Clover Press is giving fans their first look at something truly special from Hollywood concept designer, writer, and illustrator Ricardo Delgado. AIPT can exclusively reveal the slipcover design, a limited signed edition, and an early preview of Delgado’s striking interior illustrations for his upcoming hardcover book, VAMPYRE: A Costa Rican Folktale—a deeply personal project that blends classic horror, family history, and lush visual storytelling.
You can get more info on the Kickstarter here.
Delgado, best known for his work on films like Apollo 13, Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Incredibles, Men in Black, and Wall-E, is expanding the world of his acclaimed illustrated novel Dracula of Transylvania with this ambitious new tale. Told in both Spanish and English, VAMPYRE: A Costa Rican Folktale will arrive as a beautifully produced hardcover featuring more than 200 pages of historical maps, creature designs, and rare photographs of real locations—past and present—that ground the supernatural story in lived history.
“This is a very personal story for me, and it’s dedicated to my parents,” says Delgado of the book, which is set in 1940s Costa Rica in the same small town where they grew up. The story follows a community facing a wave of brutal murders at the hands of a terrifying creature of the night, weaving Delgado’s family history into a haunting narrative that blends folklore and autobiography.
Clover Press Publisher Hank Kanalz describes the project as something truly singular. “Part folktale. Part autobiography. This gruesome novel is a captivating celebration of urban legends, horror stories and the power they hold over us,” Kanalz says. “Inspired by elements of the classic 1980’s illustrated novella Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King and Berni Wrightson, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Costa Rican folklore, Delgado weaves his family history into an ambitious new multi-media mythology that must be seen and read to be believed.”
The newly revealed slipcover underscores that ambition, pairing vintage horror aesthetics with Delgado’s cinematic sense of scale, while the signed edition offers collectors a chance to own a piece of what promises to be one of his most personal works to date. Inside, readers will find page after page of never-before-seen designs of the book’s terrifying, shapeshifting creature, along with deep dives into Delgado’s creative process. Drawing on decades of experience in film, Delgado also provides commentary on the artwork from a modern visual-effects perspective—presented in both Spanish and English.
The book goes beyond traditional illustrated fiction, too. Alongside the narrative are detailed maps that chart the real-life geography behind the folktale, transforming VAMPYRE into a hybrid experience that’s equal parts horror story, art book, and historical document.
A multi-talented creator, Delgado has left an indelible mark on both film and comics, from his work chronicling prehistoric worlds in Age of Reptiles—which earned him the 1997 Eisner Award for Talent Deserving of Wider Recognition—to shaping the look of some of the most beloved movies of the last three decades. With VAMPYRE: A Costa Rican Folktale, he brings that same visual mastery to a story that feels closer to the heart than ever before.
Fans eager to get in on the ground floor can now follow the prelaunch page for Clover Press’ Kickstarter campaign to be notified when the project launches in early 2026. With the slipcover, signed edition, and Delgado’s haunting interior art now revealed, VAMPYRE: A Costa Rican Folktale is already shaping up to be one of the most distinctive illustrated releases of the year.
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