My little scanner was giving me the hassle today, which I thought might be because it's really old, but might just be the cable going bad. Still, every so often my scans come out really off-kilter, sometimes because the comics are old and ratty, and other times straight-up user error. And yet I seem to be on the Ed Wood school: shoot once and call it! Anyway, this issue was nearby to try: From 1974,
Werewolf by Night #15, "Death of a Monster!" Written by Marv Wolfman, pencils by Mike Ploog, inks by Frank Chiaramonte. (Spelled "Chiarmonte" here!)
This was, of course, a crossover with
Tomb of Dracula, also written by Wolfman. I wonder if it's more fun to do one of those where you don't have to co-ordinate with another writer, or if it just feels like making work for yourself...After an initial scuffle with Dracula, Jack and Topaz open the sealed diary of Jack's ancestor, Baron Russoff, which fills in some continuity for both series: back around 1795, Dracula had killed the Baron's wife for not "
kneel(ing) to his power." In return, the Baron braves Castle Dracula, stakes him, and throws the coffin in the river. (I thought this was maybe where Drac would be found at the start of his series, but the coffin-in-the-river...I'm not sure how it all lines up, but I'm used to like Hammer Dracula movies just going "somehow Dracula returned.") Still mad, the Baron smashes up a lot of Drac's stuff, before rescuing a peasant girl the vampire had been keeping prisoner. The girl turns out to be a werewolf, who later bites the Baron; leading to the family curse that now plagued Jack.
The diary indicates Dracula had not been able to control the peasant girl werewolf, so Jack wants to face him again as the Werewolf (by Night!) but needs the mystic help of Topaz. (They have a kiss here, but were they a couple? I need to get the Essential of my shelf!) Topaz describes her powers as able to do about anything she needed, but Wolfman maybe hints that her power was being drained, so she might not be able to pull this bit twice: putting Jack in control of the Werewolf, to face Dracula. This fight doesn't go the distance, as Drac is more concerned with getting the diary, which he refers to as "the
second book of sins," but Rachel Van Helsing snags it first, escaping with Frank Drake in a helicopter. Dracula had tried to sabotage the 'copter by smashing up the controls, but didn't do a good enough job! Unless that came up next time: that story would continue in
Tomb #19, without Jack and Topaz; but the Werewolf (by Night!) would face vampires again in
WbN #19. Not Dracula there, I don't think, despite appearances.
Rachel Van Helsing was consistently awesome; Frank Drake doesn't have a great showing here. Although, bat-Dracula on your head while in a moving helicopter...yeah, screaming like a little girl is not a completely unwarranted response, I guess.
1 comment:
Good question. Maybe? It sure can’t taste too good. Maybe on the spicy/peppercorn side?
Topaz never really took off as a character did she? She’s used very sporadically if ever, but I figure between titles like Strange Academy, Dr. Strange, Scarlet Witch and or Agatha Harkness, she’s had to have appeared at least once in the current era.
Has Jack fought Dracula in modern times since this? Surely he has to have, especially during that vampire event crossover from last year.
That last panel of Frank will never not be funny. Definitely unintentionally spoof material. MST3K would love a whole movie based around a long series overreactions like this.
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