Press Release
Roger is the street-punk descendant of a long line of pirates, including his namesake, Captain Rogerick Blimes, who is best known for defeating his dreaded rival, Captain “Mad-Eyes” Gaunt, an eighteenth-century pirate warlord possessed by demons. Now, centuries later, it’s up to Roger and his ragtag crew (which includes a mysterious vampire girl) to hunt for the buried talisman his ancestor used to defeat Gaunt before it’s found and the evil spirit of Gaunt is once again unleashed on the modern world!
The Vampirate of Matanzas Inlet is a thrilling urban, paranormal fantasy that blends the right amount of history and fiction to make for an enjoyable read. It’s a true treasure-hunting, swashbuckling, and spooky graphic novel for all ages to enjoy. The story is set in Florida. Native Andre Frattino grew up fascinated by the weird history of the Sunshine State and wants to share it with his readers in this graphic novel, using the nation’s oldest city, St. Augustine, as a backdrop. “Most comics are based in big cities like New York, which always ends up being the center of some global catastrophe. But what if the supernatural dangers came from some little tourist town? It’d be the last place you’d expect . . .”
Blending two of pop culture’s recent favorite topics, pirates and vampires, The Vampirate of Matanzas Inlet has a little something for everyone, but purists can rest easy, as Andre claims he’s taken things back to basics. “There are no sparkling vampires or swaggering pirates in this book. It was important to me that all of the original rules apply to these legendary characters. I did extensive research on both vampires and pirates. I read biographies on Captain Kidd and Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and studied the origins and history of vampires, all in an effort to be more realistic and less flashy. When you’re trying to transport your reader into the story, you don’t necessarily want originality; you want realism. And taking these characters back to their raw, original mythos achieves just that!”
Andre Frattino has an extensive background in both illustration and the paranormal. He has worked as an illustrator for Wild Onion Press and Mascot Books, as a 2-D artist for Puppy Punch Production’s Terror Tower, and most recently as a social media designer for Firehouse Subs. The Vampirate of Matanzas Inlet is his third book with Pineapple Press as well as the third book in the Flagler’s Few series of graphic novels. As a paranormal enthusiast, Andre led ghost tours in Savannah, conducted his own investigations of previously unexplored haunted houses, and was a location scout and consultant on SYFY’s Ghost Hunters.
Joining Andre on this third endeavor is the talented Effie Rodriguez, who previously illustrated My Florida Pond, a Florida wildlife coloring book, and continues to create personal and commercial work in many media. Effie provided her inking and rendering talents to help accentuate the graphic style of Andre’s illustrations and give it a more dark and spooky feel.
The Vampirate of Matanzas Inlet will be on sale beginning April 1. You can purchase copies at all bookstores, and all of Andre’s books are available on Amazon as well. Visit Andre’s web blog at www.arfstudios.netfor more information on his projects and books.
via Arf Studios
