Below I'm posting some pages from Tomb of Dracula #69, in particular the sequence I bring up in the column, the sequence that rocked my little socks B in the D. And excuse me, the third panel on the last page, page 27? Where the "dead ones laugh"? Fuck that. That's some GD scary shit. I'm telling you, this comic blew me the eff away no matter how many times I read it.
And yes, I got this issue signed by writer Marv Wolfman and the amazing amazing amazing penciller Gene Colan. I'm not one to get my comics signed, but this one is sort of special for me- it's the first comic book I remember buying (not this actual copy, mind you- that one is long gone) and it really helped put little Final Girl on the road to horror & comic...err, glory. Or something.
Holy crap, it smells like nerd in here.
Clicken ze images to embiggen, and check out a few horrifying pages from the penultimate issue of one of the finest horror comics ever produced.
If you want to read the series yourself- and I know you do- then I suggest picking up the first three volumes of Marvel's Essential Tomb of Dracula. Sure, the books are reprinted in black and white, but that only serves to make Colan's art more delicious. You can get the entire run- 70 issues!- for only a little more than cover price. I'm talking 1970's cover prices, babies! Whatta steal!
Volume One - Volume Two - Volume Three
There's even a Volume Four which reproduces many Dracula tales from other Marvel horror mags and includes killer art from the likes of heavyweights Colan, John Buscema, and Neal Adams.
Man, I should get some sort of endorsement fee or something. Meh. You know what? Making you happy is all the payment I need.
AWW, I SAY.
Goddamnit, woman... just when I think you couldn't possibly inflame me any, uh, you know, more inflamed, you pull Tomb of Dracula out of your fishnets. Which I imagine you wearing.
ReplyDeletePS. Remember when Dracula bit the guy in the iron lung?
ReplyDeleteI understand that ibuprofen can help with inflammations.
ReplyDeleteOf course I blog in fishnets. All girls do. And boys do it barechested save those little Chippendales bow ties, right?
Mine's a clip-on.
ReplyDelete::straightens bowtie::
ReplyDeleteGood column as usual, Stacie! Plus, thank you for the word "dhampir." I cannot believe I'd never seen that before. Now, of course, I'm going to go insane trying to figure out the original phonology of the "dh" at the beginning (first reaction: probably just a voiced d). But that's an awesome piece of nerd-folklore that I'd somehow missed.
And I'm glad you finally saw 30 Days of Night!
And compliments on the fishnets. They go very well with your "sexy vampire" corset and bat-barrette.
Zombies laughing (or showing any kind of emotion) is a terrifying prospect. Thanks for putting me on, I'll have to check these out.
ReplyDeleteI think the real question here is, What comics are YOU working on, Stacie?
ReplyDeleteAck! I didn't know there were four volumes out. I have the first two and totally agree that Colan's artwork looks uber cool in B&W!
ReplyDeleteGene Colan is one of my artistic gods. His stuff looks like it's going to DRIP off the page. It's amazing.
ReplyDeleteSo is the Essential ToD, which I've got.
As usual, great taste, Stacie!
I still treasure my ToD #44, where Doctor Strange and Blade show up. I remember thinking "Shit! Wong got BIT!"
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just watched the new feature-length Doctor Strange animated film on Veoh. It was surprisingly kickass.
Gene Colan is so great! I don't know how to describe it... the fluid way he depicts motion on the page? He, Alex Toth, and Jack Kirby are my comic book artist trinity. Oh God, now my nerd is showing! Great stuff, SP!
ReplyDeleteSo the Hack/Slash omnibus is something I should pick up then?
ReplyDeleteColan is amazing, one of my all time favorites. You can read a complete, early career Gene Colan vampire story from the 50's pre-code Atlas era here:
ReplyDeletehttp://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2008/03/vampires-also-die.html
I love Tomb of Dracula like it was my own blood-sucking kid. There aren't a lot of other comics that are as awesome from first issue to last as Tomb of Dracula was. I miss the days when Dracula was a regular presence in the Marvel universe (heck, he even popped up in an issue of Star Trek).
ReplyDeleteThere was a (possibly unauthorized) Japanese animated adaptation of it. Saw it years ago, and had a hard time convincing people that it existed until recently.
Unbeatable penciller/inker combos:
ReplyDeleteJack Kirby and Joe Sinnott!
And Gene Colan and Tom Palmer! Man!
Meanwhile, I don't know what it is about you, Ms. Final Girl, but when you post animal pictures... JESUS, they ARE OH-SO-DAMN-FRIGGIN' CUTE!
I STILL can't get that cutie pie kitten with the big ass tongue out of my head... dammit!