Dracula #5

May 1993. £1.25.
40 pages. Full colour & B&W.
Dark Horse Comics International

Edited by Dick Hansom.

Cover by Mike Mignola.
r: cover from Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #04 (Jan 1993).

Contents:

 2 Dracula Introduction text (uncredited) / Contents / Indicia

 3 Bram Stoker's Dracula, part five, w: Roy Thomas; p: Mike Mignola, i: John Nyberg, lettering by John Costanza, colouring by Mark Chiarello.

r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #4 (Jan 1993).

20 Bloodlines text feature compiled by Dave Hughes.

22 Vampirella - What Has Gone Before text introduction; illustrated by Mike Kaluta.

23 Vampirella Who Serves the Cause of Chaos?, part two, w: Archie Goodwin; a: Tom Sutton.

r: Vampirella (Warren) #08 (Nov 1970).

30 Transmission Vamp text feature by Adrian Rigelsford.

32 Werewolf! w: Larry Ivie; a: Frank Frazetta, lettering by Ben Oda.

r: Creepy (Warren) #01 (1964).

38 Positive Blood Type reviews of vampire books by Seamus Ryan.

39 Subscribe - Comics for the '90s (half page) in-house advertisement. / Exclusive Fangtastic Offer (half page) advertisement for Studio Three Jewellery Design.

40 Timeless Terror From Dark Horse in-house advertisement

Note: There is more information about the Werewolf strip at DocDave's Frazetta blog.

Mignola's depiction of the beastial Dracula is grotesque and eye-catching, capturing the film's design ethos perfectly, and making the cover really stand out. The cover lines, when placed upon such a strong image, are rather inconsequential - not to mention being extremely difficult to read.

From Jonathan Harker's journal: 2 October

We left London by train and crossed the English channel that night in stormy seas, no doubt from the passage of the Count's ship. He commands the winds, but we still have the advantage. By train, we can reach the Romanian port at Varna in three days. By ship, it will take him at least a week. From Paris, we traveled through the Alps to Buda-Pest. The Count must sail around the Rock of Gibraltar, where we have posted a look-out, and then on to the Black Sea port at Varna where we will meet his ship and burn it into the sea.

Ending with a rather downbeat, and very dark, installment, the strip follows every other adaptation in condensing the journey to Dracula's castle into as brief a space as possible. It is annoying that the colouring is so suddenly dark as the small band rushes to stop Dracula, as it appears to already be night - "We've got to kill him before the sun sets!" seems, therefore, to be a misplaced line. Its closing pages hammer home the differences here than in other adaptations of the novel, with a tearful Mina delivering the killing blow to the vampire.

"We want no proofs. We ask none to believe us. God be thanked that all has not been in vain - the curse has passed away."

Bloodlines further elaborates on the cinematic success of the film, and offers up ten copies of Redemption's videocassette release of >The Vampire Bat in a competition. A less impressive product given coverage is Scarlett, an attempt by DC Comics to attract the horror crowd - Tom Joyner and Keith S. Wilson's opening issue might have had interesting moments, but quickly faltered, though the piece is strangely quiet on the comic's contents.

Vampirella arrives at a scene of worship, with the cult members in full chant. Attacked by the monster she had seen before, Vampirella defends herself - and makes her presence known, drawing the cult members down on her in force. Chained to an altar, it seems that she will be given as a sacrifice to Nuberus, though Tyler steps in to prevent her death. He admits that his real name is Ethan Shroud, warlock of Old Salem, and first leader of the Companions of Chaos, and professes his love for Vapirella, for which she rebuffs him. The real Tyler returns to life to drag Ethan into the limbo from which he has ventured, and the Crimson Chronicles, which the cult used in their ceremonies, burns...

Dragging out the Van Helsing subplot with a single page of plot development is a touch luxuriant, especially when the strips are being dragged out here, but with such accomplished artwork there is little to gripe about. I have a soft spot for the character, having read through stacks of the Warren originals (back when they could be picked up for 50p each), and it is a joy to see them get another chance to shine here.

The 1977 Louis Jourdan-starring Dracula gets coverage in Transmission Vamp, with some amusing observations from Adrian Rigelsford:

With the current tidal wave of interest in all things Dracula-related, it would seem an ideal time to dig up this Count, but, alas, this does not look like it will ever happen. Apart from the odd clip turning up now and again (and a recent screening at the National Film Theatre), the long-requested release of the production on the retail video market seems [as] unlikely as it has for the past ten years or so, with clearance and rights ownership causing endless problems.

It would turn up on the fifth of April, 1993 on BBC Two, while this issue was still on the shelves. As amusing as it would be to imagine the BBC broadcasting the show deliberately, it is an odd coincidence.

Positive Blood Type (the puns, they keep coming) tackles Anne Billson's Suckers, Poppy Z. Brite's Lost Souls, and The Ultimate Dracula anthology from Dell, with remarkable restraint. Laying off the awful vampire puns altogether would have endeared me more, as it reeks of trashy US horror magazines of the seventies, not one of which retains anything remotely close to charm. Of the books listed, The Ultimate Dracula, with a P.J. Farmer story, sounds the most interesting.

#04

Dracula

#06

Dracula #4

23 Mar 1993 - 14 Apr 1993. £1.25.
36 pages. Full colour & B&W contents.
Dark Horse Comics International.

Edited by Dick Hansom.

Cover by Mike Mignola.
r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #?

Contents:

 2 Dracula Introduction text by Dick Hansom (? uncredited) / Contents / Indicia

 3 Bram Stoker's Dracula, part four, w: Roy Thomas; p: Mike Mignola, i: John Nyberg, lettering by John Costanza, colouring by Mark Chiarello.

r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #04 (Jan 1993).

17 Bloodlines text feature compiled by Dave Hughes; photographs by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

19 Vampirella Who Serves the Cause of Chaos? w: Archie Goodwin; a: Tom Sutton.

r: Vampirella (Warren) #08 (Nov 1970).

33 Inside Coppola's Dracula Untitled, part four, text feature by Gary Gerani & Dave Hughes; photographs by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

34 Salem's Slot review of Salem's Lot (1978) by Seamus Ryan; illustrated by UNKNOWN (uncredited).

35 Subscribe - Comics for the '90s

36 The Galaxy's Greatest Heroes Return in... Classic Star Wars in-house advertisement

The hunt for Dracula begins, and, while Mina sees Renfield, the boxes of Dracula's home soil are purified so that they cannot be used by him. After venting his anger on Renfield for betraying him, Dracula visits Mina - who he convinces to drink of his blood. Knowing that the link between Mina and Dracula can be used to his advantage, Helsing hypnotises Mina.

Some of the colouring decisions make the art too dark in places, with reproduction struggling to cope with the almost-hidden figures on the first page, for example, though for the most part this is an artistic choice which sells the stylized mood. The page which doesn't quite work is when Mina is hypnotised, as the various blues blend into one another. For an adaptation which has, overall, been so strong, this isn't really a problem.

Bloodlines sets its sights on Academy Award nominations for the film, announcing that Bram Stoker's Dracula snagged a nomination in every category of the second Chainsaw Awards, run by Fangoria. The feature's brief, yet tantalising, coverage of Anne Rice's UK promotional tour doesn't state whether the interviews which weren't cancelled were for print or television - small details.

Night blankets a remote area of the rocky mountains, and, softly, silently snow has begun to fall. A cutting wind sends the flakes of white dancing and driving across the rugged landscape to pelt and sting a figure strangely out of place in these surroundings, a girl of unearthly beauty wandering through a winter night. A girl lost in a world not her own...

Vampirella suits the black and white presentation, though it has to be asked - was the finances stretched so tight that some colour could not have been added? After finding herself stranded on a mountain after a plane crash, Vampirella is rescued by Tyler Westron, who takes her to the safety of his retreat for the nervous rich. Vampirella discovers that Tyler is well aware of her alien origins, as she has talked while under sedation, and worse - he has had to amputate her wings. Telling her that he only wishes to aid her, Tyler convinces Vampirella to be patient.

And far from the isolated winter lodge, other events are forming that will in time touch the girl of Drakulon, for as the half-light of dusk settles gloomily over a graveyard in rural Michigan...

Conrad Van Helsing exhumes Kurt's corpse, and, seeing that it is drained of blood, puts a stake through the heart of his dead brother.

Vampirella may not be the most original series ever written, but the effect of so many influences upon this plot assists in creating a larger canvas upon which to paint her adventures. A cult which worships ancient gods, the isolated "hospital" where events play out, a staking in a modern cemetery, a strange monster kept caged in the basement - all of the elements are familiar, yet when woven together in this manner build into something greater than the pieces themselves.

It isn't perfect, however. There are panels which don't work, especially those in which close-ups of major characters don't look like those characters, and the ending trails off, when it should end on a more dramatic note.

No matter the film, reading of the rush to get a completed product in the can in time for its release date, and as Inside Coppola's Dracula makes clear, Bram Stoker's Dracula. had quite a few challenges to overcome. Most interesting of the comments, is mention of the deleted scenes:

Certain elements were lessened or dropped, others amplified. Early test screenings suggested that a little blood goes a long way. Some very sexy scenes were deleted altogether.

So... More deleted scenes than there was on the two-disc DVD release?

As a lifelong Stephen King fan, Salem's Lot always felt like a poor adaptation, whether in its film edit or as a mini-series. Seamus Ryan provides a brief recap of its development, first as a film, then as the eventual mini-series it became, and its sequel. There isn't enough to convince me to give it another chance, and I'm not sure why it is included. Had there been more a involved history of the book and its adaptation it might have been a really useful primer, though without a wealth of detail it merely points to the video's existence.

Stealth marketing at work.

03

Dracula

#05

Dracula #3

02 Mar 1993-22 Mar 1993. £1.25.
36 pages. Full color contents.
Dark Horse Comics International

Edited by Dick Hansom.

Cover by Mike Mignola.
r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #03 (Dec 1992).

Contents:

.2 Dracula introduction text (uncredited). / Contents / Indicia

.3 Bram Stoker's Dracula part three, w: Roy Thomas. p: Mike Mignola, i: John Nyberg, lettering by John Costanza, colouring by Mark Chiarello.

r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #03 (Dec 1992).

31 Inside Coppola's Dracula Of Magic and Monsters, part three, text feature by Gary Gerani.

33 Bloodlines text feature compiled by Dave Hughes.

35 The Galaxy's Greatest Heroes Return in... Classic Star Wars in-house advertisement

36 Total Impact. Total Mayhem. Total Carnage. in-house advertisement.

The printing of the strip isn't as assured as before, with several pages appearing slightly faded in comparison with the first two issues, though as it is a remarkably well-paced and designed adaptation there is little which can seriously hamper enjoyment of proceedings. It is remarkable how well action scenes from the film are replicated, and the handwritten diary entries add a certain gravity to scenes. Mina's diary entries, however, are in type, diminishing some of its credibility.

Gary Gerani covers the classic techniques which Coppola utilized in bringing the film to creation, though frustratingly does not address the pioneers of classic silent film techniques - with so little room to cover everything, there are increasingly blatant omissions in the text. We are given three (small) images from the storyboard, which are uncredited, without only serves to remind us of all the areas uncovered in this micro-history of the film.

In a mightily impressive gesture of cooperation, Dave Hughes covers other horror comics in his Bloodlines feature, starting with Innovation's The Vampire Lestat. It isn't often that comic publishers reach out and highlight other publishers material, although 2000 A.D. have occasionally done so. Marvel's Morbius the Living Vampire, Eclipse's revival of the classic pulp character The Spider: Reign of the Vampire King, along with I Am Legend, and Fantaco's Vampyr! get mentioned, though it is far from a history of horror comics.

Naturally, and depressingly, there is no mention of the great Dracula adaptations to have featured in British comics over the years.

Ellen Datlow's A Whisper of Blood anthology is highlighted in a small column of its' own, albeit without a cover image. While it hasn't bothered me thus far, the amount of blank space surrounding these features is beginning to be noticeable - had better use been made of the few pages given over to the text features there could have been more visual accompaniments to strengthen the words.

Solid and classy horror entertainment.

#02

Dracula

#04

Dracula #2

09 Feb 1993-01 Mar 1993. £1.25.
40 pages. Full colour contents.
Dark Horse Comics International.

Edited by Dick Hansom.

Painted cover by John Bolton.

Contents:

.2 Dracula introduction text (uncredited). / Contents / Indicia

.3 Bram Stoker's Dracula, part two, w: Roy Thomas; p: Mike Mignola, i: John Nyberg, lettering by John Costanzac, colouring by Mark Chiarello.

r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #02 (Nov 1992).

20 Bram Stoker's Dracula glossy full color film poster.

35 Inside Coppola's Dracula The Players, part two, text feature by Gary Gerani.

37 Bloodlines text feature compiled by Dave Hughes.

39 Subscribe - Comics for the '90s

40 Even in Your Dreams, You Can't Escape... Aliens in-house advertisement.

John Bolton's cover injects a cinematic feel to the title's appearance, utilizing a visual cue from Nosferatu, which was based upon the same source novel. It's slightly in-jokey, but he gets away with it thanks to sheer skill. There's an introduction to the adaptation, covering the basics, which is a delight to see, before the adaptation resumes. Truly excellent artwork from Mignola, and despite drenching the pages in black, this never looks muddy or difficult to read - even images coloured dark blue seem to be balanced.

The work really benefits from a larger page size, and is much more attractive than the Topps version.

I'm not entirely sold on the inclusion of the film poster (which has a decidedly rough and ready appearance), but it shouldn't be the primary reason people would want to pick this issue up. It isn't a brilliant design, using far too many filters over the selected images, and the much more effective red logo poster is likely to be better remembered after all these years. Still, it is free...

Inside Coppola's Dracula, Gary Gerani's text feature, covers the cast selection with an eye for minor details. As there isn't much room to play with, he wisely gives a brief account of the preparations Coppola made to get his actors prepared, then moves on to individual pieces on Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Tom Waits, and Sadie Frost. It is a very varied cast, and the disparity in the quality of each performance isn't addressed, but we do get an insight into why they were selected.

Following this, Dave Hughes' Bloodlines, which is general vampire news rather than focusing on Dracula, feels slightly out of sequence. While there are plenty of reference guides to Dracula, relating the important points in the character's history, there hasn't been a proper step-by-step history which takes in everything. By skipping straight to then-current cinematic outings, much of the interesting and odd footnotes are brushed aside.

Can't we get comics which contain features which challenge magazines and websites for their quality of research? It isn't difficult to pull together a truly important and worthwhile history on a character as comprehensively covered as Dracula.

The mention of Cure, a film about AIDS which Coppola was hoping to direct after Dracula is another in a long list of films which never appeared, though yet had people excited at the prospects. It is one which still sounds interesting, and hopefully hasn't been completely forgotten. I've always been interested in medical-themed films, and it has much promise.

Worth picking up for the cover alone, but Mignola's work demands attention.

Dracula #1

Dracula

Dracula #3

Dracula #1

19 Jan 1993-08 Feb 1993. 8⅜"x11¾". £1.25.
36 pages. Paper cover, full color contents.
Dark Horse Comics International

Edited by Dick Hansom.

Cover by Mike Mignola.
r: cover from Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #02 (Nov 1992).

Free cover-mounted badge.

Contents:

.2 Dracula Introduction text by Dave Hansom? / Contents / Indicia

.3 Bram Stoker's Dracula part one, w: Roy Thomas. p: Mike Mignola, i: John Nyberg, c: Mark Chiarello. Lettering by John Costanza.

r: Bram Stoker's Dracula (Topps) #01 (Oct 1992).

31 Inside Coppola's Dracula Inspiration part one, text feature by Gary Gerani.

33 Bloodlines text feature compiled by Dave Hughes.
35 Bram Stoker's Dracula Official Jacket advertisement
36 Even In Your Dreams, You Can't Escape... Aliens in-house advertisement.

There is more to Dracula than the source material and Mignola's stunning artwork. The extremely dark artwork is an iconic adaptation of Coppola's films, worth reading in its own right. The high watermark of adaptations may be Nestor Redondo's classic take on the character, but it hasn't dated well; Mignola's work has a timeless feel which revels in gothic flourishes and pitch-black shadows. Each page contains details which don't necessarily add to the narrative, but add to the tone and mood in delicious ways.

Likenesses aren't Mignola's strong point, and he uses that fact to his advantage by finding the most powerful images for each scene, swapping faithfulness to the source material for artistic expression. This first issue isn't all about the comic, though...

Gary Gerani's text feature on the inspirations for the film takes many well-known facts as a starting point, but doesn't go digging for obscure elements. A great problem when dealing with popular characters is that the majority of adaptations will be largely unknown to the casual reader, and without a list of films and television movies of note, or even a list of notable novels featuring the Count, this feels like a promo piece to get readers interested in seeing the film instead of placing it in a historical perspective.

Dave Hughes notes the success of the film at the Box Office in the US without pointing out how it is performing in other territories, which is slightly annoying. Even a great US take can result in a mediocre profit if the rest of the world shrugs their shoulders. The release of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on video is mentioned, though this seems more like contractual duty than a real love for the film, before getting to the releases which actually matter.

Dracula: The Film and the Legend, released as a tie-in to the Coppola film, really was impressive at the time. The competition is rather stingy, with only five copies being offered to readers, but at least its importance to the overall marketing for the film was acknowledged. The Illustrated Vampire Video Guide is also recommended by Hughes, though problems with the guide aren't covered. It would be interesting to see how many of the books he was pushing have managed, in his estimation, to hold the same level of quality all these years later.

And no, the Illustrated Guide isn't the greatest book about vampires on the big screen.

No comic is ever going to have text articles which even come close to a comprehensive background of the character for one simple reason: space. A list of comic appearances alone is staggeringly long, but taking into account television, film, theatre, and audio adaptations, the sheer amount of information which would need to be conveyed is immense. Had the historical article been allocated six pages in each issue, and beginning with the publication of Stoker's book, Gerani might have had a decent stab at crafting something with lasting importance.

Similarly, with so few words to play with, Dave Hughes didn't have much hope of anything other than cursory observations about the works covered.

A truly great adaptation, printed on excellent paper stock, and with a nice badge thrown in for gratis. The accompanying material may be weak, but this is far from a disappointing package.