The Tomb of Dracula

     In the early 1970s comics code authority restrictions on horror were eased. The comics code authority, with its unique stamp, came about in the 1950s because most of the major comic book companies in  the USA wanted a censor to restore faith among consumers in the industry. Doctor Wertham and others had stirred up the American public and others against comic book publishing. The answer back then was to create a self-censor. 

     Horror in the comics, when the code came into being, was virtually banned but, after over a decade of harsh censorship, it was allowed back in. Also by the 1970s, the size of the comic code authority on comic book covers had shrunk noticeably in size indicating it was losing its importance. This may have been partly the result of comic books referred to as comix, such as Slow Death, which did not carry the code stamp and were originally sold on campus and in record bars. Then came the comic book specialty shops. Many of the owners sold both code approved and code not approved comics. 

     Marvel's renewed venture into the field of horror also coincided with the company being in a position to publish more titles. It was no doubt reasoned by Stan Lee and others that the craze for costumed superheroes could not last forever and that it would be a good idea to also put out horror that wasn't 1950s or early 1960s reprints. 

     In the 1950s, horror (or mystery) and science fiction put out by Atlas, the name Marvel went by back then, was generally anthological in nature like the television show The Twilight Zone. After the success of The Fantastic Four, however, most if not all Marvel titles, became sequential. They all had that soap opera feel where you got to know the characters on a more personal level as you followed both their adventures and misadventures from issue to issue. When both The Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night started up, it was decided to continue this trend into horror. 

     There are artists and writers that I know that never really gave The Tomb of Dracula much of a go because their idea of horror in the comics was of an anthological nature. Also, they didn't care much for a company that mainly dealt in  superheroes. Even so, The Tomb of Dracula, in its seven year run, won at least one industry award for excellence. The chief artist throughout the run was Gene Colan who began drawing for comics back before he was sent to Hawaii as an M.P. during the Second World War. After leaving the military, he first worked for DC but did his very best work in the 1960s and 1970s for Marvel. 

     It was writer Gerry Conway that wrote the first issue of The Tomb of Dracula but it is Marv Wolfman, who kicked off in issue seven, that is best remembered for his work on this publication. Marv Wolfman had worked for DC as well as Marvel. He had also been involved in comix. 

     In 1972, when The Tomb of Dracula first came out, the British Hammer horror movies were very popular. It was the eerie atmosphere in them that fascinated and inspired Gene Colan, the inkers and the writers he was working with, inkers such as Tom Palmer. The will-o' the-wisp style of Dracula and other vampires either changing into bat form or vapor was much appreciated by fans. Also, the majority of the stories were set in Europe rather than the USA. This could be seen as a bold move since much of the readership lived in the USA. Yet Transylvania and then England suited the story lines very well. Frank Drake, a distant relative of Dracula, is an American caught up in the need by others, such as the beautiful Rachel Van Helsing, to put the most powerful of all vampires to final rest. 

     Dracula, as it turned out, had been slain numerous times and usually, thanks to the stupidity or greed of others, returned to unlife. Various methods of dealing with Dracula were devised. There's Rachel with her crossbow and wooden bolts and, in issue ten we have the first appearance of Blade vampire-slayer with this wooden knives. It should be noted that this The Tomb of Dracula Blade is a black man born in London and not the USA. The movies had Blade as an American. Instead of the wooden knives of The Tomb of Dracula and other horror titles of the 1970s, the movies had him with a great sword. Personally, I prefer the Blade of the 1970s comic books. 

     Another title that had a run in the 1970s was Werewolf by Night. It was enjoyable but I never really understood the difference between the strength of the werewolf and the lad who becomes the werewolf. It seemed to me that many of the men who went up against him when he was the werewolf had natural strength with which to combat the monster. Also, some of these men could defeat the werewolf. The last issue of Werewolf by Night attempted to turn the werewolf into a kind of superhero with fur which I believe wasn't a very good idea. 

     Brother Voodoo came out in 1973 in Strange Tales 169. This was well after The Tomb of Dracula had been established as a winner. The first writer was Len Wein and the art was by Gene Colan. The character drifted from one comic book or comic magazine to another but, as far as I know, was never given its own title.

     Brother Voodoo was about a man who is inhabited by his dead brother's spirit and is thus endowed with special powers. After Gene Colan stopped working on Brother Voodoo the character fell into the hands of less talented artists and has, for the most part, been forgotten by comic book fans. 

     In 1991 The Tomb of Dracula mini-series was launched by Marvel. Marv Wolfman was brought back as writer and Gene Colan as chief artist. It followed Frank Drake and his efforts to once more rid the world of the most infamous of vampires. Blade makes an appearance as an overly committed vampire slayer. Again blade has his 

sharp wooden knives.

 

     I don't know of any present day Marvel comics that has much to do with horror. It was mostly a 1970s thing. Superheroes are still around but, thanks to political correctness and woke, have lost much of their fan base. Perhaps this is not a good time for horror to return to the comic books.        

          

          

      

                THE 1920s VERSUS THE 2020s

     To begin with, my parents were born  in the 1920s and grew up during the Great Depression, so I do have a personal interest in this time period. 

     The 1920s was the jazz age in which American music and dance was the go in Australia and elsewhere.  Radio was king and kids would crowd around their family at night to listen to their favourite radio programs.

     The Great War had come to an end in 1918 and so the 1920s was a time to look for a better way to live and a way out of future conflicts in which millions of lives, the world over, are affected either by death or horrific injury. 

     In 1919 there was a treaty signed by the Germans that would eventually result in a Second World War but this war was in the future. For now, in the 1920s, there was the desire to enjoy one's self and seek out new freedoms.

     The League of Nations had been born and so there was hope that another full scale world war would never eventuate. 

   

     In Germany and elsewhere there was cabaret. Young women in black, calling themselves Vamps, made the night life something special. Skirts rose and there was a general feeling of elation at least in western style countries, a desire to get away from past miseries such as war in the trenches and in the air. 

     This was the silent film era where you had stunt flying and comedians such as Charlie Chaplin making audiences laugh. 

     Life was not so good in China, especially in Shanghai. Meanwhile, in Japan, there was a British airman teaching Japanese airmen how to handle take-off and landing on aircraft carriers. There seemed little harm in this since the Japanese had been the allies of the British during the Great War. 

        In the USA, during the 1920s, there was a ban on drinking alcohol that resulted in criminals finding new ways to make money. Speakeasies came into being. Meanwhile, in France and elsewhere in Europe, black entertainers, such as Josephine Baker, became popular, F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Tender is the Night and also The Great Gatsby.

 

     Photography became more popular in the 1920s as cameras became more affordable to the average person. Also cars became less expensive to buy and to run. Swimming was more popular than ever. There were rock pools and trips to various beaches. There was also more travel by train. There was also the beginnings of television. An experiment conducted in the 1920s resulted a single image being transmitted through the air and received. 

     Forms of communication were improving. Mail could be sent via air. People were more and more likely to have  phones in their homes and there were stores selling records.

     It is strange to think that a hundred years ago there was more freedom and less censorship than in our 21st Century. People seem to have been more open back then to new ideas. What's more, opinions could differ. People were looking for new ways to express themselves in the arts. Ancient Egypt came back into vogue.

     Not long ago, we celebrated the end of the First World War. The Lighthouse at Kiama was decked out for this celebration. So what did we get out of an end to a terrible war and a decade of relative peace? There was optimism back then in the 1920s. Is there much optimism now, at the beginning of the 2020s?  

     In the 1960s and 1970s there were movements in the USA, the UK and Australia against the Vietnam War. It was make love, not war. The notion appealed to me at the time. With the war over though, the young people who had protested against it didn't seem to know what to do next other than find a way to make a living, marry and raise a family like their parents had done. 

     Then, in the 1980s, AIDS brought an end, once and for all, to the free love movement. Those who had dreams of living like Hippies were then out of luck. Today we have a virus that threatens us all. And yes, there was the Spanish Flu a hundred years ago that killed a lot of people and had Australians masking up. Maybe we are due for something like that every hundred years or so. Regardless, are we better off now than we were back then? There are better ways today of combating disease. We also have new ways of communicating with one another as well as brand new censorship in the form of political correctness. 

     Political correctness as well as reverse racism began in Australia in the 1990s and has been going strong ever since. This stifles creativity and so gives so-called Reality shows their opportunity to spread like weeds. Television today has suffered greatly from this as well as the notion that we must cater for all in any and all historic drama. I have on occasions made fun of this very idea. Yes, there have been examples in the 20th Century of bad casting such as John Wayne in the the 1954 film The Conqueror where he played the role of Genghis Khan. Even so,  what is happening right now with this inclusion bias is distortion of history and historical events for political point scoring. 

Will we soon be over this corona virus crisis? Yes, in Australia, by the end of the year, hopefully, with fingers crossed. I have had my first jab and will soon have my second one. 

     Is there a chance political correctness, Reality shows and the distortion of history on television coming to an end?  No! Not a chance in  Hell! But there is still some creativity out and about produced by free thinkers.

          If you haven't already, please check out Dragon Queen. Science fiction available through Amazon.   

        The Latest Issue of Night to Dawn 

          Plus What to do During Lockdown!

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     Yes, Night to Dawn has reached the 40 mark with great writers such as Gerald Browning, Todd Hanks and Marc Shapiro. There's even a story by yours truly, Rod Marsden.

     Illustrations by Marge Simon and Chris Friend add a nice touch to the horrific going's on.

     It is edited by Barbara Custer who has been sailing this ship of evil now for quite some time. Among the novels put out by Barbara through Night to Dawn you have Dragon Queen. 

Of the horror anthologies that are around Second-Hand Creeps has proven popular in Canada and I reckon it is indeed a good read. 

      So what can you do while in lockdown? Well you could pick up a copy of Night to Dawn 40 or check out Dragon Queen. Then there's going for walks and generally getting exercise that way. I suggest birding in your local area.  

      With birding you don't have to come in contact with other people and it is a great way to get to know the wildlife in your area. I live on the south coast of New South Wales, Australia. Even in winter we have sightings of all kinds of birds. 

Here we have a New Holland Honeyeater found recently at Towradgi Beach.

Here we have a pair of Terns found also recently at Towradgi Beach. They say a tern should never be alone since one good tern deserves another. 

White sulphur-crested Cockatoos are with us all year round. Here is a flock of them found in Corrimal. 

Photography doesn't have to all ways be about wildlife. Here is an afternoon scene close to Corrimal Beach near the end of the day. 

Here we have a photographic study of a rather ordinary plant perhaps made less ordinary when looked upon from a design point of view.

 Sunset at Bellambi Lagoon where the lagoon meets the sea can look magnificent.

The moon can be a great subject to study.  

It always seems, though, we end up coming back to the birds and what they can offer in way of walks and entertainment. Here is a White Sulphur-crested Cockatoo in fine voice. 
 

                       Strange Happenings

There are people in the USA and in the UK who appear to have lost their marbles.

   Can you believe a movie about Snow White in which the main character is played by someone who screams out that her skin is not as white as snow? Should the moon be some other colour to calm down the loonies or do we keep it white with dents in it here and there?

  Is this butchering of Snow White coming from Disney and is it in any way true?

  It is hard to believe Disney productions would go so mental. Maybe it isn't true and is just scuttlebutt. All very weird if true.

   I have read that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a tale that originated in Poland where the majority of the people there are, in fact, white and they do have snow in winter. And the moon there is also, no doubt white. So, someone in the USA has a problem with Polish people and Polish fairy-tales? That is wacky!

   What is happening to Doctor Who in the UK over the last couple of years is tragic. I grew up with William Hartnell as the first Doctor. He was a cranky old man but in some ways loveable. Back then the Daleks were a real threat and the stories were good, even if the sets and costumes were sometimes not so great. 

William Hartnell's performance as the Doctor set the standard for the other Doctors that followed. Now those in charge of Doctor Who want some woman to be the Doctor before Hartnell and fans my age don't like it. Me? I am not happy with it either. Fine with me that the latest Doctor is a woman. A pity she is given the worst scripts and her companions are about as fascinating as cardboard cut-outs you move about. They seem to blindly follow the Doctor no matter what she says or does. 

   I don't know if it really is true or not but the present Doctor might be replaced by a freaky dude who cannot be described as a gentleman though that may change if he gets the role.

Will Doctor Who survive the current scriptwriters and actors? I don't know.

 If they reinstate Hartnell as the first Doctor they might stand a chance.  

   There was a time when racism in comic books and in  movies in the USA was the norm. That was way back in the 1930s and 1940s. Is it going on today in American comic books and movies? I don't believe it is in the comic books but I haven't been keeping up. Is giving the impression that white people are evil a form of racism? I believe that is the case but, if so, it has become a form of racism that some people in the USA and in the UK appear to approve off. It is a case of nothing to see here, moving on...

    I remember back in the 1980s there was this woman on a mid-day television show who said that only white men are racist and that white women simply go along with what their fathers, husbands and sons believe. She probably didn't realize it at the time but this kinda makes women associated with male racists wimpy, not able to express opinions of their own. No woman I know and associate is like that. They do have opinions and are not afraid to express them to anyone and everyone. 

     Meanwhile pale men are on the hit list everywhere. It doesn't make much sense but it doesn't have to. We are likely to get even paler with lock-down in winter in Australia but we may be able to get tans in summer so maybe then we will be saved. Also redheads, both male and female, are not very popular with the BBC and quite possible Hollywood. Ah! The times we are living in!        

       

 The Difference between The Irregulars and DCs Legends of Tomorrow!

The Irregulars produced in the UK and starring Dari Shaw and Jojo Macari, tick all the politically correct boxes. The Irregulars themselves are a mixed crew of investigative young people, Holmes is a hopeless drug addict and Watson is black and gay. Also the royal disease is regarded as not much of a worry even though, in the 20th Century, it would bring down the last Russian Tsar. This is definitely not for Sherlock Holmes fans or for those who have any understanding of 19th Century London, politics or 19th Century USA. Great sets and look but too much pandering.   

DCs Legends of Tomorrow, starring Victor Garber, may tick some of the politically correct boxes but cuts a damn sight closer to the history that historians know and understand. Yes, there was slavery in the south of the USA during the American Civil War and it was definitely not a good thing. The Irregulars producers disregard this history. Yes, going over the top in France and Belgium during the First World War was hazardous to your health and prohibition on alcohol drinking in the USA did turn out to be a really bad idea. The special effects here are amazing and seeing superheroes and villains romping around in the past, present and proposed future is fun.