The fourth volume of The Tomb of Dracula Essential is different from the three which had preceded it. All of the Bronze Age Tomb of Dracula comics have been collected, so all that is left is a few issues of the The Tomb of Dracula magazine and then stories about Dracula from the copious pages of Dracula Lives. The editors went one step further and arranged those stories not as they appeared but as they occur chronologically in the fictional history of Marvel's Dracula character. We get to see him become a vampire, then consolidate his vampire legions and then we follow him as he tumbles through world history right up until the then modern day. It's a fascinating way to read these stories, produced by a virtual army of great comic book talent.
But first a few of the later magazines. Dracula's daughter Lilith is front and center in a story from the fifth issue by Roger McKenzie and artists Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. The daughter of Dracula thinks her father is weak and chooses a moment to strike when she imagines she can once and for all end his existence. She is unrelenting in her attacks. The enmity between Lilith and Dracula is powerful stuff, the dark shadow of what such a relationship ought to be.
Some of the stories of an historical nature are saved for their timely occurrence in the unfolding history of Dracula. But a few modern-day choices showcase the effects of vampirism on regular folks. One woman, a ballerina is bitten and struggles mightily against the transformation. which is robbing her of her soul, the very soul which informs her art, the most important thing in her life. Her struggle is a noble one and elicits even admiration from Dracula himself.
Above is the debut issue of Dracula Lives with a stellar cover by Boris Vallejo. I'm not going to attempt to details the myriad tales which relate Dracula's history. We follow him through many famous events such as the French Revolution, the Salem Witch Trials, and more. His malign influence is often at the root of things we think we know. We see the origin of the generations-long clash between Dracula and the Van Helsing family. Dracula faces many brave men and women who sometimes win and sometimes lose, but mostly are lucky to live through the encounter. Artistic talents like John Buscema, Syd Shores, Neal Adams, Gene Colan, Steve Gan, Tony DeZuniga, Dick Ayers, Frank Springer, Frank Robbins, and many more offer up art inspired by the world's most famous vampire. Writers such as Roy Thomas, Marv Wolfman, Gerry Conway, Steve Gerber, Doug Moench, and many more create morsels of vampire delight.
Below is a cover gallery for Dracula Lives! Enjoy!
Jordi Penalva
Neal Adams
Earl Norem
Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez
Luis Dominguez
Stephen Fabian
Ken Bald
Earl Norem
Gray Morrow
Dracula is arguably the most infamous fictional villain in the world. With countless books and unending films, the saga of his heinous vampire seems never to end. For a time in the 1970's Marvel did an outstanding job of taking what was known and making of it an epic tale worthy of the character. But it's not over, it's never over, because as we know Dracula, King of the Vampires, Lord of the Undead, will always return.
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There were indeed so!e excellent strips in Dracula Lives, my personal favourites were the Neal Adams tale in issue 1 and surprisingly, the Frank Robbins tale in issue 9.
ReplyDeleteThat Neal Adams story imprinted on me as well. Adams did some excellent black and white work for Marvel.
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