Thoughts

One of the perils of writing this blog, trying to cover as much of the Claremont run as possible, is that you run up against continuity. Where in my chronological running order should I place Annuals, spin-offs and – further down the line – the other X-titles.

This Annual is placed in the omnibus further down the line – after issue 167. But it never quite worked there for me, not least because it seems too perfect that that issue trails Professor Xavier being a jerk and then the first one of the next issue truly delivers.

Which then leaves this spot as the only place the story can go. Which makes it almost immediately after their last encounter.

That said, looking at their actual publication dates that’s not such a problem. Issue 159 was published on 6 April 1982 and this Annual just a few months later on 27 July 1982 so even readers at the time would have felt the immediacy of the Dracula sequel.

And it feels like a sequel. Bill Sienkiewicz is back on art duties and once again again mixes a talent for great expected comic book art…

… alongside glorious Pop Art inventive flourishes.

Story-wise this feels like another Hammer Gothic runaround. Dracula wants to get his hands on a magical anti-vampire macguffin kept in a spooky castle he can’t enter. So he sends Storm. Whose quest is opposed by Kitty – who is in fact possessed by Dracula’s daughter.

It’s a fun runaround, although Sienkiewicz does not seem as inspired by the Gothic Castle as he does in the early panels. And it all ends with the usual “Dracula is defeated… or is he?” cliche. Enjoyable enough but not really disappointed that Dracula doesn’t become a regular villain and Storm antagonist here.

Fun Panel

Any Googling

The issue opens with Dracula enslaving one Rachel Van Helsing. The name is familiar from the Dracula mythos. But not this character. So decided to explore who she was.

Turns out she was one of the leads in an 80-issue run Marvel had of a title called “Tomb Of Dracula”. An obvious attempt to cash in on seventies horror, the title concerned a crack team dedicated to defeating Dracula and undermining his plans.

Rachel is introduced in issue three, and lasts right till the end of the run. It’s an impressive stint leading a comic at the time for a female character.

Which does make it surprising that Claremont brings the character in for this issue only to have her enslaved by her nemesis in the first few pages. And then die at the end. Given the fact that he’s been building quite a roster of interesting women as supporting characters, it’s odd that there was no place for Rachel Van Helsing.

As a reader with no knowledge of the earlier comic, her appearance doesn’t really carry much weight. I want more of the story of Storm and her link to Dracula. Whereas fans of the comic she led for 78 issues are unlikely to find this epilogue that sees the victory in that title undone, and her dead at the end.

Dracula’s daughter is another carry over from the comic, suggesting that Claremont was a fan – at least of the mythos. But again the revelation of who is possessing Kitty seems weird for anyone not aware of that title.

I don’t know if Claremont planned further trips into the world of the “Tomb Of Dracula” mythos – but this ended up being the last one. A curious coda to a strikingly atypical Marvel comic.

None More Claremont

“Now, she hungers for LOVE. No words are spoken between them. None are needed”

The moment characters don’t need words in Claremont they are getting it on!

Thoughts

The genre whiplash rollercoaster continues – with this issue shifting from US military espionage to a horror tale of X-men versus Dracula. And given the BDSM elements of the Dark Phoenix/Hellfire Club story, it’s no surprise that the element that interests Claremont here is Dracula as a seducing Dominator.

Dracula ensnares Storm, and the text unambiguously defines the Count as Ororo’s “lover”. Having been bitten once in an apparant mugging, Storm becomes Dracula’s seemingly willing partner. She flies off with him into the night, bespite Kitty’s best efforts to rescue her.

The story, and the pacing, seem appriopriately stately and gothic – like a Hammer Horror film. It begins with the team in a happy, down-to-Earth place, visiting contemporary New York. Then something bad happens that doesn’t seem that odd. And then things get worse and worse…

It’s got some great moments – including the reveal of Dracula and Kitty get’s to be suitably smart and heroic. But it never quite goes into Storm’s seduction in any depth, meaning that she spends most of the issue as a rather uninteresting victim. Indeed as the narrative makes it clear they are now “lovers”, there’s an uncomfortable subtext here given we’re never seen the reasons why Storm might embrace the sexy, corrupted vampyric world.

Meanwhile Dracula doesn’t get to indulge in some nice (albeit Comics Code approved) Horror antics. It’s a surprisingly blood-less and death free adventure given that the villain is Dracula.

This issue see Bill Sienkiewicz join the X-universe as a guest artist. As an X-fan I know him best for his iconic run on the New Mutants that we’re going to get to later in this blog. But this issue is a good reminder that he’s a great artist at drawing in a more conventional Superhero style. There are moments where the experimental side of his art shows itself, but at other times its great Pop Art imagery.

Again, though, the ending feels rushed and turns into another moment where the Dracula they are fighting doesn’t seem as cool and as dangerous as Dracula could be. He just sort of gives up, humbled by Storm’s rejection of him. It’s a peculiar twist to the tale – and feels anticlimactic after Kitty effectively engineers Storm’s rescue in a nicely written fashion.

Fun Panel

The reveal of Dracula is a great moment – both with a creative flourish to show off the vampire’s teeth and Storm’s willingly displayed neck. I wanted more of this coy Sexy Vampire hijinks!

None More Claremont

We’re in the world of binding souls and lifes to Dracula, embracing darkness and a fancy gothic costume. Slightly amazed this didn’t end up being a six issue story in Claremont’s hands.