It's vampire vs. vampire, in the haunted backlots of Hollywood! Hey, a vampire at least only takes 10%!Sorry, I couldn't help doing an agent joke. Let's move on to the issue at hand, shall we?
Great cover by Earl Norem, with people dying all over the place. The main story is "Fear Stalker" by Marv Wolfman, Mike Ploog, and Ernie Chua, about a fake Dracula vs. the real one in Hollywood. Hard making the Lord of the Undead the heroic protagonist in a story, but Wolfman always managed to pull it off.
Next is a text feature, "In Search of Dracula: A True History of Dracula and Vampire Legends" by Chris Claremont, then a reprint tale, "When Calls the Vampire!" with art by Joe Maneely, about a small village plagued by some one--or some thing--that drinks human blood!
Next is "This Blood Is Mine!" by Gardner Fox and Dick Ayers, about a vain woman who is willing to make a deal with Dracula to stay young and vital. Then we get two more text features, "Yes, Marv Wolfman Is His Real Name!" and a review of the Hammer film The Horror of Dracula by Gerry Boudreau.
"Of Royal Blood!" is another reprint tale, this time drawn by Tony Mortellaro, a goofily gruesome tale of a guy who keeps offing his daughter's potential suitors because he doesn't think they're good enough. But then he hears about a Count that's interested in her...
The final tale is "Look Homeward, Vampire!" by Gerry Conway and Vincente Alcazar, about someone with the stones to break in and take over Dracula's castle! Beatiful art job by Alcazar, with lush line work and nice wash effects. It's a solid story, but one of those cases where the art for it really puts it over the top.
All in all, an ok issue--the new Dracula is good, and "Of Royal Blood!" is diverting, but the rest is a tad dull, at least compared to previous issues. Oh well, I'm sure the Count will come out swinging next issue!
1 comment:
That's a fantastic cover!
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