Dark Horse is publishing Kevin Leahy's English translations of the Vampire Hunter D novels. (The first six novels were originally published under the imprint DH Press.) Information at the Dark Horse site is subject to change.
Novel #1
Title: Vampire Hunter D
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: May 11, 2005
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-012-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-012-9
Length: 235 pages; 268 pages with preview of novel #2
Novel #2
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Raiser of Gales
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: August 17, 2005
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-014-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-014-3
Length: 215 pages; 250 pages with preview of novel #3
Novel #3
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Demon Deathchase
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: January 18, 2006
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-031-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-031-0
Length: 178 pages; 211 pages with preview of novel #4
Novel #4
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Tale of the Dead Town
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: May 24, 2006
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-093-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-093-8
Length: 167 pages; 201 pages with preview of novel #5
Novel #5
Title: Vampire Hunter D: The Stuff of Dreams
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: Sept. 13, 2006
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-094-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-094-5
Length: 175 pages; 204 pages with preview of novel #6
Novel #6
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Pilgrimage of the Sacred and the Profane
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: November 22, 2006
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-106-6
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-106-5
Length: 178 pages; 206 pages with preview of novel #7
Novel #7
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part One
NOTE: Originally published in Japanese as novel 7, part 1.
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: May 2, 2007
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-107-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-107-2
Length: 170 pages; 199 pages with preview of novel #8
Novel #8
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Mysterious Journey to the North Sea, Part Two
NOTE: Originally published in Japanese as novel 7, part 2.
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: August 22, 2007
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-108-2
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-108-9
Length: 246 pages; 282 pages with preview of novel #9
Novel #9
Title: Vampire Hunter D: The Rose Princess
NOTE: Originally published in Japanese as novel 8.
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: November 14, 2007
Price: $8.95
ISBN: 1-59582-109-0
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-109-6
Length: 198 pages; 217 pages with preview of novel #10
Novel #10
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Dark Nocturne
NOTE: Originally published in Japanese as an unnumbered volume.
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: March 26, 2008
Price: $8.95
ISBN-10: 1-59582-132-5
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-132-4
Length: 204 pages; 231 pages with preview of novel #11
Novel #11
Title: Vampire Hunter D: Pale Fallen Angel, Parts One and Two
NOTE: Originally published in Japanese as novel 9, parts 1 and 2.
Author: Hideyuki Kikuchi
Translator: Kevin Leahy
Illustrator: Yoshitaka Amano
Publication date: October 15, 2008
Price: $14.95
ISBN-10: 1-59582-130-9
ISBN-13: 978-1-59582-130-0
Length: 299 pages; 324 pages with preview of novel #12
All novels are published with cover paintings and black-and-white interior art by Yoshitaka Amano. The artwork is the same as in the original Japanese releases.
A press release for the first novel dated Feb. 7, 2005, was posted at Anime News Network. It includes the information and synopsis in Previews.
DH Press and Digital Manga to Release Vampire Hunter D Novels
announced on 2005-02-07From creator Hideyuki Kikuchi, one of Japan’s leading horror authors, comes Vampire Hunter D Volume1 in English for the first time! Kikuchi’s series of Vampire Hunter D novels were first published in Japan in 1983 and thus far have encompassed 17 volumes, ultimately selling over 12 million copies. The extremely popular novel series led to several anime features and a hit Playstation 2 video game. Both the films and the game reached large audiences in the U.S. and created a huge demand for translations of the original novels into English.
Vampire Hunter D is set in 12,090 A.D. It is a dark time for the world. Humanity is just crawling out from under three hundred years of domination by the race of vampires known as the Nobility. The war against the vampires has taken its toll; cities lie in ruin, the countryside is fragmented into small villages and fiefdoms that still struggle against nightly raids by the fallen vampires - and the remnants of their genetically manufactured demons and werewolves.
Every village wants a Hunter - one of the warriors who have pledged their laser guns and their swords to the eradication of the Nobility. But some Hunters are better than others, and some bring their own kind of danger with them
. . . Written by Hideyuki Kikuchi and featuring eight illustrations by renowned Japanese artist Yoshitaka Amano (Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: The Dream Hunters and the Final Fantasy games), Vampire Hunter D Volume 1 (of 17) arrives May 4 with a retail price of $8.95. DH Press is an imprint of Dark Horse Comics. ISBN: 1-59582-012-4
Translator Kevin Leahy comments on information in the press release:
Just to set the record straight, humans have probably been free for a few centuries after 8-9,000 years of slavery to the vampires. The war that left the world in ruins was 10,000 years earlier. There are very few vampires remaining, so nightly raids are pretty much out of the question unless they have powers like Santa Claus and can visit the whole world in one night. Now THERE'S a vampire tale for you!
Please note that these works are novels, not manga (comics). The two Vampire Hunter D movies were based on the first and third novels.