This is a review of Tomb of Dracula Complete Collection Volume One. Reading the first volume of this series is a milestone for me, because my OCD fixated on this book, which means I read the first six issues repeatedly, with no prospect of ever finishing. But finish I did! Now how’s that book I finally read?
Very good, with the exception of some creaky material that hasn’t aged well (cringeworthy dialogue, racial stereotypes, make it up as you go along vampire lore). Dracula rises from his tomb in the first issue, courtesy of all-round idiot Clifton Graves. Graves becomes Dracula’s slave, and is so obnoxious and fawning that Dracula gets sick of him and lets him die in an exploding boat. But Grave’s best pal Frank Drake is worse. Frank is related to Dracula, and his solution to life’s problems is a left hook. Luckily, the focus of the book is Dracula himself and the ensemble cast. BTW, this series takes place in London in the 1970’s.
We have Dracula, self-proclaimed Lord of the Vampires, who is irredeemable. Depending on what issue you read, he’s either 100 or 500 years old. Then there are the ones who hunt him: Frank Drake, master of fisticuffs; Rachel van Helsing, who wields a crossbow, the most useless vampire hunting weapon in existence; Taj, who does not speak; Blade, a vampire hunter who’s part vampire himself. They’re led by Quincy Harker, who has a daughter named Edith. Long-time readers should be able to guess which cast member gets killed in the first volume.
The art, done by Gene Colan, is one of the best things about this series. Mr. Colan’s character designs are striking, and his art has lots of fun details (Dracula’s cufflinks are little bats). The writing gets off to a rocky start, with three authors (Gerry Conway, Archie Goodwin, Gardner Fox) scripting the first six issues. Marv Wolfman took over the writing duties starting with Issue #7, and after that the book finds its legs. One of the things I like about this series is that even though it’s part of the Marvel Universe, it feels mostly self-contained. Dracula doesn’t feel like some rubber-suited supervillain.
A must read for Dracula and horror fans.
Abandoned Places 