Shocktober 10/21/20

Yes, I know. You've become tired of my going on about Tomb of Dracula, Marvel's signature horror comic for the better part of a decade. 

But you know what? These stories still hold up 40 years later. 

Granted, things got crazier as the series went on--Drac even encounters the Silver Surfer in this volume--but Marv Wolfman's scripts and the Gene Colan/Tom Palmer art still deliver the mood and the food for thought. 

Shocktober 10/16/20

As previously noted, Tomb of Dracula was Marvel Comics' longest-running horror comic, clocking in at an impressive 70 issues. There were also a couple of black & white magazine versions as well: Dracula Lives and (again) Tomb of Dracula. 

The collection pictured above is the third in The Complete Collection, gathering together another 10 issues of Tomb, plus a few more issues of Dracula Lives. The color comics are the most cohesive, telling one continuing story with small stops in between. Dracula Lives was more of an anthology comic, with stories set at various times in Vlad's long, um, "career" and with art from various hands, though the color issues of Tomb all feature the moody, stylish art of Gene Colan and Tom Palmer.

Shocktober 10/12/20

The saga of Dracula in the modern world (well, the 1970s modern world, anyway) continues in Tomb of Dracula: The Complete Collection Volume 2. As I've said before, I loved this comic when I was a young'un, and having these issues back in a sturdy trade paperback is beyond cool. 

The cover art appears to be Gil Kane again, but most of the interior art is penciled by Gene Colan, a longtime Marvel Bullpen denizen best known for his work on Daredevil. The inking on Colan's pencils is all handled by Tom Palmer this time around, smoothing out the sometimes rough edges from the first volume.

So kick back, warm a cup of tea--Celestial Seasons Sleepytime for me, thanks--and enjoy the four-color craziness of Tomb of Dracula.

Shocktober 10/12/18

When I was a young'un, I was easily scared.

The creepy music from Creature Features (actually Henry Mancini's theme from Experiment in Terror), the shadows cast on my bedroom wall by the nightlight, the costumes on Halloween...all managed, at one point or another, to reduce me to tears.

But one of the most vivid memories from my misspent youth is the sheer terror I felt trying not to look at the cover of Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #1.

The cover artwork was by Neal Adams--much better known for his work on Batman over at DC Comics (Marvel's "distinguished competition")--but the interior art was by Gene Colan, best known for his long run on Daredevil (and shorter stints on Captain America, Iron Man and Howard the Duck, amongst many others). Colan would go on to pencil every issue of Tomb of Dracula--a rarity, then and now, especially considering that the comic ran for 70 issues.

But it was Adams' art that first made me afraid to sleep at night. I'd lie awake in the bunkbed I shared with my brother, hoping that...what? The image on the comic wouldn't come alive and get me? Please don't ask me, all these years later, to explain the fears of an 8-year-old. I have no reasonable answer.

Except...that Marvel obviously hoped that the cover would frighten little children enough to want to buy it.

And they were right.

(NOTE: The image above is not of the actual comic, but of a trade paperback collecting the first few issues of Tomb of Dracula, recently purchased at a local comic book shop.)