Europe, the 1930s:
a man hides in a house in the mountains, waiting for Dracula to come and kill
him…. He recalls how he was a French government agent, until the night he was
on his way to a briefing with his supervisor—and overheard M. Duval with
Dracula, being hypnotized to obey the vampire lord’s will, aiding him in
conquering France. The Agent killed Duval to prevent his betraying his country.
Dracula seized the Agent and tried to bite his neck but the man shot Dracula in
the face and escaped. He fled to a small village in the Alps and then learned
that Dracula has found him….
Ruthless
millionaire Polcary Evanns is in his airship flying across Europe; he is drunk
and abusive but in his clear moments he is apologetic. He threatens to beat his
wife Eleanor and navigator Aaron Schmidt comes to her rescue, punching Evanns
in the face. He apologizes to his wife, pleading the recurring dreams of
traveling across the continent, dreams which he is pursuing so that he may
finally find his destiny. Evanns continues to shift between good and bad moods,
first accusing his wife of having an affair with Schmidt, then apologizing,
then hitting her, and finally stabbing Schmidt and throwing him overboard—and
threatening to murder Eleanor unless the crew continues their journey….
Dracula swoops
down on the Agent to feast on his blood but he has grown careless: the sun is
rising and Dracula must abandon his victim and flee. The wounded Agent is
helped by the local priest, Father Wetzel, who cares for him but begs him to
leave the area, lest the vampire prey upon the locals. The Agent has a cross
but asks food and a phial of holy water for his journey. His journey leads him
further into the mountains, through frigid air and blinding snow—and then
Dracula catches up to him. He holds the vampire at bay with a torch, but the
flame will not last forever. And then they hear the sound of a zeppelin
overhead….
Polcary Evanns’ airship
is heading through the storm; a crewman warns him that they are likely to crash
but Evanns hits him to shut him up as they are following the course from his
dream. They discover Dracula and the Agent below and bring them aboard. Dracula
tries to kill the Agent who dashes holy water in the vampire’s face. Agent
tries to warn them but Evanns beats him up; Dracula returns to the ship and
tries to feed on Eleanor. Evanns cracks up and attacks Dracula thinking he is
his wife’s lover. The Agent grabs Eleanor and leaps overboard just as the
zeppelin crashes into a mountain and explodes. The Agent and Eleanor are the
only survivors and they head back to civilization.
“Dark Asylum!”
Writer: David
Kraft. Plot: Tony Isabella. Pencils: John Byrne. Inks: Rudy Nebres. Letters: ?
Synopsis: An
amnesiac finds himself in a castle, battling a hellhound and a sexy demoness
before facing an evil wizard who bears his face, defeating him in battle. He
then wakes up in an insane asylum, having fought his way back to sanity.
“The Hidden
Vampire!”
Writer: ? Art:
Fred Kida. Colors: ? Letters: ?
Synopsis: An
American reporter searching for a vampire enters a creepy mansion in Hungary;
he finds nothing suspicious inside but discovers the doors and windows sealed
to keep him from leaving: the house itself is the vampire! Reprinted from
JOURNEY INTO MYSTERY #21.
“They Fly By
Night”
Writer: ? Art: Bob
Correra. Colors: ? Letters: ?
Synopsis: On a
visit to Europe, a pair of American tourists are killed by a vampire; their son
grows up to seek revenge. When he returns to the town, he finds his parents are
now vampires and doesn’t know whether to kill them or join them! Reprinted from
ADVENTURES INTO TERROR #30.