His Name Is... Dracula!

In the early '70s, Marvel readers were being treated to a number of intriguing new titles coming down the pipe from the House of Ideas. During this cascade of fresh work, it was admittedly tempting to pick up a #1 issue, even if you weren't particularly interested in the concept or character being given a new series; for a 20¢ investment, it was still an opportunity to pick up something that at first simply caught your eye on the comics rack but might actually end up appealing to you. That's not to say you were going to plunk down change for every new title, of course, since Marvel at times could also be the House That Churned Out Product Like An Assembly Line; but if a new title made you do a double take, and you found yourself lingering over it, giving it a try was a harmless enough impulse for someone into comics. (After all, that's kind of how we got started reading comics in the first place.)

So in April of 1972, when Marvel floated an already familiar concept that had been adapted by so many, in a number of mediums, my curiosity got the better of me and I added it to my stack. And even though "monster mags" were generally way down on my list, it certainly turned out to be one of my better impulses.

It was at a point in time when I was just beginning to seriously explore comics collecting and still in the early stages of familiarizing myself with the names of different writers and artists, so I wasn't buying this issue of Tomb Of Dracula because its cover was by "Neal Adams" (uncredited) or because "Gerry Conway" wrote it or that its art was by "Gene Colan"; mostly, I was very curious as to how Marvel would treat the character of Dracula in a regularly published color comic. Other outlets had often gone straight for shock value, and cut right to the chase in Dracula menacing this victim or that--could the character of Dracula sustain a full series if he engaged in that sort of repetitive conflict?

Well, we all know how things turned out by now; but in this first issue, that question made picking up a #1 issue featuring Dracula--the Dracula--almost compelling.

As for the talent behind this new book, the team put together to launch it was well chosen. Adams, of course, does his part to get your attention; though in hindsight, with all the nice cover work that Colan would do over the length of the series (to say nothing of his other outstanding covers for Marvel), I would have liked to have seen how he might have handled a first-issue cover featuring such a prominent character. This story would also be one of the rare instances where I've seen Colan ink his own pencils, and the result is worth the look. Similarly, letterer John Costanza's work here, while not nearly as polished as it would later become on the title, is much like a work in progress and has some variations that he's since discarded. As for Conway, he establishes the mood of the story nicely, though you'll find this is mostly a Frank Drake story, with Dracula (for now) as a character sufficiently presented but not yet this series' driving force.

As for Drake, when we meet him he has his own cast of characters who will become as vital to this story as himself: his girlfriend, Jeanie, and his friend, Clifton Graves (a surname which can't be an offhand choice on Conway's part), whom Jeanie had broken up with months ago in order to be with Drake. Three vulnerable people who form an almost vicious circle which they bring to Transylvania to pursue a pipe dream, one that will instead lead to a nightmare.

It's Drake whose own vulnerability is the catalyst for a "friend" like Graves to take advantage of. Having blown through his inheritance, Drake is at loose ends as to his future, and ripe for the type of get-rich schemes that would preoccupy a man like Graves; but what seals the deal for Graves is the property Drake has inherited--as well as the commercial potential of Drake's family name.

As for Jeanie, the purpose of her presence in this story should be obvious; which is why, other than the fact that she moved on to Drake after Graves, she's really only defined by her affection for Drake and that she genuinely chose to stay with him even after he explained that he was broke. Add to that the clear resentment that Graves still feels toward both of them, and they all seem well suited to the doom-and-gloom kind of night that greets them upon their arrival at Castle Dracula.

Perhaps due to his impressions from the diary that he read, Drake feels a strong sense of familiarity upon entering the castle. As if on cue, Conway and Colan borrow from any number of prior Dracula stories and startle their characters with the rustling of bats that suddenly emerge in their midst, though it helps to define these three as far as what they'll face down the line: Jeanie is terrified and helpless... Graves, flustered and irritated... while Drake keeps his head and moves to protect his cowering girlfriend whose most noticeable reaction is the fervent wish to get out of this place and out of Transylvania.

As the trio begin to separate and move about the rooms, Graves is the one to watch, since his bitter brooding about Jeanie's dependence on Drake leads him further from the others. In his current mood, he's unmindful of his steps that lead him over weak flooring which gives way, sending him to the floor below and what appears to be a pathway to a tomb. And not just any tomb, it probably goes without saying.

With dollar signs dancing in his head, it's no surprise that the true character and motivations of Graves began to surface when he was on the cusp of this excursion's payoff. We could make a fair guess as to what he'd be planning to do once he rejoined Drake and Jeanie--but to act so rashly would be short-sighted of him. While it's true that, in an old castle such as this one, an "accidental" death for Drake would be easy enough for Graves to stage, that wouldn't get him Castle Dracula in any legal sense. Instead, he would have to choose another course, such as swindling Drake out of the place. Yet Drake, as a direct descendant, is part of the meal ticket Graves wishes to cash in on as far as the drawing power Castle Dracula would have for paying crowds.

Fortunately for Drake, Graves and his ambitions are taken out of the equation when the newly-risen Dracula confronts him and promptly hurls him into a waiting pit until he's needed. (You can likely read between those lines well enough.) For now, Dracula has become aware of others on the premises--and it's only quick thinking on Drake's part that saves their lives, for the moment.

Unless Drake usually belts someone with the intent of killing them, there's simply no reason for him to make the assumption that Jeanie is at death's door, unless he thinks for some reason that Dracula's gaze is fatal. Having read the detailed diary on his ancestor, he likely knows that's not the case; so we can only assume it's Conway's way of heightening the drama of the encounter.

One death that is all too real, however, is that of a local barmaid, attacked by Dracula in the village and whose telltale signs alarm the populace and signal that a nightmare long dead threatens them anew.

(In spite of electrical hookups and flashlights, torches never seem to be in short supply in villages.)

Inevitably, our angry villagers will find their way to this story's climax; yet just as inevitably, Dracula finds his way back to Jeanie, who lies as helpless as any young woman does in vampire stories, waiting to fall victim to the fiend that quietly approaches her. Yet with Drake nearby, the more engaging aspect to this scene lies with Dracula's discovery that Drake is his descendant. There's more to that conversation than we receive here, or unfortunately throughout the entire series--and perhaps much more to Drake than the character we would end up with. Surely there must be some story material to be mined in whatever information Drake might have gleaned from his family about his true surname--wouldn't you be intensely curious as a result of the revelation that you happened to be a direct descendant of Dracula? How would such knowledge set you apart from the man himself? Drake rights his ship by eventually becoming a vampire hunter in his own right--yet his interactions with Dracula remain limited to threats and near-formulaic animosity.

Here, regrettably, their boundaries are pretty much established in this scene, setting the standard for what will be an adversarial relationship in perpetuity.

It's easy to wonder if Dracula simply goaded Drake into foolishly discarding his only means of holding his foe at bay, since both of these men are likely aware that this curse has nothing to do with lineage--particularly Drake, whose family diary doesn't refer to it as a disease to be passed down but rather details accounts of those falling victim to the bite of the vampire. And unless Dracula has some basis for believing that the curse of the vampire is passed down through the (you'll pardon the word) bloodline, he really has no reason to make such an assertion.

Regardless, Drake has made a potentially fatal mistake--and his struggle with his ancestor inadvertently endangers the one person he wishes to protect.

By now, however, our villagers have arrived to begin torching the castle, leaving those within precious little time to conclude their struggle. But with Drake only now regaining consciousness after grappling with Dracula, there has been no struggle taking place; instead, Dracula has had both time and opportunity to complete what he began with Jeanie, something which Drake will be unaware of until the villagers have dispersed and he is left alone with the one who now belongs to another.

While admittedly providing a fast track to becoming a vampire for the sake of its ending, the story serves as a decent jumping-off point to the series, as Drake later comes to terms with his loss and gains a valuable ally for the fight ahead, while Dracula begins putting his affairs in order and schemes for power once more.  And the seed planted here bears fruit. Tomb Of Dracula would continue for another seven years, when it would enter its own tomb along with its title character--joining him in waiting for a resurrection which might come at any time, or never.

Tomb of Dracula #1 Script: Gerry Conway Pencils and Inks: Gene Colan Letterer: John Costanza (as Jon Costa)