In the village of
Littlepool, a fisherman hooks the corpse of a well-dressed man; villagers help
carry the body to the back room of the local church until authorities can be
notified the next day. It’s Dracula, of course, and he awakens in a church and
panics, crashing from wall to wall until he manages to escape when someone
opens the door to investigate. The villagers gather and he tells a tale about
recently undergoing an operation, fainting from weakness, and being robbed by
some motorcycle hoods, falling into the river. (The pictures reveal what
Dracula leaves out, including the sort of operation last issue, his failed
attempts to prey upon a teenaged couple, and his ability to fight off the
cyclists, who will return, with leader Lucas Brand, in issue #11.) “Mr. Drake”
decides to stay for his own sinister reasons; young Dave offers to put him up
at his home. After getting settled, Dracula goes out secretly to feed; he preys
upon Gladys, a barmaid, who instantly becomes a vampire and attacks her admirer
Corker….
In London, the
vampire hunters (Frank Drake, Rachel van Helsing, Taj Nital, Quincy Harker,
Edith Harker) are laying their plans when Quincy receives a phone call and
hurries off with Edith. We learn next issue that the call was about Blade….
At home, Dave
confides in his guest how he desires to leave this small town, which has his
girlfriend Andrea mad at him because she feels it is a betrayal of their
heritage. They hear a scream outside: Andrea is being attacked by Gladys and Corker.
The men rush out and the imposing lord of the vampires orders his new minions
away. This is observed by the local priest who makes the obvious inference and
assembles a group to hunt down Dracula. Dave tries to dissuade them but the
priest, bearing a firecross, and his group encounter and kill Corker and
Gladys. David, who knows where Dracula is hiding, sends the hunters off in a
different direction. Dracula thanks him and offers him a role in the new
vampire world order. David declines, so Dracula merely promises him his
protection and flies away….