Dynamite's Dark Shadows: Year One condenses the 19-week television storyline into six issues and, I must admit, does a pretty good job of it, eliminating most of the meandering soap opera storytelling. It is not, however, canon. What writer Marc Andreyko and artist Guiu Vilanova have done is to take the same characters from the 1795 storyline and reshuffle them into an almost entirely new alternate vampire origin story, one that doesn't take a full 48 hours to experience in its entirety. [Similary, MPI Home Video has also condensed those same 19 weeks into a 210-minute "movie" (titled The Vampire Curse) by eliminating all sub-plots except the main one. Still, three and a half hours of unrelenting vampire plot is a lot. I watched the whole thing straight through once, but I probably never will again.] The difference between the Dark Shadows: Year One comic book and the soap opera is similar to the difference between The Walking Dead comic book and TV show (except in that case, the televised version came first). In other words, in either case, even if one is familiar with the original version, one can still experience the alternate and still be surprised.
Dark Shadows: Years One ends with Willie Loomis releasing Barnanabs Collins from his coffin in the "present day"...
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ISSUE #29 - "Stolen Centuries"
Barnabas is reunited with Zachary Firestone, a boyhood friend who has survived the centuries because of an elixir of longevity. Now, however, the potion is about to wear off because the potion's 200-year-old laboratory animals have rapidly aged and died.
Zachary enlists the aid of Barnabas, Quentin, Julia and Stokes in constructing a sophisticated apparatus that can save him by siphoning some of Barnabas's strong, eternal constitution into Zachary at the moment he begins to age. Julia theorizes that a by-product ot the transfer could be the dissolution of Barnabas's vampirism (just as the infusion of Barnabas's life-force into Adam negated the curse in a 1968 storyline did on the TV series).
On the night of the experiment, a vicious Angélique summons a bluish fire demon to disrupt the proceedings. Zachary Firestone ages and dies. He is reunited with the spirit of his austre father whose memory Barnabas had persuaded Zachary to love -- and Barnabas is left a vampire, restless, to roam another night.
"Alone again," Barnabas grieves. "for a short while my curse was bearable! Zachary and I were almost free, Quentin! We were almost released from the grip of evils like Angélique and his drug! But now I am once more in torment! Zachary lies at peace with himself, but my soul is anguished! Where can I find rest? When can Barnabas Collins find rest?"
ISSUE #30 - "The Weekend Witch Hunters"
In this comedy adventure, Quentin, clad in a pirate's costume, helps Elizabeth host a "witches' party" for a group of middle-aged tourists on a "witchcraft tour" of New England. Zena Schaefer, one of the two tour guides, discovers Barnabas's secret when she sees that he casts no shadow, but a bump on the head later erases her memory of that discovery.
Doom Patrol creator Arnold Drake counted this story as one of his favorites. In a 1986 interview with Jonathan Harrison, Drake revealed, "I kind of liked the story about the young guy who was running a tourist package up in New england. It was based on the reality of the Rumanian government's running tours to Dracula country. I figured if the Rumanians could run Dracula tours [to the ruins of Vlad Tepes' castles], then we [Americans] could run witch tours to New England!"
ISSUE #31 - "The Doom of Helgi Kolnisson"
On the evening of Roger Collins' birthday celebration with Elizabeth, Barnabas, Quentin and Julia at Collinwood, a strong magic spell suddenly plucks Roger and Barnabas out of the present and deposits them in a savage Iceland in the year AD 975. There, the Collins men meet their Norse ancestor, Helgi Kolinsson, a Viking warrior whose infant daughter Sigurd was stolen and his comerades murdered by the evil King Hrolf Thormussen.
Helgi Kolinsson is aided by Morath, a crafty wizard who has raised an army of zombies to help Helgi conquer King Hrolf. Morath bewitches Roger by handing him an enchanted Viking Dagger that transforms Elizabeth's sullen brother into a zealous captain of the warriors. Helgi is gratified to know that he will be triumphant over Hrolf and will live to carry on the Kolinsson/Collins family name.
Morath exposes Barnabas as a vampire to Roger. Roger does not want to believe that news but thinks to himself, "It explains so much! His habits, his disappearances!"
Morath imprisons Barnabas and takes his ring. "Your travels through time have stored energies in that ring!" the sorcerer declares. "Forces that a wizard of my learning may use! With such power I could truly be a god!"
Barnabas is freed by the soldiers of King Hrolf Thormussen and brought before the tyrant and his adopted daughter Drifa. Drifa, who is "blessed with visions from the gods," senses Barnibas's vampirism but pledges to help him defeat Morath. With mere hours until dawn, Drifa sends Barnabas on a time trip to the recent past (AD 964) to steal one of Morath's early familiars. "When he just began to dabble in black magic... is [the time when]... he would be most vulnerable!" Drifa explains. "Do what you must, Barnabas!"
The Viking warship of Helgi, Morath and Roger closes in on King Hrolf, Drifa and Barnabas's ship for battle. Barnabas puts an end to the fray by using Morath's familiar against him. The magician is banished to limbo, and Barnabas regains his ring -- but Helgi Kolinsson has been wounded and is dying. Everyone is bewildered over how the present-day Collins family can exist if Helgi dies, so Drifa reveals that she is Sigurd, Helgi's long-lost daughter. The procreation of the Collins family now lies with her (and with Helgi's male kinsmen).
Before dawn, Drifa magically transports Barnabas and an unconscious Roger back to their time and Roger's birthday gathering at Collinwood. Drifa declares, "When Roger awakens, he will have no memory of the events that have passed" (or of Barnabas's secret).
Later, at the celebration, the Collins patriarch unwraps Barnabas's gift to him and exclaims, "A Viking ceremonial dagger, and authentic, too! Marvelous! We had ancestors there, you know!"
"Yes, Roger," the benevolent vampire replies knowingly. "The Collins family goes a long, long way back! Happy birthday to you!"
"The Doom of Helgi Kolinson" will continue in a minor way in Dark Shadows #32 and in a major way in #34.
ISSUE #32 - "The Secret of the Light-House"
In this issue, Roger has nightmares about his experiences in Iceland, Collinsport District Attorney Peter Hang opposes a gun-running ring, an aging lighthouse keeper is visited each new moon by the phantom of his drowned beloved, and Barnabas Collins develops amnesia.
While attempting to bite college student Marcie Harris, the 200-year-old vampire falls off Widows' Hill and plunges int othe ocean below. When he is pulled from the waves by Captain Lee Cole, the lonely keeper of an obsolete lighthouse, Barnabas cannot remember who he is. He thinks that he may be "Dr. Jules Hoffman," a Doctor of Letters. He does not realize that he is a vampire except during "blackouts" when he drains the blood of two waterfront men. Meanwhile, Captain Lee Cole is comforted each new moon by the appearance of the shrouded specre of Joyce Bailey, his drowned 1940s sweetheart, who rises from the surf.
On the back burner of this issue's complex story, is the new character Peter Hang, Collinsport's district Attorney, who is determined to stamp out a gun-running ring and solve a series of "bizarre murders." Equally interesting is the four-panel scene between Roger and Elizabeth. "A night's slumber is besieged by a grim nightmare of dark and indefinable shadows, according to the unnamed writer. Elizabeth runs in to Roger's bedroom when she hears her brother screaming. He explains, "It's all right now! A nightmare, that's all! I can't recall what it was about, even! But it concerned Barnabas!"
You've been having nightmares more and more frequently!" Elizabeth worries.
Yes! They started shortly after my birthday party a few weeks ago! Always I remember nothing -- except Barnabas! But don't worry! I'll ask Julia Hoffman about it! She'll know what to do!"
ISSUE #33 - "King of the Wolves"
Barnabas appears in only 17 panels in what is essentially Quentin's solo adventure. When Julia needs more blood from normal wolves to perfect her "cure" for Quentin's lycanthropy, Quentin travels to Eskimo Point, "along the western shore of Hudson's Bay," to seek out wolves roaming the Canadian Northwoods. When Quentin transforms into the werewolf, the wolves bow down to him as their king.
Barnabas, worried about his "Siamese twin of tragedy," becomes a bat and flies up to Canada to help Quentin defeat a gang of poachers. The Collins cousins -- "brothers in pain" -- return to Collinsport without having collected any lupine blood. As Quentin tells Julia, "I just couldn't bring myself to extract their blood!"
"I understand!" Dr. Hoffman replies."For the same reason that doctors never operate on members of their own family! But we'll beat this thing yet, Quentin! I've dedicated my life to reclaiming your soul!"
ISSUE #34 - "Collinwood Possessed"
This story is a sequel to "The Doom of Helgi Kolinsson" in #31. Roger's Viking dagger and Barnabas's ring play roles in the story as do a talking caterpillar and even an offstage Mavel Comics character.
Barnababs Collinsand Professor Stokes are horrified to learn that a battle for Collinwood and its supernatural energy is being fought between the Norse wizard Morath (from #31) and the enchantress Angélique (last seen in #29). Morath posesses Roger while Angélique invades the bodies of Elizabeth then Quentin.
Angélique calls Barnabas "my love" and explains the Marath escaped his Lewis Carrol-esque limbo (complete with talking caterpillar) and returned to Earth by piercing the Eye of Agamotto and surging out of the Orb of Agamotto. Angélique, through werewolf Quentin, declares the "the orb was kept by a practitioner of the mystic arts dwelling in New York's Greenwich Village!"
Most comic book fans know that Stephen Strange, better known as Doctor Strange, is Marvel's Master of the Mystic Arts. He is headquarterd, with the Orb of Agamotto, in his sanctum sanctorum in Greenwich Village. His manservant Wong and his apprentice Clea are his only companions. One panel of "Collinwood Posessed" even shows Morath coming out of the orb in front of a shocked blonde woman, who cries, "Stephen!" Either this unknown Gold Key writer was simply a Doctor Strange fan, or Gold Key Comics was attempting to interest the Marvel comics Group in a Dark Shadows/Doctor Strange crossover story. Indeed, the biggest comic book event of the mid-1970s was Marvel and DC Comics' historic collaborationon Superman vs. the Amazing Spider-Man. Almost four years after Dark Shadows #34, Marvel writer Mary Jo Duffy returned the favor when she had Stephen Strange and Ben Grimm visit "Crawlinsport, New England" in Marvel Two-in-One #49. Back in the year 1970, other Dark Shadows references had appeared in Marvel's Daredevil #65-66 (TV soap opera Strange Secrets), Spoof #1 (TV soap opera Darn Shadows) and Astonishing Tales #3 (gravestone of Charity Trask).
Now, Dark Shadows #34 reveals how, in a parallel world "barely a heartbeat" away from Collinwood,the spirits of Morath and Angélique engage Barnabas and several statues of the Collinses in a life-size chess game on a giant chessboard. The scene is reminiscent of the "Checkmate" episode of The Prisoner. Barnabas finally destroys the tableau by using the enchanted Viking dagger to send the wizard and the witch back to their limbos.
While not nearly as inexcusable as the gaffe in issue #28, the only drawback to this remarkable, tonge-in-cheek story is that Quentin seemingly does not know Barnabas's secret and Professor Stokes does. (Stokes knows again in #35.) On the other hand, this tale foreshadows the story in #35 when Elizabeth asks Barnabas where he has been and Barnabas replies, "Er, my book again, Elizabeth! I had to go down and go over details with the publisher!" In several issue (including #25), Barnabs's excuse for his abscense during the daylight hours is the time-consuming work on a book about the history of the Collins family.
Apparently Ralph Macchio was unaware that Marvel-Two-In-One #49 was an "unofficial crossover" with Gold Key's Dark Shadows. In any case, he didn't mention it in his introduction to MMW v296: "Issue #49, by writer Jo Duffy of Power Man and Iron Fist fame, pits ol' Benjamin against a strange supernatural enemy as he joins forces with Marvel's Master of the Mystic Arts, Doctor Strange. It's difficult to conceive of two less likely teammates, but Ms. Duffy makes it work beautifully. Alan Kupperberg's pencils put the duo into some interdimensional madness with a touch of astrology to sweeten the pot. A very nice move by Jo is that the good doctor and the Thing don't really meet during the course of the story. No mean feat in a team-up title! Ben handles the earthly action while Strange does his magical bit on the astral plane. Seamlessly done."
ISSUE #35 - "The Missing Manuscript"
In this comedy adventure, Barnabas explains his abscense during the day by declaring that he is writing the biography of Sarah Salter Collins. Problems ensue when Elizabeth introduces Barnabas to William Weeds, a pompous book publisher who takes a tip from a mysterious brunette and decides to exploit Barnabas's isiosyncrasies in order to "hype" Barnabas's non-existant "book." The mystery woman is none other than a mischievous Angélique in disguise. The witch, wearing large eyeglasses, thinks to herself, "Barnabas's life was getting dull! How lucky that he has an "angel" like Angélique to spice it up for him!"
When Weeds presses Barnabas for the completed manuscript -- a book that does not exist -- Professor Stokes helps Barnabas travel through time to 1775 and borrow the diary of Sarah Salter Collins, daughter of the Alchemist Isaac Salter. The characters first appeared in Dark Shadows #27. Now, Sarah Salter recognizes the caped time traveler as "the same mystery man who saved my father, Isaac, months ago! But I be not known by that name any more! I be known as Sarah Collins! As he did the last time you helped him, my father, an alchemist in truth, stands accused as a warlock! The Collinses have given me a refuge and a name that I might not share his fate!"
Just to make things difficult, Angélique sends a Washington Irving-esque headless horseman after Barnabas and Sarah. With its seriocomic tone, "The Missing Manuscript" provides an upbeat finale to the more than six-year run of Gold Key Comics' Dark Shadows, as produced by Don Arneson, Joe Certa, Arnold Drake, Wallace Green, Sal Trapani, Denise Van Lear, George Wilson and others. Now, all 35 issues live again in Dark Shadows: The Complete Original Series from Hermes Press.
There is one more publication to discuss before moving on from Gold Key...
DARK SHADOWS: THE ORIGINAL SERIES STORY DIGEST:
This, too, has been reprinted by Hermes Press (in 2011).
Here is a link to Danny Horn's "Dark Shadows Every Day" blog post 1165.
This ends "Phase Two" of this discussion.
TOMORROW: Phase Three
Next up in my proposed "alternate continuity" is the Dark Shadows comic strip. Although the Gold Key comic book series long outlasted the comic strip version, the somewhat more sophisticated newspaper version started later so I'm slotting it in here. It has been reprinted twice, first by Kathryn Leigh Scott's own Pomegranate Press in 1996, then more recently by (you guessed it) Hermes Press in 2018.The Pomegranate Press editition is a comic book-size b&w tpb edition, whereas the Hermes Press edition is a larger hardcover, on slick paper with color Sundays. The Pomegranate Press editions presents the Monday through Saturday dailies on a single page, with the Sundays on the facing page. Obviously, the Hermes press edition is superior.
"Revenge" - Elizabeth and Carolyn Stoddard welcome their long-lost cousin Barnabas Collins to Collinwood. Elizabeth invites Barnabas to live in "the old stone cottage" on the Collinwood estate. Soon, the vampire Barnabas is locked in battle with Lucas Pensrose Bell, a 310-year-old warlock who blames Eban collins and the Collins family for his mother's execution for witchcraft. (Artist Ken Bald patterned Lucas Penrose Bell after his father-in-law.) Bell, the publisher of Our Planet magazine, comes to Collinwood with Alice Rigby, a native of Collinsport, and now a staffer at Our Planet, on the pretext of their creating a magazine article about the great house. Highlights are the April 1 strip, in which Bell muses about how he exacted revenge on Alden Collins and Nathanial Collins, and the april 4 installment, which flashes back to 1671 and the origin story of the witch Mathilda Penrose Bell and her ten-year-old son Lucas, Also noteable is that readers learn that Barnabas Collins' powers include walking through walls, commanding fire, posessing "superhuman strength" and summoning spirits.
Dark Shadows Comic Strip, part 1: The Tortured Dead
Dark Shadows Comic Strip, part 2: A Forever Death
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