There are a ton of awesome artists in it already and I just confirmed that my comic is actually gonna make it in too (even tho it’s technically too long ghhhhghi’msorry)
So yeah if you’re digging the panels above and wondering “Is this going where I hope it’s going” (knowing my followers, i can confirm for you that yes, yes it is) then consider picking one up!
They only have 20 hours to go and are ALMOST funded, so I hope we can make this happen! I want to own this book too!!
UPDATE: this kickstarter is closed, but the artbook may still be available to buy. Go ask vampireartbook ❤
I’ve probably read it before Lestat got his hands on it, which is quite amusing when you think about it. It must have been a few years after publication, because I found it in one of the secondhand bookshops that I grew quite fond of. I was looking for some old editions of my favourite classics when a shabby paperback copy inevitably caught my eye – the word “Vampire” shining with bloody letters.
Don’t think I was startled by it, no, by all means no. The stories about vampires were quite popular since late 19th century and most of the time they got everything wrong about us, therefore I saw no danger in them. But out of curiosity I picked it up and after reading the first two pages I decided to buy it. It seemed to be something different.
The nameless vampire and nameless reporter boy. How could I possibly foresee that in a few years I will meet both of them and that the latter will become a fledging of my fledging and now my companion? But I digress.
You can imagine, my friend, that as soon as Lestat’s name appeared on the page I suddenly saw the book for what it was. A very real memoir disguised as popular fiction and very well protected by the modern attitude towards mythical creatures. From this point I drunk every word greedily, looking for other names, for secrets I feared to be revealed. I was both astonished and disappointed.
To see how well concealed Lestat kept the knowledge I shared with him was both comforting and painful. To see how he disregarded my advice and made a mistake of turning a child so young…! I found it outrageous. To see Armand, my dear Amadeo, described by Louis, to see him every bit as charming and tempting as he used to be, and yet so entirely different… It broke my heart. To see my dear Lestat treated so cruelly and suffering so awfully… Oh, reading this book was an absolutely infuriating experience.
But not quite as infuriating as reading Lestat’s novel, I must say.
It’s never said explicitly in the books what the harmful aspect of the sun’s rays really are. Here have a gif of Claudia tiptoeing around the light bc of reasons.
Clearly, movie!Claudia can handle the bounced light from the floor.
As you do correctly point out, Ricean vampires can handle light sources at night, so it would appear that the UV rays are what differentiate sunlight from candle/electric/etc., so the UV rays could be the issue. I think there are other elements in sunlight that may be different, but I’m not a scientist, so I wouldn’t know specifics.
Whatever the elements in sunlight that are harmful to them, I think it’s because their vampiric parasite is always at work “perfecting” them, converting their organic cells to inorganic (well, preternatural) cells, all the time. Fresh infusions of blood fuel this process. The issue with direct sunlight is that it intensifies this process to the point that their host bodies can’t handle it, it’s painful, they have to get out of the light.
It’s an intriguing thought, whether a room treated with UV windows would be enough to protect the vampires! If I were a vampire, I probably wouldn’t feel wholly safe with the windows open, as the sun crept in… and Ricean vampires will naturally find shelter if any light touches them during the Death Sleep. So I think they would find themselves cocooned in blankets, or completely concealed under the bed, when they awoke in such a room.
The vampiric spirit of Amel, invisible to the human eye, was present more at night, possibly because his very substance couldn’t handle direct sunlight for similar reasons.
