TOMB OF DRACULA ISSUE NUMBER SIX
"THE MOORLANDS
MONSTER"
Cover Date: January 1973
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artist: Gene Colan
Inker Tom Palmer
Colorist: ?
Letterer: John Costanza
Editor: Roy Thomas
Main Characters: Dracula, Lenore,
Frank Drake, Rachel Van Helsing, Taj,
& the Moorlands Monster
Synopsis: Dracula and his vampiric companion
Lenore flee 19th Century Transylvania and return to the English Moors of the
20th Century. Hot in pursuit are Rachel Van Helsing,
Frank Drake, and Taj. The vampire hunters are
thrown off Dracula's tracks until Scotland Yard Inspector Chelm
notifies them that a blood-drained body has been discovered in the Moors.
The vampire hunters scramble to the
Moors where they battle Lenore and Dracula. Lenore is killed when Dracula
uses her as a shield against one of Van Helsing's crossbow
bolts. Dracula escapes and the vampire hunters then question Lord and
Lady Dering, a wealthy couple residing there. The Derings
are elusive at first but they eventually reveal that their son is cursed with a
medical condition that gives him the appearance of a shaggy hunchbacked
monster. They are concerned that their son may be falsely accused of the
murder.
The vampire hunters track Dracula to
Hagscroft Castle, an ancient building on the Moors.
Dracula surprises them and trap Frank and Rachel in an oubliette, a pit used in
medieval times to starve one's enemies. Trapped in the pit and certain
that they will die, Frank reveals his love to Rachel. Then to their
surprise, they are rescued by the Moorlands Monster. Reunited with Taj, the vampire hunters thank Randolph Dering for saving
them while Frank wonders how his love for Rachel can last as long as the legacy
of Dracula hangs over his head.
NOTES: This issue almost reads like one of Stan Lee's 1960's
superhero books where the hero has some hangup about
his worth to his girlfriend. Here, Frank Drake fears that his love for
Rachel cannot last since he is afraid that being Dracula's descendant may
eventually transform him into a vampire. This is obviously ignorance on
Drake's part as the vampire mythology in TOD clearly states that vampirism is
not a geneti condition.
We also see Rachel employ a
whitethorn stake against Lenore. In some vampire legends and books,
whitethorn is the only wood capable of killing vampires. Of course in
TOD, just about any kind of wood can be use to stake a vampire and silver is
useful for that purpose as well.
No explanation is given as to why
Dracula traps Rachel and Frank but not Taj (other
than to further the Frank/Rachel romance). One possibility is that the
Moorlands Monster arrived and scared Dracula off before he could throw Taj in.