Scary Stuff: Tomb of Dracula #1

Scary stuff, kids! It's October and, with Halloween fast approaching, the time is right for scary comics. Marvel has anticipated this need by giving readers a chance to visit the Tomb of Dracula. Enter freely and of your own will. Just look out for the cobwebs and that musty tomb smell that just never seems to air out.

Tomb of Dracula #1 is the start of a limited series, based on the longrunning '70s Marvel series of the same name. Writers Robert Rodi and Bruce Jones (recently of Hulk fame) don't stray too far from the original series concept, but they bring in enough new ideas to make this series a whole new bloodbath.

The next generation of the Van Helsing clan (Noah Van Helsing) is gathering a new band of vampire hunters to take down Dracula. Apparently, it is time for Drac's 1000 year tune-up, and he is in the process of transforming himself into a new, improved, more pants-wettingly scary Lord of the Undead. During this transformation process, there is a brief window of opportunity when Drac is vulnerable.

This is where Van Helsing's vampire hunters come in. He has gathered an interesting group from all walks of life, including a samurai, a weapons expert, a mystic, a magician, and a half-vampire descendent of Dracula. Not to be left out of the fun, a suitably Snipes-like Blade also shows up to slice and dice a vampire or two. Sword-wielding fun for the whole family!

The art by Jamie Tolagson captures all the action and bloodshed with a very creepy touch. As well as updating the look of Van Helsing's band of hunters, the creators have given Dracula a suitably freaky new look. Though the earlier Marvel Universe version of Drac was cool, this new look vampire is much spookier, and not at all the kind of guy you would expect to sip blood from champagne glasses.

So celebrate the scariest month of the year by trying out Four Color Fantasies' guaranteed Book of the Week, Tomb of Dracula #1. It has fangs, swords, blood and cool shades (Blade, remember) galore! What more could you ask for? The only thing this comic won't do is bite you on the neck itself! Or will it?