Co-writers Tom Sniegoski and Jeannine Acheson and artist Valeria Burzo have teamed up for a new title coming from Mad Cave Studios this summer — Soul Taker, which is about “the sweet little old lady living next door to your mother” who is actually a centuries-old creature that sucks the life out of humanity.
Amarantha, as she’s called, is the last of her kind and is just trying to live out the rets of her life peacefully — until some old enemies come looking for her. Colorist Emilio Lecce and letterer Jim Campbell round out the creative team on this new horror title.
“When Jeannine brought me the germ of an idea—an old lady aging backwards while living in elderly housing—I knew that the project that would eventually come from it would be something special, and that it would need a special home,” Sniegoski said. “We continued to work on the idea which would eventually become Soul Taker, hoping that we would find a publisher that understood the kind of story we were trying to tell, and luckily we did with Mad Cave Studios. Jeannine and I are incredibly excited for everybody to experience the unique characters we have created, and the world in which they live.”
Mad Cave shared more details on the story:
Amarantha is the last of her race, an ancient species that has lived among us for millennia, feeding on the life energies of humanity. Now enjoying a peaceful existence in a retirement community, she continues to consume just enough to survive. But Amarantha has made enemies throughout her long life and an ancient foe thought long defeated has returned and is out for blood, while a newer threat seeks to capture her for their own nefarious purposes! Now Amarantha must do everything in her power to vanquish her enemies and protect the life she has made for herself.
“I’m crazy excited to be working with Mad Cave Studios on Soul Taker, my first creator-owned comic series,” Acheson said. “It seems like forever ago that the character of Amara was born from an innocent conversation between Tom and me about our elderly moms. And now, four years later, Amara’s story is here, about to be unleashed on the world. I’m so grateful that Mad Cave decided to take a chance on us, and I can’t wait for everyone to meet Amara and the other colorful characters who inhabit her world. A huge thank you is due to the folks at Mad Cave for assembling such a terrific team of professionals to work with us — they all helped bring our story to life, just the way we imagined it.”
Here’s a look at the first issue’s variant covers by Meghan Hetrick and Rosi Kampe:
“When I first read the plot for Soul Taker, I was thrilled,” Burzo said. “It is a horror story with a romantic and gothic aspect, it has a nostalgic flavor coming from most of its characters. The story is divided between flashbacks dating back between the Renaissance and 1700, the Age of Enlightenment, up to the present day. Amara, the protagonist, has an incredible charm both for her aesthetics and for her story. I am really happy that Mad Cave presented me the task of bringing this special story to images because for me, every chapter is a real journey into a fantastic world.”
Look for the first issue to arrive in shops on July 3.