You remember Satana, don’t you? No, not the guitar-playing rock legend—that would be Carlos Santana of “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” fame. I’m talking about Satana, the Devil’s Daughter, the red-haired succubus who made her debut in the black-and-white magazine Vampire Tales #3, published by Marvel Comics in 1973.
Created by Roy Thomas and John Romita Sr., Satana was, basically, Marvel’s attempt to create a knockoff of Warren Publishing’s popular outer-space femme fatale, Vampirella. She wore a skintight, cleavage-revealing costume (although Satana’s leaned closer to a superhero outfit than Vampi’s one-piece swimsuit), dealt with supernatural threats, was drawn by her own share of Spanish artists (including Vampirella’s Esteban Maroto), and had most of her adventures in black-and-white horror magazines. During that time, readers learned that Satana wasn’t just Daddy Satan’s Little Girl, she also had a brother—none other than shirtless exorcist Damien Hellstrom, better known as the Son of Satan! But while Damien fought to save souls in his role as a pseudo-superhero, Satana was only interested in eating them in her role as the ultimate temptress.
However, where Marvel missed the boat was in not promoting Satana to series star and giving her her own magazine series—in fact, she made only three feature-cover appearances during her short 1970s run: The Haunt of Horror #5 (Dick Giordano art for a Chris Claremont story); Marvel Premiere #27 (Gil Kane art for another Claremont tale—but this one was a full-color comic); and Marvel Preview #7 (a Bob Larkin painting for, yes, another Claremont story, although that issue has become more well-known for being the first appearance of Guardians of the Galaxy member Rocket Raccoon). Mostly, though, Satana occupied Vampire Tales’ and Haunt of Horror’s back pages. Not a smart move—if you’re gonna go head-to-head with the queen of the bad girls, you can’t do it from backup-story land.
Her situation turned even more bleak when Claremont went and killed her off in a two-part Marvel Team-Up get-together with Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. That was the end of Satana Hellstrom…until she was pulled from limbo in the 1990s to pop up in the occasional superhero comic in the years since—but still only as a supporting character, never the headliner.
(In retrospect, she could have had it worse—she could have suffered the destined-for-obscurity fate of Marvel’s other Vampi wannabe: Lilith, Daughter of Dracula. Who? you ask. Exactly.)
So why am I talking about Satana at the SWC blog, of all places? Well, because you might have heard of a character we publish who was inspired by both Satana and Vampirella: the soul-stealing succubus called Lorelei! Debuting in the 1989 small-press comic Lorelei One-Shot Special, Lori became such a popular indie character in the years that followed that she still remains the project I’m most known for—even more so than the three X-Men novels I wrote in the early 2000s!
Lorelei currently stars in two critically acclaimed titles (no backup status for our girl!):
Lorelei: Sects and the City is a Mature Readers graphic novel in which Lori battles a cult of Elder God worshipers attempting to unleash hell on Earth. Basically a Lovecraftian love letter to 1970s horror comics like Vampirella, Tomb of Dracula, Ghost Rider, Son of Satan, and, of course, Satana, it’s written by yours truly, and illustrated by Eliseu Gouveia (The Saga of Pandora Zwieback, Lady Death), Steve Geiger (Web of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk), and Neil Vokes (Flesh and Blood, Fright Night). It also features a cover by legendary artist Esteban Maroto (Vampirella, Zatanna, Satana), a frontispiece by original Vampirella artist Tom Sutton (Ghost Rider, Man-Thing, Werewolf by Night), and a one-page history of succubi drawn by Ernie Colon (Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld, Vlad the Impaler).
Lorelei Presents: House Macabre is Lori’s first outing as the hostess of a horror comic anthology, in this one-shot special that contains four tales of horror, behind eye-catching cover art by fan-favorite artist Louis Small Jr. (Vampirella, Supergirl, Batman 80-Page Giant). “The Old, Dark Manse” is written by me, penciled by Uriel Caton (JSA Annual, The Ex-Mutants, Heartstopper: The Legend of La Bella Tenebrosa), and inked by “Chainsaw” Chuck Majewski (Harvey Kurtzman’s New Two-Fisted Tales), and has Lori welcoming readers to this special. “All in Color for a Crime” is another tale from me, with art by Lou Manna (T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Young All-Stars). Two comic book collectors clash over a rare back issue—and only one of them will be adding it to their long boxes! “The Basilisk,” from me and artist John Pierard (Graphic Classics: Horror Classics, My Teacher Fried My Brains), is a “Lori’s Feary Tale” that examines the history of a supernatural creature that’s a cross between a deadly snake and a…chicken?! Wrapping up the special is “Requiem for Bravo 6,” by New York Times bestselling author and comic writer Dwight Jon Zimmerman (She-Hulk, Steve McQueen: Full-Throttle Cool) and artist Juan Carlos Abraldes Rendo (Bloke’s Terrible Tomb of Terror). A special-ops team goes on a life-or-death mission…but will they be prepared for what awaits them at mission’s end?
Lorelei: Sects and the City and Lorelei Presents: House Macabre are available in print and digital formats. Visit their respective product pages for ordering information, as well as sample pages.
So, happy anniversary, Satana, and thanks for the inspiration!
