Dracula Lives! #13 - Marvel

The final regular issue of Dracula Lives! (appropriately number thirteen) features a cover by Earl Norem that both amuses and puzzles me--first off, it looks like Dracula has crossed over onto a Paperback Romance book cover. Second, it's clearly daylight in this picture! What the?!?

Anyway, after a Drac pin-up by Vincente Alcazar, we open with "Bounty for a Vampire" by our pal Tony Isabella and Tony DeZuniga. It opens up with an old-fashioned gunslinger on the hunt for a vampire, and for a moment, with the DeZuniga art and all, you think "hey! Jonah Hex vs. Dracula!"

It has a fabulous unexpected ending--a gory, nasty kick-in-the-pants one. A fun story.

Next is "Bloody Mary" by Rick Margopolous, George Tuska, and Virgilio Redondo, which opens up with the comical image of Dracula--wild cape and all--cruising at a singles' bar. Hey, is that a wooden stake in your pocket or are you just happy to see me? Tuska's art doesn't add a lot of mood, but the events that transpire are so grim it sorta works anyway.

Next is "The Toad" by Tom Sutton--and when you have a piece written and drawn by Sutton, you know you're in for a weird, out-there story. A grim morality tale, where the lesson is the monsters are not always who you think they are. Sutton's work is simultaneously moody, sad, and funny.

Next is "A Dracula Portfolio" by Russ Heath, featuring three incredibly moody full-page illustrations, including this startlingly sexy/violent one of Lillith:
...I feel conflicted.

Last is "Blood of My Blood!" by Gerry Conway and Steve Gan, a flashback tale about how Dracula ended up the ruler of his land, and how he actually showed mercy to his people.

An enjoyable issue--the first and last stories are very enjoyable, and the Russ Heath portfolio is especially cool--it's a shame that Dracula Lives! ended here, and that it seems that no one at the magazine knew it was happening; there's no mention anywhere in this issue of it being the last one.

*sigh*