Another powerful image from Esteban Maroto welcomes us to the eighth edition of Dark Horse International’s Dracula monthly from 1993, the third issue since the comic lost its connection to the new film. It’s the strongest issue yet under its new guise, with no less than three enjoyable strips. The main 12-page Dark Legend A-Borning: Part One is again written by Roy Thomas, drawn by Esteban, coloured by Paul Mounts and lettered by John Costanza. Castle Dracula is complete. In a year? It does lead to showing a bit of Vlad’s dark wit, though. Many didn’t survive the build and those that did were impaled for their treachery. He explains, “Castle Dracula became, in essence, their… life’s work.”
The man thought he was hilarious. He also seems to live in his own little world. Above you can see examples of how he saw himself. Perhaps an insight into how evil men somehow still see themselves as the hero of their story. Throughout Transylvania others don’t share his opinion and are rising up to challenge him. So Vlad sends an emissary to convince the people to swear loyalty to him. When they continue to rise up he says giving them a chance was the Christian thing to do but now he’ll kill them all. During one such slaughter he comes across a woman whose husband has been slain and this leads to the most horrific moment in the series thus far.
The comic glosses over some of the history, such as his hatred towards the Germanic communities: “The reasons are historically complicated and, in the end, unimportant”. Then again, the strip works best when it focusses on key moments rather than trying to squeeze everything in. A former Hungarian ally by the name of Benedict De Boither meets with Vlad in a particularly gruesome scene where he’s eating a feast in a field surrounded by his victims slowly dying on spikes. De Boither is terrified and grovels at his feet. In return for this undying loyalty (if he isn’t loyal, he’ll die) he’s made ambassador: “For you know how to speak to one ruler on behalf of another”.
The war continues and we see montages of monasteries being burned, monks fleeing, and Vlad in shock that they’d then tell stories that made him out to be a monster. Only Mehmed the Conqueror remains on his long list of enemies and when he sends envoys to see Vlad what do you think happens? No prizes for guessing. Then, above, Pope Pius II isn’t exactly Leo XIV when he calls for death to unbelievers and Vlad is quick to step up. As you can see there are a few digs at the church, such as others not wanting to partake in this so-called “crusade” because of a lack of guaranteed riches.
I’m feeling more enthused about the Vlad the Impaler story as it develops. It’s moved on from a crammed, drab history book with fantastic art to a gripping retelling of history with fantastic art. I think that first chapter had a lot of ground to cover to get us to his adult life and his positions of power, which of course would be the time of most interest to fans of the film. Splitting it in two was necessary here but that ended up giving a bad impression of the strip in #6. That chapter’s second part (the following month) and now this month’s are quite the thrill ride. I just hope we get to the end before cancellation!
Dave Hughes’ Bloodlines news pages start off well with some James Bond song lyrics that are only there because they suit the subject at hand. Still, I’ve got the song in my head now. News is thin on the ground it seems and I take issue with the seeming indignation that the director of Pretty Woman can direct something completely different, or the shock that Gary Oldman is also directing.
Can you imagine what would be written here when (the excellent) Tom Cruise was announced as the lead for Interview with a Vampire? I’ve always been fascinated with how writers, actors and directors can turn their hands to different projects, but if Twitter over the years has shown us anything it’s that others are far too quick to judge. Even Anne Rice herself fell foul of this but would later recant when she saw Tom in the role during filming. Maybe we’ll get to the end of the comic’s run before the announcement?
José González takes over art duties on the 11-page classic Vampirella back up strip. Only credited online with this character he won awards for bringing her to the page over a long period of time. He’s credited with creating the style for her and her strip that’s been used ever since. There’s definitely a more mature, gothic horror vibe to it this month and for the first time it’s not a complete tale.
Part one of Death’s Dark Angel is written as always by Archie Goodwin. Beginning with the deaths of two grave robbers by a demon, we find out it’s a less powerful one than Vampirella has dealt with previously but it’s still bargaining with humans, including a vile rich man called Mr. Wade. Wade has less than a year to live yet still ignores his doctors, having lived far beyond his predicted lifespan thanks to a deal with this demon (another follower of Chaos) for his eternal soul after he passes.
As you can see Wade could just as easily be the villain in a modern strip, so this issue’s story feels more contemporary. Especially when a local cop corrupted by Wade’s wealth and power fabricates crimes in order to bring in the Helsings. The demon captures Vampirella but, sensing something different about her, spares her and chains her up instead. The Helsings have been captured in order to confirm whether she could grant Wade eternal life as one of the undead. Of course, once they’re in the same room as her Conrad reacts accordingly! Surely it’s time for Adam to step up and save her after everything that’s happened so far?
This brings back the mystery at the heart of their story arc. Vampirella was indeed on the same plane as the brother of Conrad Van Helsing when it was struck by lightning and crashed, and when Conrad dug up the grave he discovered bite marks on his neck and drove a stake through his heart. (Just to be sure.) He blames Vampirella but, while she did have to feed off humans before the serum she now uses, we don’t know if she fed on his brother or whether her feeding killed.
The only downside to this chapter is Vampirella herself doesn’t have much to do other than be kidnapped. Saying that, her presence is always felt because she’s still what drives the story for all of the other characters. For the first time I’m actually feeling empathy for the lead and I’m hoping for some revelations and development next time. From not-so-great beginnings she’s now the best part of the comic.
In #5 we had the pleasure of a short extra back up strip and I’m pleased to say another from the 60s US comic Creepy (where Vampirella’s strips are lifted from) is included here. Taken from the first issue it’s written by Archie and drawn by Reed Crandal (Tales From the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, Flash Gordon) and the inhabitants of a spooky town are being terrorised by a string of murders apparently committed by a vampire.
We meet a newly married couple, in which the wife is constantly trying to convince her husband they should go out more, that being in bed all day and awake all night isn’t natural. He argues that’s when he must work and when they can also enjoy the nightlife. To begin with it reads awfully old fashioned. Why didn’t she know about his way of life before getting married? The set up seems ridiculous but something struck me about that breakfast juice being all she needed on the page above.
Throughout its six pages are we really supposed to think she’s so stupid as to not realise he’s a vampire? The hints are so obvious we question why she can’t see what’s right in front of her. That is, until the final page. She finally susses it out and opens the curtain to let the sunlight in but she’s the one who dies! It’s a great little tale and just the sort of thing this comic should have more of. Both of these little one-off strips so far have had excellent twists that I didn’t fully see coming. In both I was convinced I knew what it was going to be and both times I’ve been happily proven wrong.
The feature about the role-playing game mentioned on the cover takes two pages to tell us absolutely nothing about it, then on the Fang Mail letters page the results of a competition produced a surprisingly funny moment. It’s also announced that Vampirella will be the cover star next month, showing how important she’s become to the comic. Alternatively, maybe editor Dick Hansom knew the end was near and didn’t want to commission a new cover and it’ll just be a classic Creepy one. We’ll find out in five weeks.
This has been a fantastic issue. While the features may be lacking compared to those in previous issues the three strips are some of the best of the whole run. The comic is really finding its feet after the transition from ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula‘ to simply ‘Dracula‘. Unfortunately many jumped ship when the transition happened and missed out on this. We’ll find out if they missed more goodness when #9 comes to the blog on Sunday 17th August 2025.
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