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"There, my darling...there."

As the originator of the shorthand designator "GNCLN", I reserve the right to gush. Read at your own risk, and only if you really have nothing better to do for the next ten minutes. (Incidentally, "GNCLN" is the way Tomb of Dracula penciller Gene Colan's name is transcribed by his worshippers, since his name is too holy to be uttered aloud. GNCLN also inked his pencils in ToD #1.)

Before opening this Omnibus yesterday, I'd only ever read one other issue of Tomb of Dracula. It was the Power Record when I was probably five years old. It made a big impression. There were several series that made GNCLN one of my handful of favorite comic artists of all time, but I always knew that I would probably enjoy this one more than any other if I could ever read it. I never decided to splurge for Near Mint copies of the entire Tomb run, and I wasn't going to settle for faded colors.

Thank you, Marvel, for this Omnibus. A thousand thank-you's.

I've been reading a lot of superhero comics lately, so Tomb of Dracula #1 was a godsend for me, a real eye-opener. Reading this, I thought, "I may end up liking this more than most supehero comics I've read." It's too early to tell, but I'm hoping. Although this is "fantasy" just as superheroes are fantasy, this is obviously "dark fantasy", and consequently is seems a little more "real", more serious, more mature, more adult. I just love it. I loved From Hell - that was one of the handful of best comics I've ever read. Tomb of Dracula and From Hell are linked for me now in some way I can't explain, based on only this first issue and my expectations for this series. Maybe it's because, even though From Hell is historical fiction, it's comparatively the real-world version of Dracula. "The Ripper" stalks young women and empties them of their blood in old world Europe. Tomb and From Hell would look great as permanent companions on a coffee table.

Being immersed in the early Marvel Silver Age recently (board member DeBricazar's "Marvel Masterworks Marathon" threads on this site's Marvel Masterworks Message Board), it's such a sea change for me to suddenly wade into Tomb of Dracula. It's just so much more intense and atmospheric and dramatic. I may just go through it page-by-page for the purposes of this thread.

The cover is pretty nice - the red border could be an allusion to "the sweet nectar of life itself". It's so awesome to see a Marvel Comic cover that features, instead of a superhero, a horror creation of nineteenth century classic literature. I guess what I'm getting at is that, for me, this issue kind of vaults Marvel into a higher echelon of entertainment publishers. A more serious and ambitious enterprise with more cultural respect. Even seeing the small words "TOMB OF DRACULA" in the upper left corner are cool, denoting this new era which Marvel is embarking upon. The actual comic logo is good. The "corner box" Dracula head is funny when you compare it to the superhero heads usually found there.

The first page of the series is a good "establishing shot" splash of Castle Dracula, which we won't see again until page nine. (I guess I've seen Young Frankenstein too many times - that was my first thought since the castle is the first thing you see in that film.) I love how the lightning forms the word "DRACULA". When I read comics, I like to imagine I'm experiencing a Power Record, and so I always "hear" the narration, the dialogue, and all the sound effects (whether printed in words or not). So I can imagine the sound of the rain and thunder and imagine seeing real lightning in my mind's eye as it spells out the main character's name. ("Main character"? Can we go do far as to say that Dracula is the protagonist of this story?? I'll have to ponder that one, and check a dictionary definition.) Speaking of Power Records, you'll know it's time to turn the page when you hear the sound: "PUNGGG!!"

Gerry Conway's descriptive prose is evocative even from the first page.

But what am I doing?? Here I am more than five full paragraphs into the review and I haven't even given you one gorgeous GNCLN scan. Thanks for being patient. (Obviously you can scroll down and skip my ramblings if you prefer, and no hard feelings! I probably would, too!) Most of the illustrations I scanned are of the Count, and he doesn't even appear until halfway through this story, so before presenting any of those scans I'd like to at least explain the plot for anyone who hasn't actually bought the Omnibus yet and wants to know what the storyline is.

After teasing us with the Castle, Conway and GNCLN being the story with a car wreck in the rainy night. We see the headlights in two panels, and we meet the first three characters to grace the stage of this series. By the end of the page, we learn that this is close to being a love triangle: Frank Drake, Jeanie, and Clifton Graves. Jeanie and Clifton used to be lovers, but she's left him for Frank, and yet for some reason the three of them have journeyed, arguing, from London to "this tiny country". With the car wrecked in a ditch, they have to walk back to a village they'd passed, which we see on page three.

In a village tavern we meet a few supporting characters including Fritz Burgeister, a carriage driver name Otto, and an unnamed tavern girl who "serves" as the occasion for our first scan, not because she's particularly gorgeous or anything, but because I think the artists mean for this illustration to show her as voluptuous and "full of life". We'll see why later.



In the last panel of page three, we learn the name of the tiny country: "Let me welcome you to...Transylvania!" ("PUNGGG!!")

It may be worth noting that this comic (and any of the others in the series) was conceivably the first exposure many young children even had to the character of Dracula and all the trappings that go with him.

Conway uses Clifton and Burgeister to introduce into the dialogue the name of Bram Stoker, the author of the original novel Dracula. I found this interesting to say the least. In the milieu of Tomb of Dracula, the novel Dracula does exist. As Burgeister says, "Herr Stoker told the truth...in part." Stoker existed in the world of Tomb, and therefore he somehow knew a lot about the "real" Dracula of Tomb, and it'll be interesting to see in what ways the comic series is similar and different to the novel. (I've never read the novel, I only know it from films and a radio adaptation and other comics.)

In that panel, Burgeister is seen polishing his glasses under cover of his dialogue balloon, and a coloring miscue appears to have left his white moustache the color of flesh. I have no idea whether this seeming mistake also appears in the original floppy comic or solely in the Omnibus, but I usually prefer that reprintings correct any blatant coloring gaffes found in the original. No big deal, though.

Otto takes the trio to Castle Dracula, and before they go in, we're presented with three and a half pages of flashback to explain why they're here and also to flesh out the three characters. As Frank becomes lost in his memories of past events, Clifton makes a move on the unwilling Jeanie, providing further characterization. Jeanie, for her part, is already seen to be both fearful and loyal (loyal to Frank, that is). Jeanie even stayed with Frank even after he blew a million dollars' worth of inheritance. (These characteristics of Jeanie's will prove ironic, as we'll see.) Clifton is the only one of Frank's male friends who didn't desert him, but we begin to see that this was only out of self-interest, as Frank reveals (in the flashback) that his family actually hails from Transylvania and that the original family name was Dracula. It was at this point that I kicked myself and had to laugh at my own absorption in the story which prevented me from seeing that one coming. I mean, come on, who doesn't notice the similarity between "Drake" and "Dracula"? My only excuse is that I purposefully cultivate an attitude of "no guessing" while reading stories, so that I can get the full effect of any and all surprises. And I'm happy to say it worked like aces in this instance.

Anyway, Frank has inherited Castle Dracula and also a diary with accounts by Dracula's son and grandson. Clifton prods Frank to actually read it for the first time, and Frank imagines this outstanding illustration.



Just listen to this spectacular prose from Conway, as found in the diary. It amounts to nothing short of the Origin of Dracula: "...bitten by a vampire before his thirtieth year, my father went mad...driven insane by the fierce broth that now ran in his veins. He took to stalking the countryside...terrorizing the helpless peasant-girls...finding some depraved joy in the taking of their young lives - in making them one with his terrible curse...always we would see him standing at the window of his hell-damned castle...a night-cloaked nightmare of a man, looming, brooding over our village...a man I was ashamed to call my - Grandfather."

Are we agreed that that is some outstanding narration??

The diary appears to end with "Van Helfing" driving a stake into Dracula in his coffin. Helfing, Helsing...which way did the novel spell it, and why did Conway (or Marvel) choose to spell it in a way different from most people's familiarity? Could the name "Helsing" be outside the public domain if "Dracula" wasn't??

We learn that it was Clifton's idea for Drake to turn Castle Dracula into a tourist trap, and even better, that Jeanie herself insisted on going along, in spite of Frank's objections.

And so we rejoin the trio in the present as they finally enter the castle we saw on the splash page. Page ten shows a "bat attack" which prompts Jeanie to regret her decision to come along, and it also features something I really appreciated. Frank and Jeanie become suddenly estranged, and in way that totally resembles the romantic trials in Marvel's early Silver Age superhero stories (and from what I gather, in their romance comics too). The narrator could just as well be describing Peter and Betty, or Don and Jane, or Matt and Karen, or Bruce and Betty. "Both minds are closed to each other...the thoughts of both are hidden...and so neither knows the desperate wanting of the other...and the two who should be one are alone."

Frank is preoccupied: "Why do I feel this way? As though...every pillar, every wall - were familiar, something I'd seen before...I know those sounds...I know those walls...this castle...I know this CASTLE!" How can Frank recognize the castle? Either it's genetics, or he has memory loss, or it's something supernatural. Hopefully this is a mystery to be explored in future issues.

The aftermath of the attack of bats is an occasion for the trio to wander apart a little, and Clifton reveals in an aside that he's been planning all along to murder Frank and win both Jeanie and Castle Dracula. He falls through rotten floorboards and finds his way to "the tomb". Page thirteen marks the halfway point of the issue, and the page concludes with the first "appearance" of the title character...



"PUNGGG!!!"

I have to admit, I wasn't even sure the skeleton was Dracula's. I thought it might be someone else's placed there as a ruse so that the Count could attack with the benefit of surprise. I'm glad I thought that, because it made the rest of the scene that much more of a surprise. Seizing upon it as a murder weapon to use on Frank, Clifton removes the stake from the skeleton (umm...oops??) and all setup is thus concluded. The second half of the issue is nonstop action and virtually leaps off the page thanks to GNCLN. Enjoy the scans.







(At the risk of sounding repetitive..."PUNGGG!!!")

Now we get the first closeup of Dracula, accompanied by superb dialogue: "The years have been long, and I am weary of them. I yearned for those things for which once I lived...the clouds across a glowing moon...the baying of night's children...and most of all, I yearn for that most pleasing taste...the sweet nectar of life itself!"




On the same page, Dracula takes a page out of none other than Superman's book from the third page of Action Comics #1, as Clifton shoots him at point blank range to no effect. Dracula then thrown Clifton into a deep pit, and turns his attention to the "pure in heart".




These two "half-man, half-bat" illustrations are some of the highlights of the issue.




Drac hypnotizes Jeanie, prompting Frank to save her by soundly clocking her in the face with his fist! It's a real roundhouse blow and knocks her unconscious. In fact he hit her so hard that she's "close to dying"!! Frank fends off Dracula using a silver compact which he'd given as a gift to Jeanie (another thing which I'd failed to catch when she trotted it out a few pages earlier). Dracula turns back into a bat and flies away...still talking. That...is really...really...cool.

We learn that Dracula spent a full century as "stake and ex". So...he's thirsty.



He's back to "terrorizing the helpless peasant girls", just like in the old days. I love how GNCLN blends the ink for the barmaid's eyebrow into the pupil of her eye. It seems to be all one stroke, without which her eye wouldn't even look human.

Note how important it is for Conway and GNCLN to make sure they actually show Dracula drinking someone's blood and killing them in this very first issue. This is certainly one of the more horrific panels in the issue, and it reminds me that the cover prominently displays a box stating "Approved by the Comics Code Authority".




I like how the colorist uses solid red to visually allude to the blood transferred from the barmaid to Dracula. (The Omnibus's credits page does not name a colorist for the first six issues of this series.) I think this scene is aided by that voluptuous illo of the barmaid from back on page four, which set us up for the contrast with her life-drained corpse.




Conway decided to implant some of Universal's Frankenstein into Tomb at this point. Without even an intervening panel, we now see a villager carrying the dead barmaid through the streets. Then a mob gathers their torches and proceeds to the castle. This was one of only a couple things I didn't care for in the issue, but let's be honest, it hardly detracts much.

It turns out that evil humans don't taste good to Drac. "The one from the town seemed corrupt. She was bitter with petty evil..." At least I'm assuming that he doesn't mean emotionally bitter. It's left to conjecture as to the nature of the barmaid's evil. The easiest thing to presume would be prostitution, but we just don't know, and the narrator hasn't given any indication that prostitution is evil anyway. Dracula implies that the barmaid's "soul" was "touched by hatred's claws". Maybe "hate" was her only "petty evil"?

So Dracula comes home for a sweeter treat...



...but Frank is ready with other weapons - a crucifix and a mirror. I didn't expect the main character of this mag to have so many weaknesses. Frank is pretty ballsy: "Don't try to touch her, Dracula. I'd have to kill you."

Now comes the other moment I didn't like in the issue.



I mean it seems unintentionally comedic. Look at the surprise in Drac's eye. I'll grant that it's a good panel, a good illustration. I just don't care much for the characterization of Dracula at this moment. He seems too easily attacked by a guy throwing something at his face. And in the next panel, he actually rubs his forehead in pain! This from a dead guy who took a bullet at close range without flinching?? Hmm...

Jeanie finally awakens in time to distract Dracula from killing Frank, and she is again hypnotized and then attacked by the Count as...the villagers burn the castle. That just seems a little too predictable, but it doesn't bother me much, I guess it makes for a good tradtional ending to this first tale. I think the implication is that Castle Dracula burns to the ground (although I don't understand how fire burns stone). Maybe we'll find out next issue.

Frank drives off his undead cousin again with the silver compact and then carries Jeanie's dead body outside while the castle burns. The stellar premiere issue closes with a fantastic surprise ending. "Then, at his feet, something rustles..."

"Frankie, Frankie, don't cry...I'm not dead, you see. I'm not. When you're bitten by a vampire, you don't die. You never die...never!"

Innocent, fearful, loyal Jeanie now has fangs.

I wondered why she didn't attack Frank at this point, but for pacing purposes that would have been just too much and would have detracted from the poetry of the ironic quiet ending. I assume that Jeanie retains all her memories from her past life and realizes the irony that has brought her to this fate (even though she laughs and so apparently isn't bothered by it).

A couple plot threads remain for future issues. What will become of Clifton? Will he and Frank have to combine forces to battle Dracula? (Frank still doesn't know that Clifton wants to murder him.) Will Frank try to "save" Jeanie with a stake, like what happened to Mina's friend in Stoker's novel? Will Dracula have to find new digs? Will he reveal a fourth vulnerability? How did Frank recognize the interior of the castle? And did he have homeowner's insurance?

Aside from the obvious glory of GNCLN, there are several things I love about this issue. The main character is beyond an anti-hero, he's a full-out villian, a murderer. How often in Silver Age Marvel did you ever see any villian murder helpless women in cold blood??? Interestingly, it was apparently too early in pop culture history for Marvel to set the reader to have to involuntarily root for the evil main character. (Or maybe you yourself do root for him?) We're given Frank Drake to identify with. This probably helped the CCA sign off on this.

I'm guessing this is the first Marvel comic in which the main character was an abominably evil being. Even if they tried a series with Doctor Doom as the protagonist, I doubt you can liken Doom to Dracula in any way. Previous to this series, most if not all Marvel villians stopped way short of cold-blooded murder of helpless women.

Okay I looked up the definition of "protagonist": "one who takes the leading part in a drama"; "the chief character of a story in or around whom the action centers"

Dracula is the protagonist of The Tomb of Dracula #1. Frank Drake is a supporting character. The reader is left to determine who he or she will "root for". (Nothing wrong with rooting for Drac, and I'd like to try reading it that way next time.)

I see a lot of similarities between this issue and the first "Werewolf by Night" from Marvel Spotlight #2. (I only know of it from the Power Record.) I guess it's a potent formula: the diary-style flashbacks, the blood relation to a monster from the past, etc.

I note that this issue was edited by Stan Lee.

Okay, you stayed up waiting for this review, it's the middle of the night...you can go to sleep now.



...can you?

Thanks, fourtimer. I'm envious that you got to read this issue as a kid.

"one-issue origin story"? I wouldn't even call this an origin story, just an introduction. I think the only "origin" we get is one line in the Drake diary: "bitten by a vampire before his thirtieth year". I would like to read a Marvel version of the Origin of Dracula, though.

I guess Marvel didn't keep a record of who colored issues 1-6??

John Buscema pencilled and inked the cover?

I like how there are no references in this issue to the rest of the Marvel Universe. That allows the reader to decide whether or not this story takes place in the Marvel Universe. It might, or it might not. There were already vampires in the Marvel U at this point (Morbius), so the origin of Morbius might shed some light on Dracula. (I haven't read a Morbius story since I was a little kid.)

Another fun exercise is to compare Dracula to the other protagonists in the Marvel Universe, who are mostly all superheros. Dracula is "Supercorpse". He has supernatural physical powers like changing into a bat with his mind and speech center intact. (I really like it when he talks while in bat form.) He's invulnerable but with Kryptonite-like weaknesses (stake, silver, crucifix, mirror). He's able to remain animate and self-determining even after death. He can reform himself with flesh and organs after remaining as a skeleton for a century. Worst of all, he can transform humans into vampires.

I'm trying to ponder the implications of where his body and brain were while he was a skeleton. The source of vampires' powers are unexplained in this story. Was he some kind of disembodied spirit during that century, like Doctor Strange's ectoplasmic form? That's my best guess. Or maybe his flesh was right there all the time on his skeleton but invisible to human eyes while the stake was stuck. His supernatural nature places him closer to "Doctor Strange" than to any other Silver Age Marvel series.

I haven't read much Marvel from 1965-1972, so it's hard for me to talk much about how this story compares to the rest of the Marvel U at that point.

Is Dracula in fact the protagonist of "Night of the Vampire"? "one who takes the leading part in a drama" - "the chief character of a story in or around whom the action centers". Dracula doesn't even feature in the first half of the story, so can he be thought to have the "leading part"? The "action" doesn't "center around" him in the first half. Maybe Frank is really the protagonist after all - he at least appears throughout the story and drives the storyline with his quest to visit the castle. I'd like to read opinions on this.

I am totally going to root for Dracula from now on, just as an experiment and to see if it can be done even in the face of non-evil human supporting characters. This series puts the whole Marvel Universe in a new light for me. Maybe I can try rooting for Doctor Doom and Loki and the Goblin and Octopus and the Leader and the Skull and the Brotherhood. I don't think there's anything in the narration itself that could prevent the reader from choosing to do this. It could be very amusing as the reader is constantly frustrated in new ways at the end of almost every single Silver Age issue. I think I might be on to something.