Guns’N’Roses Guitarist Slash and Vault Comics, through their rock’n’roll Headshell imprint, are teaming up to bring the 1980s fantasy film Deathstalker to comics.
“I’m excited to be kicking off a new era of Deathstalker,” Said Slash. “From Tim Seeley, artist Jim Terry, writer-director-creature FX-wizard Steven Kostanski, and myself, our Deathstalker is a re-imagining of that fine specimen of ’80s sword and sorcery. With fantasy, you get a little of everything: horror, magic, sex, thrills, blood, guts, swords and weirdness. You know—all those things you can’t look away from. And that’s what we’re bringing. So—please—if you share my love of all things wicked, check it out!”
Deathstalker, also known as El Cazador de la Muerte, was a 1983 sword-and-sorcery film directed by James Sbardellati and produced by Roger Corman. It starred Rick Hill, Barbi Benton, Bernard Erhard and Lana Clarkson, and it tuned into a four-film franchise. The first film featured Deathstalker fighting in a tournament in his quest to obtain three objects of power for a witch.
“I’m a child of the 80s,” said Seeley. “I remember when my dad bought our first VCR in 1982. And I remember the slew of weird and imaginative sword and sorcery VHS tapes that followed. Deathstalker has been near and dear to my heart since I was completely disturbed and aroused by it at a far-too-young-age. And as a fan of the films of Steve Kostanski, I was thrilled to contribute to this project and the ongoing mythology of Deathstalker with my good friend and frequent collaborator, Jim Terry at Vault!”
The project will launch in October with a Kickstarter campaign for a deluxe, oversized hardcover edition of the book, and will also be available in 2024 in both single-issue comic book and trade paperback formats.