''Undying Love'' is a limited comic book series created and written by

Tomm Coker Tomm Coker, also known as Thomas L. Coker (born November 3, 1972), is an American comic book artist and film director/writer. Career Coker's career started in the early nineties drawing comic books for Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Marvel Comi ...

and Daniel Freedman. The first issue was published in March

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

by American company

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

. Originally meant to be 2 arcs published as an 8-issue limited-series, only 4 issues and a

collected edition The complete works of an artist, writer, musician, group, etc., is a collection of all of their cultural works. For example, ''Complete Works of Shakespeare'' is an edition containing all the plays and poems of William Shakespeare. A ''Complete W ...

were ever published. The story is about an ex-soldier who falls in love with a

vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

, a Chinese woman named Mei. To free Mei of her vampiric curse, John Sargent must fight his way through the Hong Kong underworld to kill the vampire who transformed her. It happens that Mei was transformed by one of the most powerful vampires of all times.

Publication history

Coker said that he got the idea from a news story that he read about a drug-addicted woman who was forced into prostitution. One of her Johns fell in love with her, but she was ashamed of what she had become. She was also being beaten by her

pimp Procuring, pimping, or pandering is the facilitation or provision of a prostitute or other sex worker in the arrangement of a sex act with a customer. A procurer, colloquially called a pimp (if male) or a madam (if female, though the term "pimp" ...

, so the John shot and killed the pimp and some other men, was caught, and spent the rest of his life in jail. Both creators also said they spent months researching

Chinese folklore Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phe ...

and

mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

. The story is also heavily inspired by Romanian vampire lore.

Collected edition

In September 2011, ''Undying Love Vol. 1'' was released. It had 102 pages and included issues #1-4, never-before-seen art, cover gallery, character designs, a page of the script and layouts for four pages.

Film

In March 2012,

Alexandre Aja Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja (; born 7 August 1978), is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film '' Haute Tension'' (known as ''Hi ...

, director of ''

Piranha 3D ''Piranha 3D'' is a 2010 American 3D horror comedy film that serves as a remake of the comedy horror film '' Piranha'' (1978) and an entry in the ''Piranha'' film series. Directed by Alexandre Aja and written by Pete Goldfinger and Josh Sto ...

'', was in negotiations to direct a film adaptation of ''Undying Love'', but in November, Aja was out and

Joe Carnahan Joseph Aaron Carnahan (born May 9, 1969) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor whose films include '' Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane''; '' Narc''; '' Smokin' Aces''; ''The A-Team''; '' The Grey''; and '' Boss Level''. He ...

, director of '' The Grey'', ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'' and ''

Smokin' Aces ''Smokin' Aces'' is a 2006 action thriller film written and directed by Joe Carnahan. The film centers on the chase for Las Vegas magician turned mafia informant Buddy "Aces" Israel ( Jeremy Piven), on whom a one-million-dollar bounty is placed. ...

'', was in negotiations to direct ''Undying Love'' for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

The project was said to be produced by

Michael De Luca Michael De Luca (born August 13, 1965) is an American film studio executive, film producer and screenwriter. He is also the former president of production at both New Line Cinema and DreamWorks. De Luca has been nominated for three Academy Aw ...

and Stephen L’Heureux and also by Chris Bender and J.C. Spink of Benderspink. In January 2019,

David Leitch David Leitch (; born November 16, 1975) is an American filmmaker, stunt performer, stunt coordinator, and actor. He made his directorial debut on the action film ''John Wick'' (2014) with Chad Stahelski, though only Stahelski was credited. He la ...

was announced to direct ''Undying Love'' from

Tommy Wirkola Tommy Wirkola (born 6 December 1979) is a Norwegian filmmaker. He is known for his film work in hybrid thrillers that combine horror, action and satire. For his hybrid genre-focused work, he has won numerous awards and nominations. Dead Snow ...

for Studio 8 and is produced by Jeff Robinov, Kelly McCormick, and Stephen L’Heureux.

References

{{Reflist Image Comics limited series