Home › Tomb of Dracula › #51

Cover: Gene Colan & Tom Palmer

Tomb of Dracula #51

Name: Tomb of Dracula #51
Brand: Marvel
Availability: InStock

Dec 1976 · Marvel · 0.30 USD

☆ Be the first to review + Add to your collection — Join free

“The Wildest Party”

★ 1st appearance — Janus

About this Issue

Tomb of Dracula #51 — titled 'The Wildest Party' — is a pivotal chapter in the late-run story arc that knitted together nearly every major character in the Wolfman-Colan ensemble: Dracula, Domini, Lupeski, Hannibal King, Deacon Frost, and the vampire hunters all converge at a single chaotic event, demonstrating the soap-operatic, densely plotted approach that made the series stand apart from other Bronze Age horror books. The issue carries a shadow-only first appearance of Janus, the future son of Dracula and Domini, planting the seed of one of the title's most theologically ambitious storylines — a child of the Lord of Vampires who would become an agent of Heaven. It also stages the dramatic conclusion of the Blade Doppelganger subplot, with Dracula killing the vampirized false Blade, and gives Deacon Frost another conspiratorial cameo that advances his slow-burn scheming, underlining how Wolfman was building long-form narrative momentum rare in monthly horror comics of the era.

writer Marv Wolfman · artist Gene Colan · inker Tom Palmer · colorist Michele Wolfman · colorist Marie Severin · letterer John Costanza · cover Gene Colan, Tom Palmer

ComicBooks.com Value

Our Model is In Beta

Raw (Fine) $6

CGC 9.8 · 22 in census $166

CGC 9.6 · 42 in census $66

CGC 9.4 · 21 in census $41*

CGC 9.2 · 11 in census $29*

CGC 9.0 · 15 in census $27

CGC 8.5 · 9 in census $20*

Show all 14 grades ▾

CGC 8.0 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 7.5 · 4 in census $20*

CGC 7.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 6.5 · 5 in census $20*

CGC 6.0 · 2 in census $20*

CGC 5.5 none in existence

CGC 5.0 · 1 in census $20*

CGC 4.5 · 2 in census $20*

* estimate — limited direct-sales data at this grade

Our model’s value — refined as new sales data arrives · CGC census counts shown where available

This exact issue on ebay

CGC 9.6 $199 1 listing CGC 9 $125 1 listing CGC $154 1 listing CBCS 9.2 $67.99 1 listing

Raw — NM+ ▾ $79.99–$160 2 listings

NM+ $79.99 NM+ $159.99

Raw — NM ▾ $24.99–$40 2 listings

NM $24.99 NM $40

Raw — VF/NM ▾ $26.34–$130 2 listings

VF/NM $26.34 VF/NM $130.2

Raw — VF+ ▾ $15–$47.99 4 listings

VF+ $15 VF+ $25 VF+ $26.4 VF+ $47.99

Raw — VF ▾ $9–$34.99 7 listings

VF $9 VF $11.99 VF $14.95 VF $20 VF $21.2 VF $30 VF $34.99

Raw — VERY FINE ▾ $12–$27 2 listings

VERY FINE $12 VERY FINE $27

Raw — FN/VF ▾ $13–$20 2 listings

FN/VF $13 FN/VF $20

Raw — F/VF ▾ $14.95–$20 2 listings

F/VF $14.95 F/VF $20

Raw — FN ▾ $9.99–$25.5 5 listings

FN · Newsstand $9.99 FN $16 FN $19.99 FN $21 FN $25.5

Raw — FINE ▾ $11.99–$13 2 listings

FINE $11.99 FINE $13

Raw — VG ▾ $7.5–$15.99 6 listings

VG $7.5 VG $9 VG $9.33 VG · Newsstand $9.99 VG $12 VG $15.99

Raw / ungraded ▾ $5.99–$99.99 23 listings

Verified matches for Tomb of Dracula #51 · eBay asking prices, seen 23 days ago

More listings for this title

NM- $49.99 Tomb of Dracula Lord of Vampires! #51 (Marvel Comics December 1976) $6.95

Related listings we couldn't confirm as this exact issue · 2 total · seen 23 days ago

Read it digitally

Marvel Unlimited Marvel’s subscription reader ▸ Amazon Kindle Buy the digital edition ▸

Opens a search on each platform — digital availability varies by title.

Sell my copy

Have this issue — or a whole collection? Get a fair offer from us, skip the marketplace fees and the hassle.

We Buy Collections ▸

Fast, fair offers · we handle grading & shipping

History

Written and edited by Marv Wolfman — who served double duty as both scripter and editor for much of the series — #51 was penciled by Gene Colan with inks by Tom Palmer, the same art team that carried every issue of the 70-issue run save for the earliest handful. Coloring was shared by Michele Wolfman and veteran Marvel color artist Marie Severin, with lettering by John Costanza. Wolfman has described the Tomb of Dracula as a book he finally 'figured out' during a story arc in issues #12–14, and by issue #51 the series was operating as a tightly woven serial that Comics Bulletin would later rank among the top Marvel comics of the 1970s.

Trivia · 8 facts

Story title: 'The Wildest Party' — released September 7, 1976 with a December 1976 cover date.
Written by Marv Wolfman (who also served as editor), penciled by Gene Colan, inked by Tom Palmer, colored by Michele Wolfman and Marie Severin, lettered by John Costanza.
Contains the first appearance (shadow/behind-the-scenes only) of Janus Tepes, the future adult son of Dracula and Domini — the shadowy figure who briefly unsettles Dracula at the party.
The Golden Angel, the supernatural being whose spirit would later possess and resurrect Janus, is also introduced here in a shadowy cameo; its first full appearance follows in Tomb of Dracula #52.
The Blade Doppelganger — a vampirized duplicate of Blade — meets its end in this issue: Dracula stakes it, ending that multi-issue subplot.
Deacon Frost appears as an observer at the party, watching the chaos as part of his ongoing scheme — he escapes Hannibal King by transforming into bat form.
Anton Lupeski privately confronts Domini in this issue, revealing he knows Dracula is a vampire and not Satan; Domini refuses to betray her husband, defining her character going forward.
The issue has been reprinted in Essential Tomb of Dracula, Volume 3 and Tomb of Dracula Omnibus, Volume 2 (which collects issues #32–70 of the series).