“As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the best days of my life are making things with other creative people.”
- George O’Connor

Vampire on Mars isn’t just a catchy title, but a well-developed sci-fi horror story that takes the best parts of “B-Movies” and crafts an entertaining and unique narrative for comic book readers.

Hanna Von Fleischer is a 300 year old vampire who has dreamed of going into space as long as she can remember. Now that technology has made space travel possible, she will do anything to fly among the stars.

Issues 1-2 are already available, but comic book creator George O’Connor has two more issues planned and that latest entry (Issue #3) is now available to support on Kickstarter as of this article.

Prepare for blood (and science!) as this series lives up to its name. Fun, outrageous, and full of heart, this series crafts its own twist on space travel and is full of human moments about sacrifice and doing whatever it takes to achieve your mission.

Comic book creator George O’Connor was kind enough to bring his infectious energy and talk to Pages and Panels about what inspired his comic book, why he believes new readers are gonna wanna bite into it, and how he leveraged educators to ensure the science was accurate (for the most part)!

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Seth A. Romo: Before we get into Vampires on Mars—love the title—how did you get into comic book storytelling?

George O’Connor: Comics are the freaking best, and I absolutely love them. I read X-Men in the 80s and that made me fall in love with the medium. I also have to give credit to my older sister who inspired me as she pursued creative outlets and I am also lucky I’m surrounded by a bunch of creative friends. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve realized the best days of my life are making things with other creative people.

I got inspired by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon writing their own stuff. I’m a Boston boy so that DIY mentality morphed into short films and web series. I did that for about 10 years and created tons of series like 664 Neighbor of the Beast.

About 10 years later, I was burnt out [from creating independent shows and films] and I was at New York Comic Con in 2008/2009 and I remember sitting in a panel called “How Not to Break Into Comics.” As they were talking, a light bulb went off. It’s hard to shoot a film about an epic pirate movie, but if you’ve got the right creative partner you can do whatever you want.

With a background in film, what prompted the creation of Vampires on Mars and why did you pursue comics for this story?

Vampires on Mars is about a 300 year old vampire named Hanna Von Fleischer who has always dreamed about going to space and the world has finally caught up to her imagination. The heart of the story discusses how much of your humanity do you have to sacrifice to succeed.

We pay homage to B-rated horror movies but also include a satisfying story that is universal—especially in today’s world.

The idea came about on a drive home from Baltimore Comic Con—and it’s an 8-hour drive to Boston, so when you’re with your best friends you can’t help but talk about ideas. I remember saying, “You, know what. I think I’d turn into a vampire if that meant I got to be around to see all of the amazing space and science breakthroughs!” And just like that, all three of us started going back and forth and I realized there was something to the idea.

After working on a toddler apocalypse story with artist Fernando Pinto, I brought him on board and he was the perfect co-author of Vampire on Mars.

How was it balancing space and vampirism? Most readers I’m sure are aware of vampires, but how did you make it your own?

So I am a space Astronomy dork and one of the people I love to listen to is Phil Plait who runs Bad Astronomy. He is so enthusiastic and takes big science topics and break them down so lay people can understand. And that’s wizardry in itself, but he also has this great sense of humor. So when we were starting the kickstarter for issue #1 I thought, I would love to run the science by Phil and get his feedback. I wrote an email with the subject line, “Interview Request: Could vampires survive a trip to Mars?” And within 24 hours he wrote back saying, “This is new to me, let’s talk!”

So I got this personal one-on-one discussion with my favorite astronomer and we worked out the mechanics for the comic and we included part of the interview in each of the issues! Phil also gets his own copy of Vampires on Mars now!

Regarding the vampire lore, as I mentioned I talked with Phil about some of the plot elements like sunlight, but we did also set up our own rules in the mix to keep it fun without exposition dumps.

With issue #3 launching, how was it getting the comic into people’s hands and what has the reception been like?

I always compare it to Chew by Rob Guillory where it’s an over-the-top story but still feels a little grounded. Yes, there is blood and ridiculousness, but that will only get you so far and Fernando has got that exact sense of humor. Ellie Wright (the colorist) has also been a great addition and her work is just beautiful. Justin Birch is our letterer and with our editor James Emmett, we have a great team. Working with good people has been great because everyone is talented but good people make it work when things get hard—and making comics is hard.

As far as reception, it’s been so satisfying bringing Vampires on Mars to conventions. At cons you get people who slowly go up and down the aisle but with our catchy title we get a lot of people who stop. At a minimum Vampires on Mars gives you the vibe and the conventions have helped boost the Kickstarters. We now get people who are getting their comics signed by creators like Scott Snyder or Jason Aaron and also coming to us with their copy and it’s been so cool!

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The kickstarter for Vampires on Mars #3 can be found here. Kickstarter for Vampires on Mars #3. This interview has been edited for clarity. Be sure to follow George O’Connor and the entire team on your social media of choice.

George O'Connor (writer/co-creator): https://bsky.app/profile/georgewoconnor.bsky.social

Fernando Pinto (artist/co-creator): https://bsky.app/profile/nandopintoart.bsky.social

Ellie Wright (colorist): https://bsky.app/profile/elllewrightart.bsky.social

Justin Birch (letterer): https://www.jjustinbirch.com

James Emmett (editor): https://bsky.app/profile/jamesbemmett.bsky.social

Federica Mancin (cover artist): https://bsky.app/profile/ikadraws.bsky.social

Marta Gasperoni (cover colorist): https://www.artstation.com/cosmicnebula

Federico Sabbatini (cover artist): https://bsky.app/profile/federicosabbatini.bsky.social