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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BOOK ONE #2:
This issue includes a scale map of the Collinwood estate that is not too different from the one I keep in my imagination. The story itself continues to provide scenes which should have been in the TV series interspersed with those advancing the narrative of the mini-series. For example, in one scene, Elizabeth gives Victoria a brooch that is obviously an expensive family heirloom, foreshadowing the development of Vicki's past. In this version, Roger is a painter. (He is also having an affair with Maggie Evans. Ick.) The primetime show did foreshadow the soap's "Phoenix" plot (which was never developed), but in this version, Roger comes across several portraits of Angélique, leading into a flashback. I have often thought, if I were showrunner of a new Dark Shadows TV show, I would do it how This Is Us handled story elements from different time periods. This issue also includes a flashback to the "origin" of Josette's music box, plus, in the present, the not-yet-human Barnabas being tempted by Victoria and visited by the ghost of his sister Sarah.
Barnabas and Julia arrive in Barrettstown, now a mere two-hour drive from Collinsport rather than the "three-day journey over very bad roads" that Barnabas remembers. Barrettstown is quaint town from out of the past, no automobiles allowed. As soon as they arrive, on foot and at night, they both have the feeling that they are being watched. They are soon surrounded by mis-shapen little troll-like beings.
The letters page has a price list for each page of original painted art for issue #1, rangining from $250 to $2000 (for the cover). He was asking $1000 for the splash page of Victoria Winters I mentioned yesterday. If I were Joanna Going, I think I would have tried to buy it. She probably could have negatiated the price down a bit (assuming, of course, she was even aware of it).
BOOK ONE #3:
The little troll-like beings are actually the inbred descendants of the town of Barrettstown. There are dozens of them, and they lock Barnabas and Julia up in a root cellar. Back in Collinsport, the story progresses on multiple fronts. I haven't mentioned yet that, in this version, Maggie has some sort of "second sight." The only thing more disgusting than seeing Roger hit on her is seeing her hit on him. Roger and Willie get in a fistfight (a very brief one). Back in the root cellar, Barnabas "sleeps" while Julia takes notes. She writes about her theories on vampirism and how it works, as well as some of the genetics at play, not only Barrettstown's inbred trolls, but also why members of the modern day Collins family bear such a striking resemblance to several of their ancestors. Interesting stuff! That night, Barnabas is overcome with hunger and drains one of the trolls. The trolls then lead them to the house of Julia's Uncle Vincent and Aunt Lara, revealed in a final full-page splash. The neat thing here (as you can tell by this issue's cover), is that the character of "Lara Hoffman" is obviously Lara Parker.
BOOK ONE #4:
I have a definite impression of the series as a whole, but I'll keep it to myself until I make my way through it again.
The last time I read this series I came away with the following impression: only the first issue is worth reading. But at the time I was reading it in conjunction with watching the show on VHS. I didn't (and don't) think this first four-issue storyline is a good fit with the point in the series at which it occurs. It's too "big" for one thing. That is, if it had happened when it is set, it should have had a more profound impact on the rest of the televised episodes I would think. But beyond that, it doesn't really "fit" the overall arc of the TV series. To put that in terms of the original soap, it's as if, during the whole Bill Malloy murder investigation they had introduced time travel and the headless body of Judah Zachary. Read apart from the the TV series, however, I am willing to acknowledge the merits of "Book One."
NEXT: "Book Two"
Let's pick up the pace a bit...
BOOK TWO - "Lost in Thought":
"Book Two" is written by Maggie Thompson and painted by José Pimentel. Thompson is best known as the long-time co-editor of the Comics Buyer's Guide with her husband Don. They wrote a handful of stories together early in their careers, but this is the only example I know of her solo series work. In addition the the plot and script, she also provided introductions and insightful editorial essays in each of the four issues. She is also an original fan of the soap opera from when it first aired. Her Innovation series takes place immediately after "Book One" but still within the ten-week gap between the second and third hour of the revival series on TV. (Episode one was two hours.) It begins just before Christmas, as a matter of fact.
Knowing that whatever she wrote, she couldn't change the status quo as it had to fit between episodes two and three. With that constraint in mind, whe introduced a new POV character, a drifter named Nathan Fairfax. She also delved into the character of Willie Loomis. Fairfax, we will soon learn, is a telepath. For those of you unfamiliar with the revival series, there are a few differences from the original. Some of them I have already mentioned, but a few more are revealed during the course of this mini-series. For one thing, Sam Evans is the bartender at the Blue Whale. (He may even be the owner; I don't remember.) His daughter Maggie is one of the waitresses. [You may remember Eddie Jones, the actor who plays Sam Evans, as Pa Kent on The New Adventures of Superman (a.k.a. "Lois & Clark").] Also, Mrs. Johnson is Willie Loomis's aunt (which accounts for his presence at Collinwood).
The story begins with a trio of sneak thieves breaking into the Old House. They thought it was abandoned, but were attracted by rumors of large amounts of "Continental cash" (which is worthless as currency, but highly sought after by collectors). The rumors were true, but they get more than they bargained for when they come into contact with the house's current owner. Before they meet Barnabs, however, they encounter Victoria Winters walking through the woods. They assault her and, dazed, she runs to Widows' Hill and nearly falls off. This is where Nathan Fairfax enters the story. He takes her back to Collinwood where the family is decorating the Christmas tree (something you never saw on either version othe TV show). As he is leaving Collinwood, he cuts across the neighboring estate when he has a stange reaction to the statuary in the garden.
The neighboring estate is ownned by two sisters, Allie and Thenno Grimm. Much of this issue is dedicated to vampire lore (as it relates to this version of the show), which victims die, which become enthralled and which become vampires themselves. Thompson spends a good amount of time on characterization, particularly of willie and her own character Nathan as the two become friends. At the end of the issue, Barnabas attacks Fairfax.
Fairfax had an odd (telepathic) reaction to the statues in the Grimm sisters' garden, but now, after having been bitten, is tapping into Barnabas's dreams and fears becoming a vampire himself. He asks Willie to stake him, but Willie refuses. Another difference between the show and the original is that Joe Haskell's girlfriend is not Maggie Evans, not Carolyn Collins, but Daphne Collins (no relation to the soap's Daphne Harridge). Daphne is a Collins cousin who sould role is to become Barnabas's first victim (the same character played an identical role in the Dark Shadows movie). Issue #3 provides the backstory of the Joe/Daphne romance not shown on TV. At the end of the issue, the Grimm sisters are revealed to be mythological Gorgons.
As with the inbred "trolls" in "Book One," I didn't care for the mythological aspect of "Book Two"; I thought it was too "far out." The prime time series, despite being about vampires, was, I thought, more-or-less "reality-based." OTOH, the original soap had a "Phoenix" so what do I know? Maggie Thompson put a lot of research into the mythological background of this series, and it shows. She actually reinterprets some of the aspects of the "Gorgon" legend, making them more sympathetic creatures by the end. The series ends with Barnabas giving appropriate Christmas gifts to each of the family.
NEXT: "Book Three"
BOOK THREE - "A Motion and a Spirit":
"Book Three" is written by Scott Rockwell and painted in watercolor by Felipe Echevarria. (Echevarria had previously adapted Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho for Innovation.) "A Motion ans a Spirit" introduces a new character, the ghost of a recently deceased little girl named Robin, who comes to interract with the more "experienced" ghost of Barnabas' little sister, Sarah. Like Books One and Two, the third was intended to last four issues, but only a single issue was published before Innovation went bankrupt. Had the series lasted, "Book Four" would have been the "Origin of Angelique" written by Lara Paker. Angélique's Descent went on t become Parker's first Dark Shadows novel (of three), and was later released as an audiobook (read by the author) by Big Finish.
I have a definite impression of the series as a whole, but I'll keep it to myself until I make my way through it again.
When I first posted that I was thinking about all nine issues, yet I drew a conclusion after rereading only the first four. I'm glad I reread these issues, otherwise I would have been left with a less favorable overall impression than I have today. I would have liked to have seen Innovations Dark Shadows continue with stories set after the 12-episode TV series. Earlier in this thread I commented that Mike Raight wrote the Dynamite series "into a hole," but that's not strictly true. He locked in a series of events which would take the story through 1992, but #23 (the last issue) was released in 2013. He could have continued with stories that filled the 21-year gap, possibly moving on to stories set in the present day. I hate to end this thread on the down note of a bankruptcy and cancellation, so I have one "Dark Shadows" comic left to go.
KOLCHAK TALES: NIGHT STALKER ANNUAL (according to the indicia) #1:
Back in the '70s, Dan Curtis had a prime time series called Nightstalker, which starred Darren McGavin as a paranormal investigator. It lasted only a single season, but had two TV movie pilots leading into it. I never did watch the series, but I did once catch the first pilot movie on the late show, then promptly forgot it. Both being Dan Curtis Productions, Nightstalker would have seemed the perfect vehicle for a Dark Shadows crossover, if they had done such things in those days. In 2009, however, Moonstone decided to do exactly that in a one-shot comic book. It is set between the second pilot movie (The Night Strangler) and the TV series, and is based on the (tenuous) relationship between Barnabas Collins and Janos Skorzeny, the vampire from The Night Stalker movie. Back when this comic was first released, I bought the two "Kolchak" TV movies on DVD, watched them, then promptly forgot them.
The writer of the annual (no one you would have heard of) displays a solid working knowledge of the soap opera version, but the artist (again, no one you would have heard of) was not given adequate photo reference. Carl Kolchak looks like Darren McGavin and Barnabas Collins looks like Jonathan Frid, but beyond that the characters and setting are unrecognizable (or "character" I should say, because the only other one is Willie Loomis, who looks nothing like John Karlen). The Blue Whale looks nothing like the Black Pearl in Newport, RI (upon which it is based), nor does the Collinsport Inn look anything like the Griswold Inn in Essex, CT (ditto). The interior of the Old House looks much more like the interior of the Old House from the 1991 revival series than the one from the 1960s soap, and least forgivable of all, the exterior of Collinwood is some random mansion bearing no resemblance whatsoever to Seaview Terrace.
Having said that, though, the story itself is a pleasant enough read.
This is the last "Dark Shadows" comic I know of, so with that I bring this thread to a close.
The original Night Stalker made for TV movie was a huge ratings hit and at the time it was considered quite intense and scary. When Svengoolie ran the film a few months ago, I told my daughter she just had to watch it. To say she was underwhelmed is an understatement. What a difference five decades makes.
This is the last "Dark Shadows" comic I know of, so with that I bring this thread to a close.
...and with this post I open it back up again.
Here is a look at the Dynamite series from the "Dark Shadows Every Day" blog.
CURSE OF DARK SHADOWS:
Carolyn Stoddard-Hawkes made a deathbed promise to her mother. But, in order for Carolyn to complete that promise, she must rely on the one person in the world she doesn't want to see: vampire Barnabas Collins. His return home after an extended period away sets in motion a chain of events that will change the Collins family forever. Can Carolyn and her cousin David survive the newly-awakened Curse of Dark Shadows, or will Barnabas be the end of the family line?
This new OGN shipped this week. It's chock full of Easter eggs and inside references, such as a mantlepiece picture of Elizabeth which is actually an 8"x10" glossy of Joan Bennett from her Hollywood days as well as the picture of Vicki's "maybe-mother" from the TV show. Also: Victoria is shown in 1797 being menaced by Jeb Hawkes and the Leviathans; the "parallel time room" in the east wing is featured, as is the breakfast nook from the show's first year; Janet Findley is mentioned (she is the grandmother of one of the new characters). Maggie Evans(-Haskell?) has a granddaughter, Hallie Stokes has a son. There is a seance at one point to contact Vicki Winters. And there's coffee!
The story takes place in the present day, as far into the "future" as any Dark Shadows sequel has ever gone. Carolyn and David are both in their 70s. David runs the cannery. The story begins when three new students of the supernatural, Claire, Hamzah and Jake, move into Collinwood to study under Dr. Stoddard-Hawkes. (Actually, Jake stays in Collinsport because of his psychic sensitivity.) The Ghost of Roger Collins haunts Collinwood, but apparently only David is able to see him. Maggie's granddaughter works at the inn. Hallie Stokes runs the Blue Whale. All of the "outlying buildings" on the estate have been razed (which seems a shame) because Carolyn and David could no longer care for them. The story is peppered with wordless, single-panel flashbacks, footnoted with episode numbers.*
The main plot of the story is to use the I-Ching wands to retrieve Vicki from the past, but they need Barnabas' help to do it. Barnabas is still a vampire, but has been living in Paris for some time now (at least 25 years I would say, from contextual clues). David and Carolyn are both aware that his is a vampire. I will say that they are successful in retrieving Vicki, still in her early 20s, from the past... and that she is pregnant.
There are "profile pages" of 17 of the characters not featured in the main story, but Maggie is conspicuous in her absence. I'm ambivalent about the artist, Jok. In a comic of this nature, it is vital that the characters resemble the actors who played them on TV, but he's not consistant about that. The settings usually consist of a single "establishing shot" which displays that he is working from photo reference, but then he goes on with some more-or-less random depictions of the rooms in question. I don't want to give away too many plot specifics, but I wouldn't recommend this to anyone not already familiar (and I mean familiar) with the TV show. (Rob Staeger, you should read this.) I will say I liked it for the most part, although I do disagree with some of the choices writer Craig Hurd-McKenney made.
*93, 980, 351, 333, 191, 93 (again), 1109, 462, 248, 462 (again), and 588.
Coffee and the breakfast nook? I'm in!
Without reading it, I'm interested in the decision to move the characters up to the present day. It gives the creators a cleaner slate to work with, and more characters who can actually be in jeopardy (as opposed to, say, killing Maggie or Julia -- something fans would reject). I'm also glad Roger is around as a ghost, and it's great that David can see him.
I'll have to seek this one out!
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