Origin

Lady Death was born in medieval Europe, daughter of nobleman and prominent church figure, Matthias.

Hated by his people, Matthias secretly studied demonology and witchcraft. Eventually, when the peasants attempted to overthrow him, he escaped with the aid of a demon but his secret was revealed. Persecuted for her fathers crimes, Hope was nearly burned at the stake and left with only one option - using her father's incantation, she swore an allegiance to Hell and was "saved".

Once in Hell, she was befriended by the weapon master, Cremator, who helps her become the warrior known as Lady Death.

Publishers

Brian Pulido's character was originally published by Eternity Comics in Evil Ernie's first comic series (1991). When Chaos Comics formed, she was given her own series in the Chaos universe alongside figures such as Purgatori and Chastity. These key titles essentially defined the publisher's style and created a sensation. Unfortunately, despite their popularity, Chaos Comics went bankrupt and were forced to sell their properties.

(As a side note, the animated feature film from ADV was already in production at this point.)

Lady Death was sold to Crossgen; but a mere two years later they also filed for bankruptcy and she was sold on to Avatar Press, where she still appears in her own monthly comic.

Medieval Lady Death

When Crossgen acquired the license for Lady Death, they naturally could not set her in the Chaos Comics universe that she had been used to. Their solution was to recreate the character. Confusingly, Avatar now publish two versions of the character - the "classic" Lady Death... and Medieval Lady Death (which more or less carries on from the Crossgen editions).

Lady Death Crossovers

Lady Death has a long standing history of appearing alongside other comic characters - including Evil Ernie, Vampirella, Purgatori, Lady Demon, Shi, War Angel and Witchblade.

Crossgen's Lady Death debut (Lady Death #1) might have completely sold out in February 2003, but unfortunately it could not save the company. In 2004, Crossgen filed for bankruptcy and the rights to Lady Death passed to Avatar Press.