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Post by richardwrite on Oct 19, 2017 21:39:39 GMT -5
VOL. 1, ISSUE 4: Drac meets the woman who bought his castle, the mysterious Ilsa...who seems very unafraid of the Count. Ilsa, who has that weird thing that afflicts some Marvel women where most of her hair is dark but a small strand in the front is grey, is prepared with crucifix in hand. She eventually puts down the cross and tells Drac that she has a deal: If he turns her into a vampire, she will give him access to the Magic Mirror on the Wall (er, the "black mirror.") It gives him the power to travel to other dimensions....and other times. Unfortunately right as Ilsa is about to tell Dracula (and US) why this should be important to him, he hits her and interrupts her and none of us find out.
Elsewhere, Frank and Rachel run unto the very shady and now very vampire-enslaved Cliff, when Frannk socks him good. They then track down Drac to Ilsa's place.....Rachel's assistant Taj accompanying them. Ilsa finds some blood to eat, Drac the Bat attacks Frank, and Taj pulls out an admittedly very nifty modern-day vampire-fighting tool: a flashlight with a cross silhouette, which he used to scare away the Vampire.
Anyhoo, a couple cool things happen: 1) Ilsa finds out the Count tricked her. She thought that by being turned into a vampire, she'd return to her young self, but in reality, being a vampire just means she'd never get older than her current age. 2) Drac steps through the black mirror.....but in a surprise twist, pulls Taj along with him....which will no doubt mean a trip through the mirror for our vampire hunters in the next ish.
Some thoughts: * Where did that cool hat that Drac wore last issue go? I miss it. * I know this isn't going to happen, but it seems like Drac would immediately have tried to find some more contemporary clothes for himself. As is, it looks like he's trying to look like.....well, Dracula. You know, the movie vampire. * Nice touch, though, betraying Ilsa by not telling her the truth about vampirism and aging. Very sinister and Drac-like. I liked this issue.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 16, 2017 16:55:42 GMT -5
Nice review, though I have to disagree with you about Frank Drake. I find him to be one of the most annoying comic book characters of all time, right up there with Rick Jones. Still, I may be remembering him from later issues, maybe he wasn't annoying in issues 1 & 2. By the way, if you like these issues, I think you'll enjoy the run in general. It gets even better around #12. Yes, that seems to be the general consensus....around issue 12, I mean.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 16, 2017 16:54:14 GMT -5
VOL. 1, ISSUE 3 In issue 3, the direction of the series starts to solidify a bit: Rachel Van Helsing, descendent of Drac's original arch-rival, makes her first appearance. Frank Drake is feeling sorry for himself because of Jean's demise at the count's hands and Rachel gives the ol' pep talk to tell him if he wants to do something about it, join with her on her quest to stop Dracula and other vampires. Frank agrees.
But while Rachel is recruiting for her team, Drac is doing the same....tracking down Cliff and using those good ol' vampire powers to get into Cliff's mind and make him his new man-slave. Through him, Drac finds where his coffin was left...in the hotel where Frank had it taken, and he shows Cliff why it was so important to him: He's hidden gold within the coffen, which Cliff takes to exchange for real money (20th century cash). Meanwhile, Rachel schools Franky in the weapons of vampire hunting (stakes and garlic and crosses, in case he'd never seen a vampire movie in his life). Later, the vampire hunters return to the coffin and find inside....the hotel porter, who Drac had killed. They're then discovered by the spiffily-dressed vampire. Rachel tries to attack with a crossbow but he disappears in bat form, and soon is looking for the person who bought his ancestral castle. He tracks her down and finds out Ilsa is her spooky-sounding name and that she is very much NOT afraid of him.....and invites him to come in so she can make him a proposal.
I enjoyed this issue the most of the first 3 issues so far. Art is pretty good....moody and I love the clothes on Drac (the hat he wears is a nice touch). Good immediate chemistry between Rachel and Frank.
I am a huge DARK SHADOWS fan and I see a lot of parallels between the early issues of this series and the show which had ended a few years prior. For instance, in DS, the crooked guy who discovered and opened Barnabas's coffin was Willy, and he became the poor fool that Barnabas enslaved as his man-servant. And Barnabas encounters a powerful woman (Julia) who knows his secret and seeks to enter into a partnership with him....similar to Drac and Ilsa...Could be coincidence....either way, loved the TV show, love this series.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 14, 2017 18:25:25 GMT -5
I don't do lengthy or convoluted writing....so these review posts will be concise.
As a kid, I ignored Tomb of Dracula for two reasons: I was much more interested in superheroes and I just couldn't fathom following a character who is the very definition of evil. Glad I finally got around to it, because the creative team made the wise choice of making Drac the antagonist in his own book.....with the heroes being a team dedicated to tracking him down. As of the first few issues, Frank Drake and Rachel Van Helsing are very likable and "cheer-worthy" (Frank is Dracula's descendant and Rachel is Dr. Van Helsing's).
ISSUES 1-2. In this opening act of the series, Frank Drake, once a wealthy man, has nearly lost everything when he finds out he has inherited the castle of his ancestor: DRACULA. He travels with his girlfriend and "friend" Clifton to visit the castle. In expected horror fashion, Cliffy turns out to be a shady, greedy type and, off on his own, falls through a floor and right into the room where Drac's coffin lies. Thinking something valuable is probably inside (because isn't there always something valuable in a dead man's coffin?), he opens it. Why he thought it would be a good idea to then pull out the wooden stake from Dracula's corpse is beyond me, but he does and Cliffy becomes Drac's first victim of the 20th century.....not bitten just that he becomes an eventual tool for Drac. Soon after, Drac sees Jean meandering and sinks his teeth into her.Frank learns the truth about Jean and that Drac is alive, and having become thoroughly familiar with Bram Stoker's book....steals "Dracula's hideous coffin" (No joke, that's actually how Frank describes it.... I mean, who talks like that?). At first, Frank seems to think Cliffy is still on his side with the whole coffin-snatching.
Afterward, Frank and Cliff make it to a hotel room where Frank is greeted by a now-very-pale Jean whose eyeballs have been replaced by skulls (again, not joking). While Drac is out prowling around in some spiffy duds and a hot to cover his pointy ears, Jean tries to win Cliff to her side, Frank struggles with what to do about Jean....kill her? Love her? Drac flies through the door and Jean orders Cliff to kill Frank. Cliff is as useless as ever, so Drac attacks Frank, throws him around a few times, Jean attacks Cliffy, and Fran finds the remains of a table leg, fashioned as a perfect stake which he rams through Jean's heart. Finally, seeing the sun coming up, Drac makes for the window and the sun rays finish off Jean. And somehow, the melted remains of what had been Jean spit out, "I don't hurt anymore." The end of the first 2 issue arc.
My thoughts? I was pretty captivated by the characters and plot but thought the dialogue was pretty hoaky in parts. I've since learned the plotter was not the writer of the dialogue, so maybe that's why. But it's good fun and I'm looking forward to continuing the series. The art is appropriately dark and moody....with Dracula being a bit goofier than I'd like.
More coming soon.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 11, 2017 12:33:14 GMT -5
I was a huge Dark Shadows fan, and I think it's hooked me from the start because the spirit of the issues reminds me of that show.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 11, 2017 12:21:02 GMT -5
Richard, why not post your review of each issue you read on Tomb of Dracula. I am sure all of us would appreciate reading them, and those that has read it can provide comments as well. And those that are interested can have questions about it. Great idea. I'm going to read the suggested guidelines for doing reviews for this forum and do that. Thanks for the idea.
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 11, 2017 12:02:43 GMT -5
In preparation for Halloween, I'm reading vol. 1 of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula, which I bypassed as a child in favor of superheroes. I was wondering what the general consensus is on this series. I'm up to issue 5 and, to be honest, it's the first series in a long, long time that has made me anxious to see what happens in the next issue. I just feel that sometimes, the art makes Drac look.....odd, but the stories I'm loving. But what is the overall opinion of this series?
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Post by richardwrite on Oct 8, 2017 21:10:56 GMT -5
For October, I want to touch on some classic horror stuff for Halloween, what I'd like to get to includes -Marvel's The Monster of Frankenstein-I picked up the trade in a $5 trade box earlier this year and haven't gotten to it -BPRD-most of what I don't own for this is available on Hoopla, and I intend to at least get to the Plague of Frogs collections -I am long overdue for a reread of Alan Moore's Swamp Thing -Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1 & 2 Great idea! You've inspired me to read the entire first volume of Tomb of Dracula on Marvel Unlimited.
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 18, 2015 7:59:48 GMT -5
Continuing on my "Year Before" project, in which I read a year's worth of Marvel comics that covered the 12 months prior to my first month of reading them (I started July 1975, so I'm reading July 1974 to June 1975)....
This week I only managed to get two books..... Captain America and the Falcon 178 by Steve Engelhard and Sal Buscema. I see that Marvel was already experimenting with the "Cap quits" idea back then. Still it was nice seeing The Falcon get some serious time versus "Lucifer.". Interesting concept that a "villain," Lucifer was manifested in two people's bodies simultaneously. An okay story.
....Much better was Amazing Spiderman 138, in which Spidey again takes on the Harry Osborn version of the Green Goblin. Harry tells the police at the end that Peter Parker is Spiderman, and when they ask how he knows, he says "Because I'm the Green Goblin." And of course, this shoots his credibility in their eyes. This really reminded me of the end of Batman Forever, in which Jim Carrey's Riddled says he knows who Batman is...... and then says it's him. Oh this one was by Gerry Conway and Ross Andrus (one of my favorite Spider-man artists, because his characters such as Pete and MJ and Aunt May looked so traditional, as defined by John Tomita's classic looks.
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 16, 2015 7:17:13 GMT -5
Not an original selection, but Michelinie and Layton set a standard for Iron Man that's hard for anyone to ever top.
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 12, 2015 13:03:01 GMT -5
As I've mentioned elsewhere, I've embarked on a journey to read all of the Marvel titles that I read as a kid, but in the 12 months prior to the month when I started reading. I started reading in July 1975, so I have 12 months of titles to read, starting with those published in July of 1974 and going through June of 1975. This week, I read: FANTASTIC FOUR 151, by Gerry Conway and Rich Buckler.....in which Mahkizmo follows Thundra from the future into the present to kill her; INCREDIBLE HULK 180, by Len Wein and Herb Trimpe, in which Greenskin fights Wendigo (after a failed plan to transfer the spirit of Wendigo into Hulk's body), and wherein we see our first ever glimpse of Wolverine in the last panel; and DEFENDERS 16, by Len Wein and Sal Buscema, in which the Defenders take on Magneto and Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant.
I have to say, Sal Buscema, to me, draws a very good Hulk and Dr. Strange.
Today I plan to tackle Spiderman vs. Harry Osborn's Green Goblin.
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 12, 2015 8:38:52 GMT -5
I'm seeing more info about the upcoming SUICIDE SQUAD movie, plus I saw the animated movie (Assault on Arkham or something like that). So I think I'd like to check them out, having never read any of the books. Which series should I read--and do all of them "reboot" the concept, as though the other had never happened?
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 11, 2015 9:47:21 GMT -5
I seem to recall a horrible, horrible storyline in MTIO where The Thing was a professional wrestler. Or was that just a nightmare?
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 11, 2015 9:41:09 GMT -5
Maybe they can team with Hanna-Barbara and produce 1000 hours worth of FRED AND BARNEY MEET THE TH8ING. ("Thing Ring, Do Your Thing!"
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Post by richardwrite on Jul 8, 2015 16:52:24 GMT -5
My votes have to go for those with a lasting legacy. For that reason: 1. Archie Comics -- One of the only ones on that list to have movies, radio shows and TV shows made after its characters. 2. Harvey Comics--Same thing, movies and TV shows testify to their legacy. 3. Gold Key for bringing a lot of properties from other media to comics 4. Fawcett--solely because of the impact in other media of Captain Marvel. 5. Image Comics--Of the ones that are left, the current great that makes the Big Two take notice.
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