Tomb of Dracula #1
Published and © by Marvel, April 1972
Title: “Dracula”
Synopsis: A descendent of Dracula hopes to turn his family’s castle into a tourist attraction – unwittingly unleashing an ancient evil.
Writer: Gerry Conway
Artist: Gene Colan
Review: With Comics Code restrictions on horror easing in the early 1970s, Marvel was quick to capitalize with several classic-monster-themed books. Tomb of Dracula (see reviews) would eventually become the best of them, but there’s little evidence of that rich soap opera in this first issue. This story offers little more than the type of short horror fiction typical of an earlier era, expanded to fill an entire issue by Gerry Conway’s purple prose. The art, though, is much stronger: Gene Colan’s moody pencils are the perfect match for Dracula. Not a bad debut, but there are better days to come.
Grade: B-
Second opinion: “With a style perfectly suited to the needs of dark, atmospheric horror stories, Colan took up the assignment with gusto.” – Pierre Comtois, “Marvel Comics in the 1970s: An Issue By Issue Field Guide to a Pop Culture Phenomenon: Expanded Edition,” 2021
Cool factor: This is the book Gene Colan was born to draw.
Notable: First appearance of Frank Drake and the Marvel Universe’s Dracula.
Collector’s note: According to the Grand Comics Database, there is a 2022 facsimile edition of this issue.
Character quotable: “Whoever strikes Dracula – strikes DEATH!” – Dracula, undead trash talker
Editor’s note: This review was written Sept. 8, 2025.
