By WALLY MONK – PM Library Editor

I’ve talked about the Comics Code Authority before, and how I believe it really forced writers and artists to hone their storytelling abilities. I’ve even said that I genuinely miss the CCA stamp on the front of comic books today.

As I read the Tomb of Dracula series (1972-1972) by Marvel Comics in its entirety over the last six months (yes, I am a busy monk and it took that long), I realize exactly why the CCA was necessary – and why it made things even more horrific in many ways.  Before we talk about the actual comic, let’s talk about psychology. When people see a picture, they know exactlywhat they are looking at – and it either makes them feel a certain way, or it doesn’t. But when people are read a narrative, it allows their mind to wander. Let’s take two examples:

COMIC PANEL EXAMPLE 1:  (Robert is lying in bed, and underneath the bed, hidden in shadows, the reader sees a monster – drooling and with massive teeth – looking up at the unknowing soon-to-be-victim. A pool of ichor that Robert can’t see is starting to come out from beneath where the monster is crouched.) Text: He knew something was there, but he didn’t know what it was. His heart began to race, and something deep inside told him that he would not see the morning. 

COMIC PANEL EXAMPLE 2: (A close up of Robert’s face, focusing on his eyes. His face is contorted in terror, and his eyes are wide. We see his head rests on a pillow. Artist should focus on the whites of the eyes and the lines in his forehead – he is obviously terrified.) Text: He knew something was there, but he didn’t know what it was. His heart began to race, and something deep inside told him that he would not see the morning. 

In the first example, the artist rendering of the “monster under the bed” might be scary to the reader, or it might not. If the reader isn’t frightened by it – or at least understanding why the character in the comic is frightened – then the whole mood just falls apart. The second example allows the reader to imagine something that might frighten them also. It’s the same reason Herman Melville’s classic Moby Dick doesn’t work as a movie (IMHO) – it’s more frightening to imagine Ahab’s obsession and the murky depths of the ocean than to see a CGI whale that doesn’t necessarily hit a viewer’s panic button.

Tomb of Dracula, what has become in many ways the curve-wrecker of the comic book horror genre, is full of these moments. Overall, it is a brilliantly written series of horror comics that capitalize on implied fear while making sure that the visuals are pretty terrifying themselves.

Issues individually are moderately pricey in excellent or better condition. The full-color Omnibus editions, especially Vol. 1, sell for hundreds of dollars. The value of Tomb of Dracula, both in the comic medium and as a story telling mechanism, is huge. Few comic books tell stories this way any more.

Tomb of Dracula was created by Marvel in the 1970s after the Comics Code Authority relaxed their restrictions a bit. Famous writers ranging from Gerry Conway, Gardner Fox, Roy Thomas and Archie Goodwin all worked on the book in its first year, until the final team of Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan were brought together in issue #7. They would work together until the end of the series run with issue #70. In fact, Colan drew all of the issues from issue #1 until the bitter end, a very unusual move for the industry and a good reason perhaps that the series was so successful.

Comics Bulletin in 2010 ranked the Colan/Wolfman run on Tomb of Dracula  at #5 on their “Top 10 List of 1970s Marvel Comics.” Throughout the run, Dracula would ally himself (occasionally) with heroes to defeat a greater evil – but more often than not, he was the antagonist of such heroes and groups as The Uncanny X-Men, Spider-Man and Werewolf by Night.

So if all this true, why isn’t it a good idea for kids to read Tomb of Dracula – especially if it’s a perfect example of good storytelling? After all, it’s approved by the now-defunct CCA and comics are for kids anyway, right? Why is our friend the Paint Monk putting a warning label on this series and recommending it for mature audiences? 

The most abhorrent twist to the series – and it is dangerously subtle, a testament to how it is written and put together – is that Marvel Comics successfully has fans of Tomb of Dracula “rooting” for the bad guy, for the “Lord of Darkness.”

Think about that for a moment – and be truly afraid.

As always, I am – Wally (AKA Paint Monk)