up over years. This book
continues to be Butcher's tale and this step
along the path is set to finally bring some clo-
sure to his world as we wander into the final
arc.”

IN STORES NOW:
THE SPIDER #1
BLACK PANTHER WRITER REVIVES
THE SPIDER AT DYNAMITE
- BY ALBERT CHING, NEWSARAMA STAFF WRITER
David Liss has a, well, “history” of exploring different eras in his
work — from the various periods covered in his historical fiction
novels like The Whiskey Rebels, which took place in the late 18th
century, or exploring the modern day Marvel Universe during his
stint writing Black Panther: The Most Dangerous Man Alive.
For his latest comic book project, The Spider at Dynamite, he’s
returning to a similar pulp sensibility as 2011’s Marvel miniseries
Mystery Men. Except this time around, he’s bringing The Spider —
first introduced in the pulp magazines of the 1930s — to a contem-
porary setting.
Newsarama talked with Liss via email about the series, what makes
The Spider unique among his pulp fiction brethren, and working
with series artist Colton Worley.
Newsarama: David, when The Spider series was originally
announced, I think a lot of people didn’t necessarily know much
about the character. How familiar were you with The Spider before
starting writing this series?
David Liss: I’d read some of the pulps years before, so I was familiar
with the character, and certainly familiar enough to jump at the
chance to write him. But your point is well-taken. I think The Spider
is hugely influential and has shaped a lot of what we consider stan-
dard elements of comic book heroes and villains, but the character’s
influence has held up better than the character itself. I’m very excit-
ed to have the chance to reintroduce readers to a very cool hero
who they ought to know if they don’t already.
Nrama: There are a lot of pulp-era heroes — Dynamite publishes
quite a few of them — so in your estimation, what makes The Spider
unique, and worth revisiting today? It seems that he’s much more
aggressive than some of his counterparts, kind of a pulp version of
The Punisher, broadly speaking.
Liss: The Spider is certainly as ruthless as The Punisher, and has no
problem putting a bullet in a bad guy if he’s got it coming, but The
Punisher is also emotionally blunt and isolated. The Spider, on the
other hand, along with his alter ego, Richard Wentworth, has not
closed himself off to emotion. There’s a woman he loves and he has
friends he cares about. The life he leads has a cost, and he’s not
exactly happy, but he is very human. Ultimately, I think that is what
makes him unique — his ability to be moral, ruthless and social all
at the same time.
Nrama: Like any character as old as The Spider, there has been
many interpretations in many different forms of media; novels,
comic books, movie serials — is any one era or representation espe-
cially influential to you in the writing of the series?
Liss: When working out my approach to this series, I stuck with the
pulps. My goal was always to take what I thought were the essential
elements of The Spider and his world and update them for a mod-
ern audience. There have been other efforts to update The Spider,
and some of them have been very cool — especially Timothy
Truman’s comics, but they were also a unique interpretation, and we
didn’t want to build on that vision so much as create our own inter-
pretation.
Nrama: Last year at Marvel, you wrote the pulp-era miniseries
Mystery Men. Do you view that as thematically similar at all to what
you’re doing here?
Liss: Like Mystery Men, The Spider has one foot planted squarely in
the pulp sensibility, but that project was a period piece set firmly in
the 1930s, whereas ours is a pulp character reintroduced into the
21st century. I would say both are stories that are constructed out of
pulp building blocks but are much more character based than many
of the pulps were.
Nrama: What’s the planned length of your story? Not sure if it’s a
miniseries or ongoing.
Liss: I’ve done a five-issue arc and a stand-alone. I’d love to do
more, so hopefully people will buy this book and support the proj-
ect.
Nrama: The images released thus far by Colton Worley have been
striking. What’s it been like working with him on this project?
Liss: Colton’s art speaks for itself. His work on this has been amaz-
ing, and I’ve been thrilled to have him as the artist. He’s also an
incredibly easy creative partner to work with. He’s very open and
flexible and does a great job of bringing the scripts to life. But more
importantly, he infuses everything with his own super-cool moody
style, which is somehow both realistic and fantastical. It’s great
stuff, and I love working with an artist like Colton because I know
anyone flipping through one of the issues is going to want to buy it
because it looks so damn good.
Interview originally posted on
WWW.NEWSARAMA.COM
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Enjoy the following preview of Dynamite’s new series,
THE SPIDER
Written by David Liss
Art by Colton Worley
Letters by Simon Bowland
Covers by Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Francesco Francavilla
and Ron Lesser
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
THE SPIDER ® Copyright © 2012 Argosy Communications, Inc. All
Rights Reserved. AUTHORIZED [Produced Under License]. Dynamite,
Dynamite Entertainment and the Dynamite Entertainment colophon
are ® and © 2012 DFI.All rights reserved. All art pending licensor
approval.