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Tomb of Dracula #37: Review

Oct 1975
Marv Wolfman, Gene Colan

Story Name:

The Vampire is Coming! The Vampire is Coming!

Review & Comments

Rating:
4 stars

Tomb of Dracula #37 Review by (May 18, 2021)

Review: And now we have something in this comic we’ve never had before: humor. Until this point it would have been completely out of place so trust Marv Wolfman who is adept at coming up with new variations on the theme in what could have been a formula-ridden monster comic. Anyway, Dracula is arrogant and (mostly) humorous; remember this was before all villains were required to have a sardonic sense of humor: Hannibal Lecter, MCU Loki, MCU Ultron, every current Batman villain, later Marvel Dracula (FEAR ITSELF), etc. Drac came close a couple of times in issue #36 but that a far cry from actual humor. And the heroes are far too wrapped up in the mission to take time out for fun. And now it looks like we’ll go too far in the other direction: Harold H. Harold (yes, his middle name is also Harold) is a self-described schnook who is constantly moaning and whining about how much his life stinks. A little of this goes a long way and we get more than a little of it in this, his introductory issue. It won’t be long before his shtick becomes tiresome, especially when it becomes inappropriate to the situation, which will occur in issue #39. And Aurora is also amusing, her sweet, innocent sexiness and an ignorance that skates easily over patches Harold becomes stuck in makes them a nice pairing and they will be welcome to take the edge off risky situations but I can’t see Rachel van Helsing putting up with it for long. The low point of the issue comes when Brother Voodoo gives Frank a pep talk to “believe in himself.” This is pretty hokey from the vantage point of half a century later; it was probably the height of wisdom back in 1975 so I’ll give it a pass. We’ll move on….

Comments: Part one of six parts. First appearances of Harold H. Harold, Aurora Rabinowitz, and the villain Juno. Title is a play on Paul Revere’s famous cry on his ride through Boston in 1775, “The British are coming! The British are coming!” One of the letters in the letters column is by Dean Mullaney, future founder of Eclipse Enterprises.





 

Synopsis / Summary / Plot

Tomb of Dracula #37 Synopsis by Peter Silvestro

Count Dracula has arrived in Boston, Massachusetts, and a group of young people stop to stare at his unusual appearance. This angers Dracula and, shouting curses, he throws a young man through a bench then departs as a bat, muttering threats….

Elsewhere in the city, hack writer Harold H. Harold is fighting writer’s block as he tries to complete his latest effort for True Vampire Stories magazine. He heads over to his publisher and banters with the attractive receptionist, Aurora Rabinowitz, about his woes. His boss Mr. Greadely doesn’t like the work Harold has been submitting lately so he improvises and claims to have an interview with a real vampire lined up for next issue; Greadely loves the idea and Harold is now desperate for a way to keep that promise….

A sinister figure enters a darkened brownstone and is ushered through a secret passage into the presence of Doctor Sun; this is Juno, a huge Asian with a scarred faced and a silver spike for a left hand. He is part of Sun’s new scheme against Dracula….

At 2 AM, Janet and Stu, Harvard students, are on a motorcycle ride through the city. Dracula swoops down on them in bat form, causing them to crash and then he drinks the blood of them both. Harold H. Harold comes upon the scene and thinks it’s a traffic accident until Dracula collapses in his arms. Seeing the blood and Dracula’s fangs, he realizes he has found an authentic vampire and hustles him into his car and taking him home where he tells his landlady that this is his father who has had too much to drink. Harold is anxious to tell someone what has happened and the only person he knows is Aurora; he phones her and to his surprise she agrees to come over. While he is waiting in a haze of confusion, Dracula awakens and sneaks up behind him….

In Brazil, Brother Voodoo has told Frank Drake that he is not yet finished. Voodoo tells Frank he is braver than he thinks and when he comes to believe he is no failure his life will improve. Frank agrees to take this to heart and Voodoo magically teleports him to the Boston airport where he is surprised to find Rachel van Helsing and Quincy Harker who are equally surprised to see him stepping out of a cloud of smoke….



Gene Colan
Tom Palmer
Tom Palmer
Gil Kane (Cover Penciler)
Tom Palmer (Cover Inker)
Tom Palmer (Cover Colorist)
Letterer: Joe Rosen.

Characters

Listed in Alphabetical Order.

> Tomb of Dracula: Book info and issue index

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