Blood Of A Goddess!

Oh, no! Has Dracula returned to finish what he started with Storm!?

Nope. This time he's after a real goddess:

So is Sif now a vampire? Or are her fangs just for show, too?
This blog is certainly spilling a lot of blood lately.

First things first: how did Dracula come to be involved with Sif--and how the heck did he manage to nuzzle up to this warrior goddess for a midnight snack? It turns out that Dracula involved himself with worshippers of the Darkhold and was using them to enhance his power, when he came across Sif while she was spending some time with Thor's alter ego, Don Blake, currently living in Chicago:

So while Thor was out pursuing an investigation, Sif got a late-night visitor and, in a half-asleep state, assumed it was Thor. And one thing indeed led to another:

Too bad Sif didn't have her brother Heimdall's acute senses. She's not even a light sleeper.

With this attack, both Dracula and Sif experience unexpected side-effects, though only Dracula truly benefits from them:

And with Sif now in his possession, Dracula finds himself asking "Storm who?"

As to Sif becoming a vampire--Dracula has only fed off her blood, and not actually killed her. Frankly, I don't know if his power would be enough to kill an immortal. Suffice to say that this story, as well, feels the need to present the victim as a vampire and yet not a vampire, just like Storm's fake-state of vampirism. This time the blame is laid on her goddess-hood:

Of course, Dracula isn't the only one out for blood. When Thor learns from Dr. Strange that Sif has become Dracula's victim, he's feeling a little bloodthirsty himself:

During his rounds of the city, Thor has encountered other minor vampires and been able to dispatch them by making contact with his hammer. Yet Dracula is a little more wily than underlings, and he manages to evade even an enchanted weapon (don't ask me how):

I thought one segment of the battle was actually pretty clever: if both combatants can control the power of the storm, whose will is going to prevail? It turns out that even storms can become confused:

Nor does Thor's strength do him much good with an enemy who can become mist:

But Dracula is fighting a seasoned warrior of Asgard as well as an Avenger, who has quite a lot more experience with other-worldly foes to draw on than the X-Men. And while Dracula's physical state is in transition, a well-aimed lightning strike renders Dracula near-helpless, setting the vampire up for Thor to dispose of:

Yet Dracula's followers are able to retrieve him in the nick of time, leaving Dr. Strange to deal with the vampire in another story. But what of Sif? She still has amnesia, and she still carries the curse of a vampire's touch. Depending on how kinky Thor is, that's bound to put a crimp in their love life. But the Thunder God needn't worry--because you might as well picture a bow tied around these next few panels, as tidily as her situation is speedily dealt with:

As you've seen, the illustration of Sif about to pounce on Thor in her vampire state was all too exaggerated, as Sif totally sat this conflict out on the sidelines--and she wasn't really a vampire in the traditional sense, anyway. It might have been interesting to see a different side of her here, rather than being shoe-horned into a happy ending--wouldn't Sif normally be drawing her sword and vowing vengeance on this demon who violated her? Though it may be a moot point, since Dracula's goddess-hunting days may finally be over.

Mighty Thor #s 332-333 Script: Alan Zelenetz Pencils: Don Perlin / Mark Bright Inks: Vince Colletta Letterer: Janice Chiang