Welcome to the Théâtre des Vampires, an Interview with the Vampire fanzine created by fans for fans.
In September of last year, we put up a call to the Vampire Chronicles fandom. Our goal was to gather creatives — be it book or show fans, cosplayers or authors — and collaboratively bring to life a fanzine showcasing the wide range of talent in this community. And hopefully to give fans a chance to physically hold this book and raise some funds for charity in the process.
In the spirit of keeping this a welcoming and inclusive space, the TDV fanzine was an open-call project. We welcomed contributors from all skill levels, and the pieces span all ratings, characters, and ships. We are incredibly proud of the result and equally excited to finally lift the curtains and invite all of you to step in into the Théâtre.
The 132-page Théâtre des Vampires fanzine features 41 pieces from 41 artists across a range of mediums. In its pages you will find fanfic and fanart, but also cosplays, photographs, essays, and recipes. The book is A5 size (148 × 210mm) with a softcover and perfect binding. The digital version includes alt-text for all visual pieces, and content warnings are available for each piece that may require it. Here is a small taste of what the inside looks like:
Cosplay by Anki, also featuring michelle_requiem
Art by MelloWammy, Fic by Bianca
In addition to the main book, some of the more risque pieces have been compiled into a companion fanzine, Encore, our 18+ add-on. Everyone who may want to purchase the fanzine but avoid explicit content may do so without worries, and those who wish to have the full experience can bundle up. Encore is 52-pages long and features 7 pieces from 6 artists. It is only available for sale for people over 18.
Digital download of the 132-page fanzine as well as Encore, the 52-page 18+ add-on, featuring pieces from over 40 contributors. Encore is available for backers over 18.
Physical Zine
The main book is 132 pages long and features pieces from over 40 contributors. Encore, a 52-page 18+ add-on for those over 18 will be printed separately and features 7 spicy contributions.
Merch
two 4x6 in sticker sheets, one with quotes from the books and fandom (designed by asavagegarden), the other featuring portraits of Louis, Armand, Lestat, Daniel and Nicky (designed by SuikaMelon6)
two 4x6 in prints featuring the Brat Prince himself, one is a promotional poster of The Vampire Lestat's concert in San Francisco (designed by asavagegarden), the other a portrait of Lestat with his wolfkiller cape (designed by Phoenix)
two mini (35mm) buttons featuring Claudia (designed by Hels)
jumbo (68mm) button of Akasha (designed by ziggyaarts)
If there is particular piece of merch you want that is not included in your pledge level, they are also all available as add-ons.
Featuring cover art by Haflacky and artgroves, and merch designs by asavagegarden, Phoenix and SuikaMelon6
Featuring cover art by Haflacky and artgroves, and merch designs by asavagegarden, Phoenix, SuikaMelon6, ziggyaarts, Hels, Isabellehemlock, MelloWammy, Fablefright and CuriosityRocks
The funds raised from this campaign will go towards the cost of producing a physical run of the main fanzine and Encore, the 18+ add-on, as well as producing the merch items offered in the bundles.
All proceeds beyond what is needed to cover those production costs and any associated fees (Backerkit, credit cards, etc.) will be split evenly and donated to two charities, one Louisiana-based, to honor the birthplace of the series that inspired this project, and one international, to honor the global nature of the fan community around it. Our contributors who have so gracefully donated their pieces and talent to this project selected The Blood Center as our Louisiana-based charity and Doctors Without Borders as our international one.
The Blood Center is a non-profit organisation and the primary supplier of blood, blood components, and plasma derivatives to local hospitals throughout South Louisiana and Southern Mississippi.
Doctors Without Borders is an international charitable organisation providing care for people affected by conflict, disease outbreaks, natural and human-made disasters, and exclusion from health care in 70+ countries.
No contributors or mods are making any profit from this campaign.
Thank you so much for the incredible response to the campaign so far! We are so excited we get to make this project a reality and bring to your hands all of our contributors' amazing works in tangible form. With the base funds to make a physical run possible, we can set our sights onto Stretch Goals!
You've absolutely smashed all of our original merch stretch goals already!
The Loustat charm by MelloWammy has been upgraded from a single double-sided charm to two connecting charms, the blood vial charm by isabellehemlock has been upgraded to a shaker charm, AND we are producing a beautiful A5 150+ pages journal featuring front and back cover art by CuriosityRocks.
Everyone with Box Seats or Royal Box tickets gets the journal addded to their bundle automatically, as well as both charm upgrades. You can also get the charms or journal as an add-on.
We want to try to raise as much as possible with the time we have left on this campaign, so we have set a new stretch goal of 4000 USD. If we reach this goal before the end of the campaign, we will be turning the gorgeous front covers by Haflacky and artgroves into an 4x6 in double-sided print!
We wanted to extend the love and gratitude to as many people as possible, which is why, should we reach the goal, this print will be automatically sent to every backer at a level with physical rewards 🖤
This project is only possible due to our incredible ensemble cast.
All of the pieces in this fanzine, including the covers' art and merch designs for the rewards, were created by this incredible team of artists who graciously donated their time and talent to this project.
Equally valuable is the work of our stage crew AKA the mod team for this project.
Stage Manager and Dramaturg (AKA Social Media and Beta Mod) - Annis Stage Manager (Social Media Mod) - Abby Scenographer(Formatting Mod) - Bratlupa Scenographer (Formatting Mod) - Esin Stage Manager and Dresser(Social Media and Graphic Design Mod) - Katharina Producer and Usher(Finance and Shipping Mod) - Ara
Shipping will be charged on top of your pledge after the campaign is over.
Our estimates for shipping costs for all levels with physical rewards are:
US: 10 USD Canada: 21 USD International: 30 USD
These estimates may vary if, for example, you add several add-ons to your pledge and the package ends up being significantly heavier, which would affect shipping costs. We will do our best to keep these as low as possible though!
Based on our crew's previous experience producing and delivering fanzines and merch, we expect to follow this timeline:
February - March 2024 - Crowdfunding campaign
Late March 2024 - Funds are collected and production starts
April 2024 - Production underway. Pre-order store for digital fanzines opens. Backers addresses are collected for shipping.
May 2024 - Rewards start to be shipped to backers.
Early June 2024 - Digital fanzines are made available.
Late June 2024 - Leftovers are made available for sale on our store (here on BackerKit).
July 2024 - Store closes. Charity donation is made and receipts are shared with backers and on our social platforms.
Thank you for your interest in this project. If you have any questions feel free to share them on the Community section, and be sure to check our FAQ for some common queries.
