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Tomb of Dracula #35: Review

Aug 1975
Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan

Story Name:

Hell Hath No Fury…

Review & Comments

Rating:
4.5 stars

Tomb of Dracula #35 Review by (April 28, 2021)

Review: Whoa! Here we have a classic revenge tale of the sort that Marvel trafficked in in their pre-superhero days and a very satisfying one it is. The baddies all perish horribly, with touches of real characterization, leaving them to be more than just cardboard “victims.” The introduction of a guy who knows Frank Drake, allowing Drac to impersonate Frank’s father, is an offbeat touch, and doesn’t really lead to anything. A ghoulish touch is Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch on the Beatering’s TV, listing a number of synonyms and slang terms for death, just moments before they are killed. In fact, this issue has some dark humor from Dracula himself, including Drac referring to the “drunken” Mitchell as the result of Dracula drinking too much. And the story contains two certifiably bad@$$ moments: a burning Brother Voodoo holding a zuvembie to his chest to set him aflame and Dracula catching a barbell and tossing it aside. Cool! And we won’t ask how a mindless zombie can decide to use a torch as a weapon or why Drac was able to enter the Beaterings’ apartment without being invited. It’s part of the fun. 

Comments: Part two of two parts. Title is from the quote, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” adapted from William Congreve. Final appearance of Daphne von Wilkinson, whose first appearance was last issue. A portion of Monty Python’s Dead Parrot sketch is heard on the telly. According to GCD, John Romita did alterations to Brother Voodoo’s face on the cover. The sole letter in the letters column is by Dean Mullaney, future founder of Eclipse Enterprises.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Tomb of Dracula #35 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

A hungering Dracula has made a deal with fashion designer Daphne von Wilkinson: she will provide him with blood and the whereabouts of his enemy Doctor Sun and the Lord of the Vampires will, in return, kill her four greatest enemies, men who, early in her career, took advantage of her and stole her designs and till this day no one believed her—and now she wants Dracula to kill them horribly. Daphne shows her good faith by calling a model she knows who has blackmail evidence against a police officer. Dracula sets out after the first victim, Martin Beatering….

In Brazil, Brother Voodoo and Frank Drake, the latter controlled by Voodoo’s loa beat up the zuvembie, hurling them off the cliff’s edge. The last one, approaches with a torch and sets Voodoo aflame; Voodoo merely clutches the zuvembie to his chest, burning it up but leaving himself unharmed. And now they set out to find Danny Summers, who led Frank into this trap….

At home, Martin Beatering and his wife Tilly are fighting about his laziness and poor business decisions which have sunk them into poverty. Then Dracula arrives, informs him of Daphne’s desire for revenge and kills them both….

Dracula returns to the Wilkinson offices where Daphne has kept a model overtime and she is offered to Dracula as a meal. He then informs Daphne that Beatering is dead and that he intends to kill her enemies one each night and return on the fourth night for the info she has promised. But Dracula plans to kill them all that night….

The next man on the list, Ken Mitchell, knows Frank Drake and so agrees to meet with Frank’s “father” at a pub. Dracula uses the cover of hiring him to work for Daphne von Wilkinson as a ruse to get him to the pub’s men’s room where he kills him and leaves him kneeling over a toilet as though drunk….

The third victim, Jack Bolt, is a bodybuilder; Dracula meets him at his home gym and announces he is there to murder Bolt for Daphne von Wilkinson. Bolt throws a 200-pound barbell at Dracula who catches it with one hand and tosses it aside before making the kill….

The final victim, Sir Winston Twindle, is a ruthless businessman seen in his limo, wrecking men’s lives over the phone when Dracula materializes beside him and kills him, sending the car over a cliff….

Three nights later, Dracula returns to Daphne von Wilkinson to inform her that her enemies are all dead. As agreed, she turns over a police file that locates Doctor Sun in Boston, USA. She asks for proof that they are dead and as he leaves he opens the door to admit her enemies, now become vampires and “dying to thank” her….



Gene Colan
Tom Palmer
Petra Goldberg
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Tom Palmer (Cover Inker)
? (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Ray Holloway.

Characters

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