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Articles: Graphic Tales Reviews Vampire Free Style

Monday, June 14, 2010 - 04:46 AM, (252 Reads)

Graphic Tales Reviews Vampire Free Style
Recently something cute and adorable found it's way onto my doorstep. Since I'm a sucker for such things, I just had to pick it up even though I knew it might bite. With a name like Vampire Free Style it probably had some teeth...But I had to find out what it was and what it was doing on my doorstep.

With those big pleading eyes on the front cover of Issue #1, I couldn't resist seeing what was hidden inside. There is a delightful mix of mystery and mirth in each edition. After reading Issues 1-5 the mystery began to unfold and each one left us eager for the next. I say "us" because our 13 year old daughter discovered them hiding under my chair and absolutely fell in love with them, too!

We both adore Vampire Free Style, just as if it were little lost kitten that had found us and we can't wait to see what will happen next. It was enjoyable in spite of the fact that English is not the author's native language. There are a few references that US readers may find obscure or bit confusing. But, this actually added to the charm and the settings of the stories.

If you like a mixture of anime, magic, romance and mystery, then check out Vampire Free Style!

I asked author Jenika Ioffreda what inspired these comics and here's what she had to say:

About what inspired me for the comic series, the main character, Micia, was inspired by a joke between me and my boyfriend years ago.

We are both from Italy and in Italian language "Micia" it means "female cat" and it's quite common name for female cats.

He was calling me Micia as a joke and I started to draw myself in a shape of cat whenever I needed to leave him a note.

Slowly the cat that I was drawing more and more started to take a life of her own... and there Micia was born. In 2003 I moved from Italy to United Kingdom and while I was on the train going from the airport to central London, I saw the roofs of some houses and I started to think I wanted draw a new comic book about characters very familiar with roofs.

The idea of a witch who was learning to fly come out and slowly all the other characters come out too. All the characters and situation are inspired by people I really met and situation I really lived and also by dreams I had while sleeping.

(Click on the thumbnails to see larger images)
Previews from Issue 1:

Previews from Issue 2:

Previews from Issue 3:

Previews from Issue 4:

Previews from Issue 5:

Work in progress for Vampire Free Style Issue 6

After reading the comics I wanted to know the creative spirit behind these whymsical books. Here's what I found about artist Jenika Ioffreda, who is behind Vampire Free Style and the Factory of Dreams...

Birthday: "...The third day of the lunar year plus the second month of the Neptune century... "

What you like: The Moon, the Stars, the Sea and the Night

Recommended animation movies: All Studio Ghibli animation movies, Akira (Katsuiro Otomo), The Nightmare Before Christmas (Tim Burton), Corpse Bride (Tim Burton), Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud) and a lot more...

Recommended comic books: Barefoot Gen, (shocking and delicate autobiographical comic book story by Keiji Nakazawa about what Japanese people suffered after Hiroshima atomic bomb...), Persepolis (moving, funny and beautifully told autobiographical story by Marjane Satrapi about her growing up in Iran), Ranma 1/2 by Rumiko Takahashi (terribly funny!), Dylan Dog (Italian comic book about a detective who investigates nightmares), Kimi wa petto by Yayoi Ogawa (unusual love story between 2 people completely different and meant to be together), Safety Pins (Uk independent comic book by Roger Wade about Stitch, a funny, punk, sweet and naive version of a modern Frankenstein), Rat-Man (Italian comic book by Leo Ortolani about a kind of anti-hero with a mouse-rat mask on. Be prepared for a lot of fun)

Favorite Bands: Die Kur, System of a Down, Dimmu Borgir, Nightwish, Octavia Sperati, Guano Apes, Theatre of Tragedy, Sirenia, Sepultura, Machine Head, Nine Inch Nails, Slipknot, Maxdmyz, Captain DaFeira, Smashing Pumpkins, Marilyn Manson, Emilie Autumn, Depeche Mode, The Cure, Tori Amos and a lot more...
Hobby: Everything that can be interesting for me

DIY: My life

Studio tools: Pencils, pens, inks, papers, hands, fingers, watercolors, acrylics, brushes, toothbrushes, lightbox, eMac with Photoshop CS2 and other graphic software and every other kind of tool where I can put my hands on...

A drawing that express yourself: you have it on the left of this page! :)

Oh yes, Jenika is "one of us"! I'm so glad she stumbled upon our humble site and shared her creative visions with with Gothic Blend!

To order Vampire Free Style, visit the "shop" page at www.neptunefactory.com there is a list of comic book shops and web stores in Uk and Ireland selling the comics. The best place for US people to order the comic book is contacting the author, Jenika Ioffreda by e-mail.

Lillian Hawkins
Gothic Blend's
Mistress of
Creative Mischief

"When Goth Grows Up"