Vampires have been a part of popular culture for some centuries and it doesn’t appear that they’ll be falling out of favor anytime. And let’s be honest, most of us are okay with that. Vampires and comics are a great union bringing with them a healthy mix of action, drama, and of course horror. With comics being as diverse as they are (in some respects more than others) and vampires carrying various interpretations, let’s take a look at some of the tales featuring nosferatu available now.

Dark Horse Comics, a publisher some could argue is sitting atop the throne for supernatural comics, has a few books to check out. Two of those are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Strain. Buffy comes to us from writers Andrew Chambliss and Scott Allie and artists Andy Owens and Cliff Richards. The Strain originates from Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan and is written by Davd Lapham and drawn by Mike Huddleston. This book takes vampires in a direction they’ve never been and it’s pure horror. Both series had a new a new issue, Buffy #18 and Strain #5, in stores on June 13, 2012.

American Vampire, Vertigo’s standout supernatural horror series from Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque, is definitely a hit amongst fans. Snyder is teaming with Dustin Nguyen for a mini-series subtitled Lord of Nightmares which hit shelves along with Dark Horse’s books.

The other of DC Comics vampire titles is I, Vampire. Launching as part of the New 52, writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino’s book stars the Queen and King of the vampires in their bid to take back the world. It holds a decent mix of action, drama, and horror.

Vampirella, who’s been around for decades, has been with Dynamite Entertainment in recent years. The style of her series has shifted over the years. The newest entry in her series, #18, from writer and artist team of Eric Trautmann and Jose Malaga, was released the same day as the other comics mentioned.

30 Days of Night is a title that I’ve been interested but have yet to read. This will change soon because I’ve asked my shop to order the first trade of the current series. IDW Publishing has produced several series from this franchise over the years and I look forward to catching up on the current series.

Over at the House of Ideas, vampires are not rare. Recently, Marvel Comics wrapped up another adaption of Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake novels. Circus of the Damned: The Scoundrel is the title of the last outing of the vampire slayer.

Even the X-Men, formerly written by Victor Gischler, joined in on the fun. When the series launched in 2010 under the adjective-less name, it carried the banner “Curse of the Mutants.” The first story arc featured the titular mutants taking on the undead. Some of the X-Men even joined the fanged fraternity. Wolverine was turned, albeit very briefly. Jubilee, however, was not so lucky. Acceptance of the use of the term “lucky” would depend on whether you think being a vampire is something you’d like. Jubilee was depowered along with most of the mutant population on M-Day, so this definitely kept her relevant. Jubilee was recently seen joined a group of vampires as they were going to teach her to deal with her new life (which technically ended) status.

We also see a family rivalry between Dracula and his son Xarus. Blade, Marvel’s famous hunter of the fanged family, makes an appearance before returning to comic book limbo. It isn’t a throwaway story and worth reading. If you’re curious about how this story played out, you’ll want to check out the first six issues of this series. Being that this isn’t an actual vampire book, it’s of the more action and dramatic style.

So there we are ladies and gentlemen. I’m sure there are more out there, so these are just some of the options available. I hope this will help you sate your taste for all things vampire. Happy reading to everyone.