This September, Storm King Comics will present the next chapter in the twisted tale of Theo, the bloodthirsty vampire with a biting need to form a little family, in “Blood of the Taken Book 2: Next of Kin.”
Released in September 2024, “Blood of the Taken” introduced readers to Theo, a 500-year-old undead with a maternal instinct who, after losing her brood, looks to make lifelong best friends Ed and Liam the newest members of her undead family.
In “Blood of the Taken Book 2: Next of Kin,” acclaimed comics writer and illustrator Sian Mandrake returns to the town of Glennburne Falls, MA, where winter has taken its hold on the town and an unrelenting gloom is setting in. Theo waits anxiously with Liam, her newest unwilling “adoptee,” to see if Liam’s friend Ed will survive the coming nights. Theo knows how much she has lost in the last five centuries, and will stop at nothing to keep her new brood safe — even against the impending threats of the living, who are drawing ever closer to her and the family she has chosen. There’s also a newly escaped vampire in town, Ellis — who poses a different sort of threat.
As Liam struggles with becoming a vampire and his blood lust that drives him to nightmarish obsessions, he finds himself bringing an endless sea of victims to the one he despises most: his creator … his captor … and despite his hatred, he could never refuse her sanguine demands. To do so could mean the true demise of Ed, who lies closer to death than even vampires dare to tread.
This bold and captivating thriller offers horror fans the chance to draw ever closer to Mandrake’s unique creation of Theo.
“Sian has created something truly special in Blood of the Taken — it’s gory and grisly, it’s suspenseful and exciting, and this follow-up offers more opportunity for Sian to create a vampire story that I think ranks among the very best,” said Storm King Comics founder and editor Sandy King.
“Blood of the Taken Book 2: Next of Kin” will be available on September 2, 2025, at StormKingComics.com, as well as at your favorite comic book stores and booksellers.
