On April 10, 1997, Young King Ours magazine published the first chapter of a certain manga by an artist known mainly for his hentai. For the next ten years he would keep drawing, with lots of delays and stalling and begging for assistants – but even as he worked slowly, the idea was caught up by animators and merchandisers and translators and ever-increasing legions of fans, who took it and ran with it.

Happy birthday, Hellsing.

Seras: Why the big splash for the 21st anniversary, and not the 20th?

Integra: The artist is American.

Alucard: Which means that this is the year Hellsing can celebrate . . . being old enough to drink.