The most popular of these Marvel titles--a book that was considered a veritable classic back then and is still thought of in high regard--was Tomb of Dracula. So what does Atlas proudly presents as the central for its horror comic Fright?
Ladies and gentlemen...may I present Adam Lucard, The Son of Dracula.
To be fair, this singular issue does have something of a pedigree. The writer is Gary Friedrich, who came straight from Marvel after some disagreements over his co-creation Ghost Rider. Friedrich did know his way around a horror comic, and I have to assume he came here through some combination of the higher rates, creative freedom and a chance to stick it to Marvel. The pencils are by Frank Thorne who doesn't have the biggest body of work, but is a legit legend, having created the visual look of Red Sonja. Why these two professionals chose to do such a baldfaced imitation instead of coming up with something that would bring joy to both of them is beyond me. Maybe the fact that David Anthony Kraft, in the editorial postscript, claims to have a part in its creation has something to do with it.
Okay, so far, so good. Even though there is a similar 'Dracula Must Spawn' subplot going on over in Tomb of Dracula, the more overtly monstrous Dracula and the implied emphasis more on a son unaware of his heritage being pursued by his horrific patriarch makes it distinct. And then there's the gorgeous Thorne art, which is distinct from the film noirish pencils of Gene Colon over at Tomb while also being incredibly appropriate for the gothic horror of the story. This version of Dracula is somewhere between Hammer Horror and Grindhouse.
But then we jump ahead to the modern day. Adam is now teaching a class at Columbia University in 'The Occult: Fact or Fiction,' as well as being a crush object by hot blonde Debbie Porter. Porter and her buddy break into apartments to loot for tuition, and Adam is fully aware of his vampiric heritage and is insistent on sleeping with an ornate crucifix lest he become just like daddy. Debbie breaks in to seduce Adam, removes the crucifix and...well I think you can figure it all out. Adam becomes a vampire, Debbie becomes his first meal, he also chows down on her partner and wakes up to regret it all.
This second half is hella disappointing because it's so by the numbers. Thorne's art tries to do the heavy lifting--there are some shots of Debbie that are outright gorgeous in a 60's throwback way--but there's a laziness to this part that can't be overcome. It feels unoriginal...and that's partially because it is. And because we can only judge the one issue that came out, there's no way of knowing if Freidrich had something else in mind for the series that would be revealed, we'll never know.
...actually, as we'll see when we examine some of the longer-lived series, we still might not. But that's for a later essay.
Next time, we switch from the fad that was 70's horror comics to the fad that was kung-fu comics. Join me, Jim Craig and Ed Fedory (Who?) for the sole issue of Hands of The Dragon!
Until then, remember...Revenge is a Dish Best Served In Four Colors
