Writer Alex De Campi and artist Erica Henderson, the creative team behind the hit graphic novel Dracula, Motherf**ker!, are back with a new project. Image Comics has announced that De Campi and Henderson are reteaming for Parasocial, a new suspense graphic novel set at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The book is due out in October.
Here’s how Image describes Parasocial:
In the middle of the pandemic, a fading genre-TV actor, fresh from his long-running series’ cancellation, collides with an obsessive fan at a Texas convention. When she lures him to her home, he’ll have to put on the greatest performance of his life simply to survive until morning. Unless, of course, he’s the real monster…
In a statement announcing the new book, De Campi and Henderson both elaborated on the story and themes of their latest team-up:
“Parasocial is a twisted exploitation thriller that will leave you never feeling safe at a convention again. It’s a deep dive into all the things we’ve agreed not to talk about in modern fandom and celebrity… with an ending you’ll never see coming,” said De Campi. “Most importantly, it’s Erica’s most beautiful and strikingly innovative book yet. I’m just here to cover up some of her art with words.”
Henderson added: “Parasocial is an unsettling glimpse at who we want to be, who other people see, and most horrible of all—who we really are.”
Dracula, Motherf**ker! was a big success for the team both critically and commercially when it was released in 2020, and placed very highly on The Beat‘s best comics list for that year. Parasocial marks the second graphic novel illustrated by Henderson due out this year, after next month’s Danger and Other Unknown Risks, on which the artist reunited with her Unbeatable Squirrel Girl collaborator Ryan North.
The 128-page Parasocial hardcover graphic novel is due out in comic shops on Wednesday, October 4th, and in bookstores the following Tuesday, October 10th.
