Vampirella Manga 3000 Ash Can
Issue #1 (July 1999)
Regular Cover - Kevin Lau (3,000 copies) $7.95
Signed (Biederman) Regular Cover - Kevin Lau $19.95
Signed (Biederman, Bogart) Regular Cover - Kevin Lau $24.95
Leather Cover - Kevin Lau (1,000 copies) $14.95
Vampirella Manga 3000 A.D. [Artists - Kevin Lau, Kam Ling Ng / Writer - David Bogart, Seth Biederman]
Relaxing on a beach on a tropical island enjoying some rest and relaxation, Vampirella and Pantha observe that there are no men to be seen. The island is owned by Prince Mango, who gives beautiful women free holidays so he can pick a new bride. Every year he kidnaps and marries one of his "guests". This year it's Pantha.
At the wedding Vampirella bursts out of the wedding cake (accompanied by some of the Prince's previous wives who had escaped into the jungle) and wielding a scimitar she frees Pantha and defeats Prince Mango and his cronies who end up as servants to the women on the island.
Another humorous tale in the manga style, though not obviously set 1,000 years in the future. Vampirella and Pantha are portrayed as teenagers which doesn't quite gel with old die hards like me but, notwithstanding that, it is an enjoyable read.
What really strikes me is that you can see the evolution of Vampi, Harris Publishing/Anarchy Studios futuristic Vampirella spin off title launched in 2000. All the basic elements of Vampi's costume are there from the suspender belt boots to the scimitar ...
There were a few of the regular and leather covers signed by Kevin Lau on eBay when this was first published. At the time I thought they might have been Harris produced, "official" signed comics but I have not seen them again anywhere in the intervening years so I now believe that they were only a handful of one-offs.