Carmilla: The First Vampire

<b>*WINNER OF THE 2023 BRAM STOKER AWARD - Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel* <p/>Before Dracula before Nosferatu there was...CARMILLA. <p/>Inspired by the gothic novel that started the vampire genre and layered with dark Chinese folklore this queer feminist murder mystery graphic novel is a tale of identity obsession and fateful family secrets.</b> <p/>At the height of the Lunar New Year in 1990s New York City an idealistic social worker turns detective when she discovers young homeless LGBTQ+ women are being murdered and no one especially the police seems to care. <p/>A series of clues points her to Carmilla's a mysterious nightclub in the heart of her neighborhood Chinatown. There she falls for the next likely target landing her at the center of a real-life horror story--and face-to-face with illusions about herself her life and her hidden past. <p/>A sophisticated and modern reimagination of one of the great classics of the horror genre Chu and Lee have crafted a Vampire story you do not want to miss.--James Tynion IV (<i>Something Is Killing The Children The Department of Truth</i>) <p/>Part of the challenge when writing about the Asian-American experience is attempting to define something that feels so amorphous. Chu and Lee ingeniously meld one of Western horror's oldest icons with the touchstones of the East.--Pornsak Pichetshote (<i>The Good Asian</i> <i>Infidel</i>) <p/>Amy Chu and Soo Lee have cut a perfect gem of a story from the collective unconscious with an archetypal monster that's at once both deeply mysterious and itchingly familiar--like anything that truly haunts us. --Lilah Sturges (<i>House of Mystery The Science of Ghosts</i>) <p/>A refreshing take on vampire lore. Athena is the kind of heroine everyone craves; empathetic and grounded but also flawed. [<i>Carmilla </i>is] subtle in its storytelling yet evocative in its world-building.--Ethan Young (<i>Nanjing: The Burning City</i> <i> Life Between Panels</i>) <p/><i>Carmilla </i>is an itch in the back of your head the horror of knowing something's right behind you whether it be a creature a nightmare or a terrible love. Amy Chu and Soo Lee weave a beautiful tale full of mystery in an unsettling New York. I highly recommend it.--Chip Zdarsky (<i>Batman</i> <i>Sex Criminals</i>) <p/>Amy and Soo are the perfect new blood to revive this gothic classic. Dripping with style this seductive story is sure to leave a mark.--Casey Gilly (<i>Buffy the Last Vampire Slayer Ravenloft: Orphan of Agony Isle</i>) <p/>In <i>Carmilla</i> Chu and Lee open the doors to a dangerous and yet seductive world where I wanted to stay in more and more at every page turn like a moth drawn to the flame.--Fàbio Moon (<i>Daytripper</i> <i>Casanova</i>)