Dark Horse didn't hand its first official Vampire Hunter D comic to just anyone; the writer and artist on Fortress of Blood both arrive with genuinely strong, specific resumes.
Chris Condon and Filipe Andrade aren't newcomers being tested out on a licensed book, they're established creators whose existing work lines up with this franchise's genre blend in some clear ways.
Looking at what each of them has actually made before helps explain why this particular pairing landed on this particular project.
Here is a real look at both creators' confirmed prior work, not just the headline credits.
Condon is best known as the writer of That Texas Blood, an ongoing crime series at Image Comics illustrated by Jacob Phillips, running since June 2020.
That book's blend of western atmosphere and slow-burn tension is a genuinely close tonal match for Vampire Hunter D's own mix of western, horror, and science fiction.
Beyond the main series, Condon also wrote The Enfield Gang Massacre, a Wild West spinoff that was named one of the best comics of its year by multiple outlets including The Hollywood Reporter and The Comics Journal.
Having a second well-reviewed western credit beyond his flagship series reinforces that his strengths aren't limited to one title, which matters for a franchise built on exactly that genre combination.
Condon has also written horror-specific material, including stories for Creepshow at Oni Press and multiple stories for Marvel's horror anthology Crypt of Shadows.
He has additionally written across DC, Marvel, AfterShock, Mad Cave, and the long-running British anthology 2000 AD, giving him real range across both horror and crime before taking on this project.
Andrade is a Portuguese comic artist best known as the co-creator, alongside writer Ram V, of The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, a series that earned an Eisner Award nomination.
That book's blend of mythic, emotionally heightened storytelling and expressive, painterly art is a strong visual foundation for a franchise as tonally gothic as Vampire Hunter D.
Laila Starr remains Andrade's most acclaimed creator-owned work, and its reputation for striking, kinetic page composition is a large part of why his art style stands out from a typical licensed-comic artist.
That same sense of movement and mood is exactly what a franchise built around a lone swordsman wandering a gothic wasteland needs from its interior artist.
On the superhero side, Andrade has drawn Marvel titles including Fantastic Four, Star, Captain Marvel, Ultimates 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, Old Man Logan, and Rocket Raccoon & Groot.
That range across cosmic, street-level, and legacy-character books shows he can adapt his style across very different tones, not just the more painterly creator-owned work he's best known for.
Condon brings a proven ability to write slow-building western and horror tension, while Andrade brings an expressive, mood-driven art style already proven on acclaimed genre work.
Store your Fortress of Blood singles the way you would any first printing from creators this closely watched, starting with a current-age toploader and a comic book divider to keep the run organized.
Based on both creators' track records, Fortress of Blood is likely to lean into slow-building atmosphere and character-driven stakes rather than a pure monster-of-the-issue structure.
Andrade's expressive linework paired with Condon's patient plotting suggests a series more interested in dread and consequence than nonstop action, which tracks with the franchise's own gothic roots.
If you want a preview of Condon's voice, start with the first volume of That Texas Blood; if you want a preview of Andrade's art, The Many Deaths of Laila Starr is the clearest showcase of his style.
Reading either beforehand isn't required to enjoy Fortress of Blood, but it does make it noticeably easier to spot each creator's specific fingerprints once the new series actually arrives on shelves this December.
Before you go further, it is worth keeping a couple of essentials on hand: EVORETRO Current-Age Comic Book Toploader and EVORETRO Comic Book Divider both help keep this collection in solid shape long-term.
That Texas Blood, an ongoing crime-western series at Image Comics with artist Jacob Phillips.
Yes, including stories for Creepshow and Marvel's Crypt of Shadows anthology.
The Many Deaths of Laila Starr, which received an Eisner Award nomination.
Fantastic Four, Star, Captain Marvel, Ultimates 2, Guardians of the Galaxy, and more.
A writer with proven western-horror instincts and an artist with an Eisner-nominated creator-owned hit is a genuinely strong pairing for a franchise this specific.
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