4/12 – The Strands of the Void: Maria Taliffero!
Welcome to part 4/12 of the special feature, The Strands of the Void. In this 12-part series, I’ve been spotlighting characters and themes found in Void that stretch either from Dogwoods Blush or, most of all, forward into Dove of War. This week, let’s look at the evil vampire that slashed the face of Void in issue #3. It’s the beautiful but deadly Maria Taliffero!
“Queen of Evil” above art was commissioned by me in 2007. The artist is Gamon Osaias who was well known at the time for his art in the comic horror field, especially on the female vampire character, Vampirella. This art was designed to be part of my comic proposal (never published) for Dove of War!
So who is Maria? She was introduced to Void readers in issue #3 as an ally of dark witch Louhi Waterhouse and as a consort of the mysterious unseen villain, Alexandru Vasilie (more on him in later posts, in the pages of Void, and in Dove of War)! She escaped Void’s attack that brought down Louhi so you can bet she’ll return with a vengeance! In fact, look for her to surface again in the world of Void in issue #5, Bad Dreams!
Maria and Louhi make a fearsome pairing!
Maria in the attack!
Vampires have been a staple of the horror genre since even before Bela Lugosi starred in Dracula. Once believed to be a very real threat to people in medieval Europe, vampires are part of our US pop culture. Dracula has been the subject of more films than ANY character in fictional history. So of course I wanted to add my version of the “undead” to my horror adventure stories from the “Bill Cain Universe.”
Details about Maria must wait until you read Dove of War, but suffice it to say that she and her brother, Gabriel, terrorized western Europe in the 19th century and she has an enduring hatred for Basil Hato, the Dove of War! She is vicious, sadistic, and totally dedicated to the black arts and desires of her mysterious master. Void was lucky to survive his first encounter with her. I hope he can be that lucky when next they meet!
Coming August 2, 2012: 5/12 – The Strands of the Void: Sir Edmund Grayson!
6 Comments
On yeah, you got to have it. Classic material to make this series even better. Thank you for sharing, pass on the neck pain though. Will take VOID’s advice, join the fight.
Haha! Good advice, Eva! As a kid, vampires were about the scariest thing I could imagine. No way could I not at least try to find a spot for them in my story lines. Thanks for your feedback!
VOID had better watch his back … and neck!!!
Void was bitten AND slashed by Maria in issue #3 to what seems to be no ill effects! I wonder why????? Or how????
I remembert that…thanks for reminding me. Hmmmm, I think I know why.
I don’t think you do! We’ll see as the mystery unfolds! It’s not just surviving a vampire attack … Void was stabbed in the back (issue #1), burned to a crisp and submerged in boiling oil sludge for an hour (#2) as well. He survived them all with apparently no ill effects! How is that possible? The answers are coming in the pages ahead!