Tomb of Dracula #2
Tomb of Dracula #2 is the direct continuation of Marvel's bold post-Comics Code revival of the horror genre, locking in the personal stakes — literally and emotionally — that would define the entire 70-issue run. It delivers the dramatic payoff to issue #1's cliffhanger by moving the action from Transylvania to London and forcing Frank Drake to destroy Jeanie, the woman he loves, now a vampire; that gut-punch established early that this series would not shy away from genuine loss. The issue also deepens the moral ambiguity of its cast by keeping Clifton Graves' treachery hidden from Frank, planting a slow-burn betrayal subplot that rewards attentive readers over subsequent issues. As only the second chapter of a title that would become one of Marvel's most celebrated Bronze Age series, it helped prove the concept had legs beyond a debut novelty.
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Gerry Conway scripted both of the series' opening issues, making #2 the last chapter written by the man who co-created the core cast alongside penciler Gene Colan. For this issue, Stan Lee remained editor and Colan's pencils were inked by Vince Colletta — a different hand from the Tom Palmer pairings that would become the series' hallmark sound starting with issue #3. The early creative instability (the first half-dozen issues cycled through Conway, Archie Goodwin, and Gardner Fox as writers) means issue #2 stands as a transitional artifact: Conway's concluding chapter before the book found its long-term voice under Marv Wolfman from issue #7 onward. Colan, who had actively lobbied for the assignment and was even allowed to ink his own pencils on the first issue, was already stamping the book with his cinematic chiaroscuro style — and had reportedly modeled Dracula's physical appearance on actor Jack Palance, who would famously play the Count in a television adaptation the following year.
Trivia · 8 facts
- Cover-dated May 1972; written by Gerry Conway, penciled by Gene Colan, inked by Vince Colletta, cover by John Severin, edited by Stan Lee.
- Story title: 'The Fear Within!' — the second and final issue scripted by series co-creator Gerry Conway before the title cycled through other writers.
- Jeanie (Jeanie Ovington) meets her apparent death in this issue: having been turned into a vampire in issue #1, she tracks Frank Drake to London and is staked, ending her as a recurring character after only two appearances.
- Frank Drake steals Dracula's coffin from the ruined Castle Dracula and transports it to London, attempting to lure his immortal ancestor into a trap — a plan Dracula ultimately survives.
- Clifton Graves is rescued by Frank from the pit where Dracula had left him at the end of issue #1, but conceals his own role in Dracula's resurrection, establishing him as a long-running hidden antagonist rather than an overt villain.
- First appearances of minor supporting characters including Gort (Frank's valet) and Carl von Harbou, a former servant of Dracula who dies in this issue.
- Gene Colan modeled the visual appearance of Marvel's Dracula not on Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee but on actor Jack Palance, who was cast as Dracula in a television production released the year after this series debuted.
- The entire original series, including this issue, has been reprinted in Essential Tomb of Dracula Vol. 1 (2004, black-and-white), the hardcover Tomb of Dracula Omnibus Vol. 1 (2008), and the Tomb of Dracula: The Complete Collection Vol. 1 (2017).
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Reprints
Reprinted in Dracula #2/[1972] (1972), Le Tombeau de Dracula #1 (1973), Dracula #2 (1974), Dracula Lives #2 (1974), Dracula Lives #3 (1974), Dracula Lives #4 (1974), Collana Super Fumetti #6 (1977), Chiller Pocket Book #11 (1980), Dracula #1 (1982), Dracula #1/1982 (1982), Drácula / Clásicos del Terror #1 (1988), Drácula / Clásicos del Terror #2 (1988), Horror #16 (1988), The Savage Return of Dracula #1 (1992), Biblioteca Grandes del Cómic: Drácula #1 (2002), Marvel Horror #[1] (2003), Marvel Horror #[1] (2003), Essential Tomb of Dracula #1 (2004), The Tomb of Dracula Omnibus #1 (2008), The Tomb of Dracula #1 (2010), Marvel Limited Edition. La Tumba de Drácula #[1] (2015), Tomb of Dracula: The Complete Collection #1 (2017), Marvel Masterworks: Tomb of Dracula #1 (2021), Die Gruft von Graf Dracula #2 + 2 more
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