Elvira: Mistress of the Dark Returns to Comics This July

Dynamite Entertainment is proud to announce that they've partnered with one of the most well-known pop culture icons of all time, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark to produce a new line of comic books and graphic novels. New tales of the gothic beauty with the razor-sharp wit from writer David Avallone (Bettie Page, Twilight Zone) and artist Dave Acosta (Doc Savage) will be making their way to comic shops this July.

The Mistress of the Dark has become unstuck in time and crashes Mary Shelley's monster weekend, beginning an epic journey through horror history, stalked by the most terrifying nightmare to ever walk the Earth. (No spoilers!) Writer David Avallone (Bettie Page, Doc Savage, Twilight Zone) and Dave Acosta (Doc Savage) bring you the thrills, chills and double-entendres in the first chapter of this four-issue miniseries!

"I'm thrilled to partner with Dynamite!  I've been working hand in hand with them over the past year to put together the best comic series possible.  Elvira's new dark adventures continue starting this July!"  States The Mistress of the Dark Herself - Elvira!

Played by actress-writer Cassandra Peterson, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark was the first horror host ever to be syndicated nationally and has emerged as one of the most original and outrageous characters in popular culture today.  Her reign as ‘Queen of Halloween' has now spanned thirty-five years and includes two nationally syndicated television series, two feature films (Elvira, Mistress of the Dark and Elvira's Haunted Hills), an IMAX movie and two motion control rides. She has appeared in National ad campaigns for Pepsi and Coors, recorded five music CDs, written four books and licensed over Four Hundred products including pinball machines, action figures, guitars, a beer, wine, soda pop, perfume, slot machines and the best-selling female costume of all time.

"I really want to capture the essence of what Cassandra Peterson created and bring it faithfully to the comics page," explains writer David Avallone. "The story is a horror tale (or a quartet of connected horror tales) with a nightmarish villain and danger and action… but at its center is this wise-cracking, plucky, sexy, unflappable heroine. Elvira is incredibly charming and funny and delightful and she maintains that in the face of whatever happens."

Avallone has created quite a following with his celebrated comic work on pulp heroes like The Shadow and Doc Savage, spinning tales of terror with the Twilight Zone and crafting new adventures for another classic beauty, Bettie Page. This project reteams Avallone with his frequent collaborator Acosta. Together the two talented creators have worked on multiple project together including Doc Savage: Ring of Fire, Twilight Zone / The Shadow and a story in the Love is Love anthology that raised money for the Pulse Nightclub shooting victims.

"After his work on our Bettie Page series, David has become my go-to guy in finding the narrative with properties that require an extra level in their development. And just like Bettie, David has exceeded my expectations and created something fun and dark and all meeting with Elvira's high expectations!" says Editor Joseph Rybandt "Being able to reunite David with Dave Acosta makes this an all-star creative team for one of the most iconic horror properties in existence!"

"Working with Elvira has been really exciting, and we wanted to ensure that we would execute as perfectly as possible, we needed a writer who could do just that in David Avollone." States Dynamite CEO/Publisher Nick Barrucci.  "David's writing is crisp and he knows how to capture the voice of the characters he works with incredibly well.  So much so, that the last series he wrote, Betty Page, we were approached by Playboy to create a story for them.  I can't wait to show the fans where David takes Elvira and hew new adventures!"

Elvira: Misterss of the Dark #1 has a cover by superstar artist Joseph Michael Linsner (Dawn, Vampirella: Roses for the Dead) and variant covers by J. Bone (Will Eisner's The Spirit), Kyle Strahm (Spread), Craig Cermak (Red Team) and Robert Hack (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) with colors by Francesco Francavilla (Detective Comics). Plus, a photo variant cover featuring Elvira from the set of her classic television series.

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #1 will be solicited in the May issue of Diamond Previews catalog, the comic industry's premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market, and scheduled to ship in July of 2018. Readers are encouraged to order through their local comic retailers or through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Kindle, iBooks, Google Play, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, Madefire, and Dark Horse Digital. Fans are encouraged to follow Dynamite Entertainment's social media channels for the latest updates on Elvira: Mistress of the Dark comic books and graphic novels.