Look at that : "Who Stole My Coffin?" right there on the cover. If there ever was a title to inform that reader that this is going to be a bit camp that would be it. But if you open to the first page the actual title of the tale is "The Fear Within". Much better. So why do we have "Who Stole My Coffin?" right out front? Hmmm. . .
"Tomb of Dracula" is a Marvel horror title but there really isn't any Exorcist-Blair Witch Project style horror. That's not to say that it isn't a delightful read. It is. It's not campy either - it's . . . pulpy. Like the twenties magazine pieces from Robert E. Howard or the Phantom strip from Lee Falk. In the second issue Conway and Colan bring the Count from his Eastern European haunt into London, just like in Stoker's book. And remember, this comic takes over from the tales in the book - the protagonist, Frank Drake, is a direct descendant of the count.
Colan's art is still the major draw for me - he is just perfect for any comic needing a lot of shadows and creeped-out faces. The art ages well but the coloring job is a bit washed out. No matter, we have the excellent plot from Conway that shows a bit of Dracula's supernatural strength and his capacity for damaging not only the body but the emotions as well.
Postscript : I just came from reading the next issue, Tomb of Dracula 3, and I just had to come back and mention this: Maybe its all the stories about Vince Colletta, you know, about how he had the tendency to drastically alter his penciller's original work, presumably to beat the deadline. I just noticed that the panel backgrounds of no. 2 are very simplistic compared to those of no. 3. Colan drew both, but the intricacies I see in 3 are not in this issue. Could Colletta been taking shortcuts as he is reputed to do? Am not entirely sure of this, only a comparison with the original pencils would confirm it.
Posted by Pete Albano - April 27, 2011
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