I have started this project three or four times in the past but have always abandoned it before completion. Today I am going to abandon my usual prolix introduction and get right to it.
#1-2. GERRY CONWAY: Gene Colan lobbied hard for Tomb of Dracula, not only to pencil it but to ink it as well. He was allowed to ink his own pencils on the first issue, but that was the only one (possibly because he could earn more money penciling two comics as opposed to panciling and inking one. Gerry Conway introduces the main cast of characters: Frank Drake (Dracula's descendant), Clifton Graves (Frank's treacherous "best friend"), Jeannie (Frank's girlfriend, Clifton's former girlfriend), and of course, Dracula. Drake inherits Dracula's castle and Clifton convinces him to turn it into a tourist attraction. Clifton frees Dracula and becomes his Renfield (or "Willie Loomis" if you prefer) almost immediately. Jeanie becomes a vampire by the end of the first issue and is laid to her final rest in issue #2.
#3-4. ARCHIE GOODWIN: The art team supreme (Gene Colan inked by Tom Palmer) appears for the first time in issue #3, but Palmer stays only for five issues initially. Goodwin introduces new supporting characters Rachel van Helsing (granddaughter of Abraham van Helsing from Stoker's novel) and Taj Nital, her mute East Indian companion. They are vampire hunters and quickly enlist Frank Drake to their cause. Drake has sold the castle to Ilsa Strangway, an aging movie star who sees vampirism as her path to youth and immortality. Dracula plays along with her, but her doesn't reveal that drinking blood will make her only as young as the day she became a vampire. Dracula gets his castle and Rachel puts Strangways to her final rest. (Rachel's weapon of choice is the crossbow, BTW.) At the end of #4, Taj tackles Dracula and they fall through an occult mirror into another dimension.
#5-6. GARDNER FOX: Gardner Fox was a learned man. He resolved the occult mirror plot as well as brought over a version of his "Shaggy Man" (first introduced in Justice League of America #45) from DC, but Fox did not adapt well to the "Marvel method" of comic book storytelling, and these are the only two issues he wrote. Also, Frank and Rachel admit that they love each other.
#7-11: MARV WOLFMAN: For one brief issue, Wolfman, Colan and Palmer were together, but issue #8-11 were inked by Ernie, Chan, Vince Colletta and Jack Abel. None of them were bad on their own (and inked Colan as well as Palmer), but the inconsistency caused the work to suffer. Marv Wolfman was still getting a handle on the characters in these issues, but he did introduce Quincy Harker, the now elderly son of Jonathan Harker and Mina Murry from the novel, and his daughter Edith to the supporting cast. Dracula mentally turns a group of children against then in #7-8; in #9 Dracula runs ahoul of a gang of bikers and later attacks a small village; #10 introduces Blade, the Vampire Slayer and Clifton Graves loses his life; in #11 Dracula revenges himself upon the biker gang.
Concurrent with The Tomb of Dracula #8, Marvel launched the black & white magazine Dracula Lives! I debated with myself whether to title this thread "The Tomb of Dracula" or "Marvel's Dracula." I went wit the former to keep myself on track to finish all 70 issues of ToD, but I reserve the right to supplement the discussion with other Dracula-related Marvel stories. Dracula Lives! #1 features a story set in Vienna in the late 1800s, written by Steve Gerber and drawn by Rich Buckler and Pablo Marcos. Steve Gerber's Dracula was somewhat different from Marv Wolfman's in that Gerber's hated being a vampire and Wolfman's revelled in it, but a line of dialogue in #8 rectified the discrepancy. The story in Dracula Lives! #2, by Marv Wolfman and Neal Adams, tells part one of the vampire's origin, and #3 (art by John Buscema and Syd Shores) tells part two.
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TOMB OF DRACULA (EPIC - 1991):
Dracula's "death" dis actually manage to last twelve years... real time and "comic book time"... at least if we ignore certain "Marvel Universe" appearances between 1979 and 1991. I may go back and cover those at a later date in a thread of their own, but this discussion is primarily about the Marv Wolfman/Gene Colan Dracula. There is is "soft continuity" with the MU stories of the previous dozen years in that some of them (particularly the death of Rachel van Halsing) are mentioned, but otherwise it picks up twleve years after Marvel's color comic Tomb of Dracula #70. I bought this series new off the stands but I've been holding it in reserve until such a time as I caught up with the entire run of the original series. Granted, I didn't know that would take 32 years, but here we are.
I was never a big fan of the Frank Drake/Rachel van Helsing romance. I never saw what they had in common (or what she saw in him, in particular) other than killing Dracula, and this issue reveals that, sure enough, shortly after ToD #70 they broke up. Rachel is dead, rumored to have been killed by "vampires." (In the MU, it was Dracula himself who killed her, and the X-Man Wolverine who put her to her final rest.) Frank has married, a law professor named Marlene McKenna. Frank and Marlene met under the care of Dr. Gregor Smirnoff, but their meeting wasn't as accidental as they thought. He first met Rachel years before, after she and Frank broke up. She was an alcoholic, "alone, aimless, angry, self-pitying and in self-denial." He quickly seduced her, they became lovers and she told him all about Dracula and about Frank. They parted ways after he learned all he could from her and she died two years later.
Eventually he tracked Frank down and he became one of Smirnoff's patients. Marlene sought him out independently, but he saw in her latent psychic and empathic power. Smirnoff broght Frank and Marlene together in the hope that they would feeds off each others needs and eventually lead him to Dracula. No one was happier than he when they decided to get married. the whole situation builds until Marlene becomes convinced that she is Rachel. Then Smirnoff steps in and takes her to Transylvania, but frank follows. They get to the spot where Dracula's corpse is buried, with the silver wheelchair spoke still piercing his heart. But Dracula's head was never severed from his body, so when Smirnoff removes the spoke, Dracula's maggot-ridden corpse rises from the grave and...
DRACULA LIVES!
The ongoing was followed by a 1979-1980 B&W The Tomb of Dracula. (The GCD calls the colour title Tomb of Dracula and the B&W "The" etc.) I've read somewhere there was a decision to split off the mature side of the Marvel line into B&Ws. The colour Howard the Duck was replaced by a B&W at the same point.
Apparently Wolfman and Colan did three stories as a team for the new B&W. The GCD tells me the issues have been collected in The Tomb of Dracula Omnibus #3, along with Dracula Lives and some other stuff, including the Frankenstein crossover. There's a bit short of 100 pages of Wolfman/Colan, but more material one or the other did with others.
On first sight my eye misread your phrase ""Marvel Universe" appearances" as ""Captain Universe" appearances". Dracula becomes - Captain Universe! Marvel could've asked Steve Ditko to draw it. He did do a story with Wolfman for The Tomb of Dracula #2.
(corrected)
I think that stuff has also been reprinted in Marvel's "Essential" ToD series, which I have, but they're in a box to make shelf space. the next time I'm in the mood to read Dracula comics, I'll read all Marvel's b&w stuff. Speaking of the "mature side of the Marvel line," the Epic series was not subject to the CCA and is consequently quite a bit more explicit than the color line. I would say the sex is graphic but still tasteful. One thing I noticed in the first issue is that all of the "naughty bits" were obscured, not by hair or shadow, but by captions and word balloons, which makes me wonder if Marvel originally intended it to be more explicit, then gor cold feet.
TOMB OF DRACULA (EPIC - 1991) #2:
Dracula is disoriented at first, unsure of how long he has been dead. He deduces that Marlene is Frank's wife and threatens her, which causes Frank to rally and stab Dracula through the chest with the silver spoke. Smirnoff leaps forward to save Dracula, who then calls forth various creatures of the nightto drive Frank and Marlene away. Smirnoff then invites Dracula back to America.
Back in America, Frank contacts Blade for help. They once ran a private detective firm together (I m assuming this is from one or more Blade solo stories I have not read), but they did not part on good terms. Dracula has an estate in Maryland, which he bought behind-the-scenes during the privious series. That's where he and Smirnoff have fled but, while they are away, Blade and Frank arrive, vandalize the house and burn Dracula's coffin. Dracula visits a strip club in Washington, D.C. and kills all the dancers. Marlene continues to dream that she is Rachel. Smirnoff is a professor at georgetown University, but he makes his real money from his books and on the lecture circuit. As he travels the country speaking on college cmopuses, he sets up cults in order to gather psychic forces (or wahtever). In issue #1, one of his student tried to perform a certain ritual by herself and ended up accidentally setting herself afire. He is now introducing that girl's friend to Draculabut dracula isn't interested and she escapes. Smirnoff wants to become a vampire because the rituals he has conducted have caused him to lose his soul. Also, his skin (below the neck) has beccome translucent.
At a fundraising party, Smirnoff introduces Dracula to wealthy movers and shakers. He kills one of them by throwing her off a balcony without first draining her blood. He senses that Frank and Blade have destroyed his home and leaves the party prematurely to investigate. Smirnoff accompanies him and again petitions Dracula to kill him. Dracula copmplies, but not in the way Smirnoff intended. Instead, Dracual pokes two boney fingers through Smirnoff's eyes, then rips his head from his neck. After that, he tosses Smirnoff's head over his shoulder and gives it a playful kick. Meanwhile, Blade suggests using Marlene for bait to trap Dracula. Dracula behaves increasingly recklessly throughout this issue. Gene Colan's art is looser than I have ever seen it, sometimes almost abstract.
TOMB OF DRACULA (EPIC - 1991) #3:
All plot summary this time.
Dracula is accosted by three young punks in Georgetown. He kills one of them quite viciously, then kills at least five more who attempted to come to his aid and wounded a dozen more. Blade and Frank watch the local news coverage on TV. Blade has an ally named Katinka, an albino doctor who is treating Marlene. Katinka acquired her condition much the same way Blade acquired his, by her mother being attacked by a vampire while pregnant. Katink is not introduced very well, so I assume she's a carry-over from Blade's solo series.
Dracula is confounded by today's modern world. There has been more change in the last eleven years than the previous 500. He needs a servant who can operate during the day. The girl who committed ritual suicide in #1 was Becky. Becky's girlfriend was Lila. Smirnoff introduced Dracula to Lila in #2 but he rejected her. No he visits her in her sorority house. All of her friends went out but she stayed behind. Dracula rapes her, they drink each other's blood, and she becomes his slave. Dracula sends her out during the day to steal Smirnoff's notes.
Katrinka attempts to transfuse Marlene's blood, but Marlene breaks free of her constraints. Blade subdues her by punching her several times in the face. As abrasive as BLade could be in the color series, he's downright unlikeable here. Franks mans up and stops him from beating up his wife. Lila returns to her sorority with Smirnoff's notes, but it is not yet sunset. Dracula has moved his coffin there at some point. Lila sheds her clothes and climbs into the coffin with her master. When he awakens he violently rejects her, then threatens her when she shows him Smirnoff's notes on disc. She shows him how to read them on the computer. Smirnoff has recruited 1600 college students from across the nation and turned them into a cult called "The Belonging." Smirnoff had been dying, and his plan had been to use the power of his cult to lead him to Dracula to turn him into a vampire and achieve immortality, but Dracula himself has other plans for The Belonging. He puts Lila further under his power, then flies out to take Rachel as his wife.
Katrinka is approaching vampirism scientifically, much as Julia Hoffman did on Dark Shadows. She hopes to find a "cure," not only for her condition but for vampirism in general. Marlene is aware of Dracula's approach and invites him in. A vicious fight ensues. Dracula disarms Blade and it is Frank who stabs Dracula in the neck with one of Blade's wooden knives. Katrinka presses a crucifix against Dracula's face, which becomes engulfed in flames. He flees in pain to Lila's sorority to recuperate in his coffin. When she returns from class it is only 2:17 and she has to wait the rest of the afternoon until night falls. When he emerges from his coffin his face is hideously burned. He bids Lila to have his followers engage in a nationwide orgy in three days, then he flies to a resaurant and murders all the patrons. Three days later, The Belonging have their massive orgy. All of them die, and Dracula absorbs their souls. Now he is more powerful than he has ever been.
I'll try to wrap this up tomorrow.
In the 1970s/80s captions were often pasted onto the original art. If the foreign publishers were sent flats with the English text presumably they pasted their text over it, but it could be by 1991 textless flats were prepared for the foreign publishers before the English text was added and some foreign editions of this series were more explicit. This is all guesswork, though. (I suppose today text is likely added electronically after the art is scanned, but I doubt that was the case in 1991.)
I have never read this series, but I did read other fairly detailed analysis of it.
I can't help but put some meta knowledge into my impressions. I think that Marv Wolfman was, at this point in time, attempting to create a few new characters of his own. Blade was arguably the most significant legacy of the original Tomb of Dracula series, and he had some tensions with Marvel involving character rights. It is just guessing, but I think that he hoped to use at least some of those characters further.
His writing often involves sudden introduction of new characters with easily recognizable visuals (usually including a new love interest for the protagonist) followed by hints and glimpses of characterization which eventually turn into full plots and stories.
In this series, Katinka is one character that I think fits that mold. There will be another in #4.
TOMB OF DRACULA (EPIC - 1991) #4:
The power of the souls has driven Dracula quite insane. He sends them out to ravage the city. Marlene is still under Dracula's power, but Frank, Blade and Katinka have traced Becky to her girlfriend, Lila. Marlene psychically warns Dracula that they are coming. Dracula, in his coffin by this time, is still a mess. The vampire hunters arrive at Lila's room. They are being smart (as vampire hunters in any medium rarely ever are) and have sought him by day, but for some reason Katinka wants to delay killing him. Instead, she reads over Smirnoff's notes and learns of his plans to create a psychic reservoir of souls. Meanwhile, Frank and Blade argue over which one has the greater right to put Dracula to his final rest. In a very nice bit of misdirection, they open the lid to the coffin and Dracula is not inside. Instead they find Lila, curled up with her teddy bear. She knows where Dracula is, however. Katinka is kind to her, possibly only to learn Dracula's whereabouts.
Dracula is buried in Arlington Nation Cemetery. He claws his way up throught he ground and finds Marlene waiting for him. He drains her blood to call the souls to him. (I thought he had already absorbed them at the end of last issue, but apparently not.) On their way to the cemetary, Frank takes the vampire hunters to a junk shop owend by one Gossamer Jones, who had been the supplier of Quincy Harker's exotic weapons and Rachel's crossbow. It seems a bit late in the series to be introducing new characters (unless, again, he's a character from Blade's b&w solo series), but psychic detective Inspector Judiah Golem is investigating the deaths of 36 students in Georgetown. He says these will be the last because they total 666 with other deaths from around the country. He's working with the police department at the comissioner's behest, but none of the other cops are too happy about it. On his way out of the police station, he passes a hooker who has just been arrested and informs her that she has contracted HIV from sharing a contaminated needle.
Back in Arlington Cemetary, Dracula calls the 666 souls to animate the corpses of the soldiers buried there. Marlene is standing by his side, and the vampire hunters are on their way. Trhoughout this series, Dracula has been wearing an outfit similar to Doctor Strange's "superhero" togs (introduced in Strange Tales #177), but it's really prominent here. The vampire hunters arrive and this comic suddenly turns into an episode of The Walking Dead, as the jeep starts running over zombies left and right. Frank unloads wooden frag bullets into Dracula until he's out of cartridges, then Blade leaps in and begins stabbing him repeatedly with his teakwood knife. Lila picks up Frank's discarded rifle and smashes the butt of it into Blade's head from behind. Dracula then feeds on Lila to regain his strength. Marlene pledges her continued loyalty to Dracula. Meanwhile, Inspector Golem and his men have discovered the coffin in Lila's room (a dorm room here, but it was a sorority before). "Psychic residue" (or whatever) points to Arlington Cemetery.
Frank grabs Marlene and gives her a big ol' kiss, which seems to break her free of Dracula's spell. Just then they are attacked by a horde of zombies, but Katinka smashes into them with the jeep, saving Frank and Marlene. By this time, Blade has recovered and has recommenced his attack on Dracula. Dracula quickly gains the upper hand, however, and blade is so badly traumatized he loses his mind. Frank wants to leave him behind, but Katinka insists on picking him up. Dracula calls all the the souls into himself just as Golem and his men arrive. Golem orders his men to simply watch. Dracula has underestimated the power of the souls, however. It is so powerful it blows him to pieces. The vampire hunters flee the scene, gleefully running over zombies as they go. Later, Blade is shown wearing a straightjacket in a padded cell. Frank and Marlene take their leave of Katinka, leaving no forwarding address. the last scene hints at an alliance between Katinka and Golem.
And that's the end... "for now," as the caption reads. It was quite different from the '70s series, but an enjoyable sequel/wrap-up. It feels good to have fibnally read these comics I have been sitting on, unread, for more than 30 years. (I plan to do more of this in 2024.) I did locate those b&w Wolfman/Colan stories in my "Essential" volumes. Wolfman and Colan did reunite for a wholly different Dracula series, The Curse of Dracula (three issues), seven years later at Dark Horse. I'll think I'll read that next, but I'll save the b&w ones until the next time I'm in the mood for Dracula.
Come to think of it, this is probably the last Wolfman/Colan vampire story that I read...
Ah, yes. I remember you mentioning "The Sub-Basement of Dracula" and the "Squish Thing" over in the Swamp Thing discussion. I must remember to check to see if my LCS has this in stock.
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