Tomb of Dracula - Gene Colan, Tom Palmer,& Marv Wolfman

Following the liberalisation of the comics code in 1971 Marvel comics responded by publishing a series of monster and vampire themed comic books which featured lead characters as diverse as werewolves, vampires and the sons and daughters of Satan. While most of these comics were successful one title stood out, "The Tomb of Dracula " by the team of Marv Wolman and Gene Colan. Despite the titles lead character being the actual villain of the piece this was a great title that mixed horror with soap opera with wonderful art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. The title lasted for 70 issues covering the period 1972 until 1979 spawning a US monthly title (1972-75) and an 87 issue UK weekly comic both titled “Dracula Lives”. Marvel have rebooted their version of Dracula several times but none of these have come anywhere near to the original and best Dracula series.

Above (and at header) from Tomb of Dracula #1 - The pages where we first encountr Marvel's Dracula has always stuck with me ever since I first read this in the UK "Dracula Lives" title in 1975. Cifton Graves a friend (its complicted) of the titles hero Frank Drake,does not die from this attack and is later turned into Dracula's personal valet, before eventually being killed. Below some of my favourite splash pages from my sadly limited US ToD run:

Tomb of Dracula #7

Tomb of Dracula #14

Tomb of Dracula # 30

Tomb of Dracula #35

Tomb of Dracula #38

Tomb of Dracula #68

Above: From the one off special edition of "The Silver Surfer Vs Dracula" (originally publsihed in ToD #50) my favourite Dracula cross over (and there have been a few)

Bring on the back ups - Deadman by Neal Adams- Aquaman #50, 51, & 52

As the dark nights draw closer as we await the arrival of Winter I thought I would take the opportunity to check up on some of my old mystery/horror comics - in this case "Aquaman" issues 50- 52 from 1970. Although Aquaman is not a horror /mystery character the back up feature "Deadman" ticks that box for me. These 3 Aquaman comics contain some of the best art of any comic book at this time with all issues featuring a striking Nick Cardy cover with Jim Aparo on the main Aquaman strip, and the legendary Neal Adams on the back up Deadman tale - how lucky were we back inthe day? Below are some sample pages from the 3 issue Deadman tale - enjoy:

Above: the cover to Aquaman #50 which featured the first part of the 3 issue Deadman tale. I only purchased this issue a few weeks ago in Glasgow as part of my recent back issue binge.

Above: The cover to Aquaman #51 - This issue was one of the very first back issue purchases which I bought back in 1981/2 from AKA books and comics in Glasgow.

In a nice twist, the last part of this story links up to the then current Aquaman tale which featured Jim Aparo's art on some panels.

Above: The cover to Aquaman issue 52 (purchased around 1983 in AKA ) - Despite the excellent art and stories (and covers) amazingly the "Aquaman" title would only last for another 4 issues before it was cancelled.

The DC Explosion & Implosion plus the proposed end of Detective Comics

In 1978 DC began a marketing campaign that would introduce a wave of new comics in an attempt to gain ground on the the publishing juggernaut that was Marvel comics. This initiative would be called the "DC Explosion" and it would not go well for DC comics.

The "DC Explosion" began in mid-1978 with an advertising campaign featuring several full-page adverts highlighting a series of new comics including Firestorm, Vixen, and Steel: The Indestructible Man. Along with the new titles and back-up features came an increase in the page count which also brought with it an increase in the cover price.

Above and below some of the "DC Explosion" adverts that appeared in various DC titles throughout June - August 1978.

Unfortunately, due to a series of factors the planned increase in sales never happened as not only did the new comics not appeal to many readers, the late 1970's heralded a worldwide economic decline, and severe winter weather in many parts of the US led to delays in the new comics being shipped. Within a few months the "DC Explosion" would become known as the " DC Implosion" with around 30 titles being cancelled including Our Army at War, House of Secrets, Kamandi,The Witching Hour, All Star Comics, Black Lightening and Firestorm.In addition many of the planned titles like "Vixen" were pulled from the schedules.

Perhaps the most shocking result of this event was that DC's flagship title "Detective Comics" was considered for cancelation from issue 480 (cover from DC fandom). However, a last minute reprieve was given and the title was merged with the better selling "Batman Family" comic" with issue 481 - More this in my next blog.

While on the face of it this was a bad time for comics in the 1970's the "Implosion" led directly to DC offering royalties to it's creators and expanding their talent pool by recruiting better artists and writers from the US, UK and other countries.

Favourite Comics: Marvel Premiere - Dr Strange #3 - Barry Smith & Stan Lee

As mentioned in my previous post I have been on a bit of a back-issue comic buying spree recently picking up some of the comics I either used to own but gave away or comics that I lusted after but missed first time around. In relation to “Marvel Premiere” #3 this was a comic that I had always wanted but never saw in my local newsagents at the time, so when a copy became available in my local comic store, I snapped it up. I first read this story in #93 of the UK weekly "Avengers" comics back in June 1975 and as “cool” as the story was back then, nothing compares to the "magic" that the original 1970's US colour versions provided. Enjoy:

In this story “While the World Spins Mad!” Doctor Strange’s enemy is unknown with only a riddle given by the venerated Ancient One as to his foe's true identity (it’s Nightmare!). While the threat he faces is real, it pales in comparison to what is actually happening to him in the real world. Although Steve Ditko and Gene Colan will always be "my" Dr Strange artists, Smiths art in this issue is on par with these 2 giants of the genre and I would have loved to have seen him draw more Dr Strange comics (apart from "Marvel Premiere" #4, which I will now be on the look out for).

Above: Cover of Avengers weekly (UK) #93 - There is review of this issue of the UK Avengers in the excellent "Power of the BeeSting" blog that focuses on UK Marvel.

Major Matt Mason - the comic book that wasn't ?! by Denny O'Neil and Murphy Anderson

I have recently been on a bit of a comic buying spree, in large part due to the fact that my local comic store (Forbidden Planet, Glasgow) has been in receipt of several large back issue collections from folk who have for whatever reason, decided to cash in their collections (one I heard had sadly passed away and his wife was selling his old comics) . Two comics that I picked up as part of my “spree” were issue 7 & 8 of DC’s SF reprint comic “From Beyond the Unknown” purchased on a whim as they were only £3 each. On skimming through these issues, it became clear that one strip “Earth Shall Not Die starring Cmdr. Glen Merritt” by Denny O’Neil and Murphy Anderson, was not a reprint. On checking this tale online, it seems that this story was to have been the first issue of a comic book based on the Mattel toy “ Major Matt Mason”. However, for some reason the licensing deal between DC and Mattel fell apart so rather than waste the story DC split the story into 2 parts and released it under the name Commander Glen Merritt in issue 7&8 of “From Beyond the Unknown”.

Back in 1966 as the US was working on landing a man on the moon, Mattel had released the Major Matt Mason astronaut action figure. The figure was a massive success in the US with many adverts (example above) appearing in US comics.

Above the cover to "From Beyond the Unknown” #7 and example pages from the first Commander Glen Merritt tale.

Above the cover to "From Beyond the Unknown” #8 and example pages from the last episode witht he finaql page of the story hinting that Commander Glen Merritt may return, which (as far as I am aware) he never did.