“T” Is For …
… Tomb of Dracula! (1972)
There are some decent books in the “T” zone but there’s really only one choice for me. Tomb of Dracula remains one of the best examinations of a bad guy in comics.
The long and masterful run by Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan, and Tom Palmer was unique for Marvel — a full-fledged comics series where the main character was the villain. What makes it work are the richly-developed cast of vampire hunters that dog Dracula’s heels, and the characterization of Dracula himself as a fallen noble made cruel and evil by the violent life he has led.
Unlike they sympathetic vampires of contemporary literature, Dracula is a genuinely bad guy — he kills random people and chews the scenery with flowery villainous soliloquies that might make Doctor Doom blush. When he’s not busy slaughtering the innocent, he’s busy living up to his title as Lord of the Vampires and fighting with the forces of heaven and hell for dominion over the earth and his own soul. Plus he has a murderous family and a child who is some kind of messiah. It gets pretty wild.
A landmark book … and while it is a little melodramatic, it is still well worth reading today.
Honorable Mentions:
- Tales of Suspense (1959)
- Tales to Astonish (1959)
- Tarzan (1977)
- Thor (1966)
- Tarzan (1972)
- Thriller (1983)
Read more about Tomb of Dracula at Longbox Graveyard:
- Tomb of Dracula Gallery
- Reopening The Tomb of Dracula
- Doctor Strange vs. Dracula!
- Tomb It May Concern
Tell me about your own favorite “T” books in the comments, below!
Check out the complete Longbox Graveyard Comics A-To-Z HERE!
Posted on February 21, 2018, in Comics A-To-Z and tagged Tomb of Dracula. Bookmark the permalink. 7 Comments.
dangvozden
Paul O'Connor
Kris (not Chris)
markginocchio
miloapama
Dean Compton
Moya
ryanmcswain
Longbox Graveyard 
Tomb of Dracula is one of my favourite series, such great stories and artwork.
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It is the long run by the same creative team that puts it over the top for me. In parts it hasn’t aged well … but it remains greater than the sum of its parts.
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In some ways, perhaps. I just really love this book and the team that worked on it. Mind you, it’d be nice if creative teams on modern comics stuck around a bit longer IMOP, it’s starting to feel like a revolving door of creative teams with all the relaunches and reboots we get. Guess that’s why I harken back to this era of comics so fondly.
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I have to go with Thor here, though Tomb of Dracula would be a worthy second. Tales to Astonish and Tales of Suspense have had their moments, too, as well as Tales of the New Teen Titans, of course.
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I love Thor, too — the Kirby run (and the Simonson era) are all-timers. Thor’s mythology and supporting cast elevate it about standard superhero fare, too — the worldbuilding is spectacular. But Tomb of Dracula still gets the nod for me, given the long and consistent run from the core creators, and the near-unique positioning of a villain at the center of the book. Tough choice, though.
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It is interesting that Marv Wolfman could simultaneously have Dracula often serve as the book’s protagonist *and* make him irredeemably evil.
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I especially loved that Drac chewed the scenery every issue with full-on supervillain soliloquies, right down to the maniacal laughter. He was a “villain” with a big “V” and I loved him for it. Dracula was unique in this book — before John Carpenter’s Halloween came out in 1978, we never got to see the monster win.
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