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Quote1 I still dream of teeth and power. Quote2
Dracula

Appearing in "Tales of the Zombie!: Damballah's Deeds"

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

  • Frank Lukaikas

Antagonists:

  • Gideon Starr
  • Myrna Lukaikas

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Items:

  • Amulets of Damballah
  • Many books, including:
    • "R'lyeh" (First appearance)
    • "The Great Old Ones" (First appearance)
    • A book by or about Von Junzt
    • A book by or about "Clarkashton"
    • "...ternal ...outh..." (presumably "Eternal Youth") (First appearance)
    • "Vampires" (First appearance)
    • "Hobgoblins" (First appearance)
    • "Devil-Wors..." (presumably "Devil-Worship") (First appearance)
    • A book by or about HPL
    • "Do Do That Voodoo You D..." (First appearance)
    • "Oak Leaves" (First appearance)
    • "Yog-..." (presumably "Yog-Sothoth") (First appearance)
    • "Nec..." (possibly "Necronomicon")
    • "Unnass... Ku..." (possibly "Nameless Cults")
    • "Imag... Beas..." (First appearance)
    • "Atlantis"
    • "Mu"

Synopsis for "Tales of the Zombie!: Damballah's Deeds"

Simon Garth, also known as the Zombie, wanders through the Louisiana swamps. After wrestling with a crocodile, he senses a strange presence within the amulet of Damballah that hangs at his throat. He begins to answer an unearthly summons that compels him to stow away on board a ship bound for New York.

In New York City, Frank Lukaikas discovers that he has a serious heart condition and only has six months left to live. His wife Myrna decides that they should not waste any of Frank's remaining time, so she brings him to an occult curio shop. The proprietor Gideon Starr shows Myrna one of the amulets of Damballah and tells her that it has the ability to control the dead. Frank scoffs at the idea, but Myrna is entranced. She purchases the medallion as well as a book on Voodoo practices.

That night, Myrna becomes completely absorbed by her newfound passion, and Frank derides her for her self-absorbed nature. Myrna asks Frank to act as a witness while she tries to conduct her own voodoo ritual. Frank is angry, but concedes to his wife's desires. She performs the ritual in the backyard and unwittingly summons a zombie that comes burrowing up from underground. The shock is too much for Frank's weak heart and he falls over dead. The "zombie" then removes a latex mask revealing the face of Gideon Starr. Gideon and Myrna conspired together to create an elaborate voodoo ritual in order to frighten Frank Lukaikas to death. Now, Myrna stands to inherit Frank's fortune. Myrna reveals that Frank was going to change his will, leaving his money to his niece, so Gideon and she had to act quickly before he could contact his lawyer again. With a sneer, Gideon removes the fake Amulet of Damballah and pitches it into the fireplace. Gideon thinks that he is going to share in Myrna's newfound wealth, but Myrna betrays him. She poisons his drink and Gideon falls over dead.

What Myrna failed to realize is that the Amulet of Damballah (which she believed to be fake), was, in fact, the genuine twin to the medallion worn by the zombie Simon Garth. The Zombie crashes through the window of the house and attacks Myrna. He recovers the medallion and throws Myrna into the fireplace where she burns to death.

The zombie believed that once it had collected both medallions, that he his soul would be free, and he could finally die. This is not to be, however, and the zombie shambles off into the night.

Appearing in ""Vault of Evil: Slayride""

Featured Characters:

  • Jack Darcy

Supporting Characters:

  • Celia Darcy

Races and Species:

Locations:

Vehicles:

  • Dogsled

Synopsis for ""Vault of Evil: Slayride""

Jack and Celia Darcy are vacationing in a small cabin in Alaska. Celia hates her husband, citing that he is too possessive and that she never wanted to take this vacation in the first place. Jake grabs her and says that she is his, and he will kill her before allowing anybody else to touch her. Celia grabs a skillet from the mantle and dashes Jake across the head. When he awakens, he finds a note from Celia indicating that she is leaving him and that she has gone to the nearest village twenty miles away.

Jake runs outside to ready the dog sled, but he finds that a hungry timber wolf has killed both of the dogs. The wolf chases Jake into the cabin and attacks him, but Jake manages to beat him down using the same skillet that Celia used to defend herself.

Determined to exact revenge against his wife, Jake slips the unconscious wolf into a halter attached to the dog sled. He gets the wolf to pull the sled by plying him with thrown pieces of processed meat. As the meat runs out, the wolf begins to eye Jake. Jake's strong willpower refuses to give up, however, so he cuts off his finger to keep the wolf obedient. Over the course of three nights, Jake continues to cut away at body parts and feed them to the wolf. By the time he arrives in town, he has cut off an entire arm and both legs. With nothing left to offer, Jake collapses. The wolf consumes what is left, but Jake's indomitable willpower merges with the creature. The wolf tracks down Celia Darcy determined to finish the job that Jake started.

Appearing in ""Haunt of Horror: The Survivor""

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

Races and Species:

Locations:

Synopsis for ""Haunt of Horror: The Survivor""

In July of 1960, the wife of Milton Gross sits in the maternity ward of Beth-El Hospital. While birthing twins, the first child dies, but the second child manages to survive.

In 1982, the surviving Robert Gross is in bed with a woman and tells her about his miraculous birth. Robert fails to tell the woman however that he is still haunted by the spirit of his stillborn sibling Roberta. Roberta's soul found a home within Robert's body and has been directing his actions for years. As Robert is a naturally weak person, it was easy for Roberta to take command of his body.

Robert loses control and runs out of the apartment building. Mentally feuding with his dominating sister, he runs back to his parents' house where he slices his wrist open with a knife. Roberta grows terrified at the thought of permanently dying, so she abandons Robert's body. Satisfied that he is now free of her, Robert telephones an ambulance.

Appearing in ""Tomb of Dracula: The Blood Request""

Featured Characters:

Supporting Characters:

Antagonists:

Other Characters:

  • Hunyadi (Mentioned)
  • Alexandru Aldea (Referenced)
  • Transylvanians
    • Comte de Marko (First appearance; dies)
  • Dracul (Mentioned)
  • God (Invoked)
  • Christina Virag
  • Lord Claveling
  • Father Gowa
  • Lala (First appearance)
  • Serge (First appearance)

Races and Species:

Locations:

Vehicles:

Synopsis for ""Tomb of Dracula: The Blood Request""

In the days of pre-Cataclysmic Atlantis, the monstrous Varnae rules as the Lord of all vampires. He impales his victims on upended wooden spikes and sleeps in a stone coffin filled with the blood of his enemies. Varnae sets in motion a series of events that will one day bring about his chosen successor. The first stage of these plans includes transforming the former priest Nimrod into a false vampire lord.

1459
In the Romanian region of Wallachia, the reigning warlord, Prince Dracula scours the countryside along with two of his dignitaries, Lord Claveling and the Comte de Marko. Wallachia is in the middle of a war with the Turkish empire, and Dracula surveys the forests taking note of the rotting bodies of his dead countrymen littering the ground. He laments the toll that this war is taking upon his country. Repulsed, Dracula returns to his castle where he shares dinner with his wife Maria. Maria knows that Dracula is disturbed and she tries to console him.

That evening, Dracula suffers from a series of nightmares which include images of Varnae, as well as visions of his Turkish adversaries. In the dream, he sees Lord Turac conspiring with his second in command Baron Kordo as to their upcoming battle strategy.

Awakening, Dracula believes that he knows the Turks position, and mobilizes his soldiers. The details of the dream prove false, however, and the Turks overwhelm Dracula's forces. In the midst of battle, Dracula sustains a mortal blow. Recovering the body of the barely breathing Romanian prince, Lord Turac takes him to the camp of the gypsy Lianda. He does not wish for Dracula to die and instructs Lianda to use her healing powers to save him. He plans to use Dracula as a puppet through which he can control all of Wallachia. What Turac doesn't realize, is that Lianda is a vampire – one who despises the Turks and their Romanian occupation. She saves Dracula's life as instructed, but does so by turning him into a vampire.

When Turac discovers her treachery, he impales her with a silver-tipped spear. Lianda survives the blow, however, and turns into a bat and flies away. She comes to the lair of her master Varnae and begs him to heal her. Varnae notes that he never "gives", only "takes" and destroys her.

Turac meanwhile imprisons the neophyte vampire inside the walls of his own castle. He then prepares to ravish Dracula's wife Maria, but inadvertently kills her in the process. Dracula grows enraged and breaks free of his chains. He attacks Turac and kills him. He then takes the body of his wife, as well as his infant son and flies away from the castle. He vows to avenge her death by slaughtering as many Turkish soldiers as he can find.

Soon after, Dracula learns of the vampire lord Nimrod. He confronts Nimrod inside of his mountain cave and challenges him for the right to rule all vampires. Nimrod suggests a "Battle of Stakes", but ultimately falls to Dracula's blade. Dracula proclaims himself the Lord of all vampires.

Meanwhile, a Christian priest learns of the recent vampire attacks in the region and manages to track Dracula down. Along with his confederates, they succeed in driving a stake through his heart and decapitate him. Varnae emerges from seclusion and kills the priest. He then sends one of his demonic brood, Serge, to woo the priest's niece Christine. During their exchange, Christine's blood is spilled and seeps into the ground at the very spot where Dracula was killed. The blood brings Dracula back to life and he exposes Serge as a demonic agent shortly before killing him. He allows Christine to live.

Varnae approaches Dracula and tells him that he has nurtured the Wallachian's evil nature since birth, and has sublimely manipulated events to forge him into the creature that he is today. He had guided him to face Nimrod as a test to prove Dracula's worth. Varnae tires of his immortal existence and as such, has chosen Dracula as his successor. He forces Dracula to drink deep of his blood whereupon he becomes the true Lord of all vampires. With the task complete, Varnae walks out into the rising sun and his body crumbles into dust.

Appearing in ""Bucky Bizarre: Excursion to the Sixties""

Featured Characters:

  • Bucky Bizarre

Antagonists:

  • Hippie-Witch

Races and Species:

Locations:

  • Unrevealed reality

Vehicles:

  • Bucky's time ship

Synopsis for ""Bucky Bizarre: Excursion to the Sixties""

Bucky Bizarre travels to the turn of the century where he finds an aged woman attempting to kidnap a toddler. After interrogating her, he learns that the old hag planned on bathing in the child's blood. Disgusted by this "Gothic" era, Bucky hops in his time ship and travels to the year 1960. He meets a hippie girl who claims to be a witch. Bucky doesn't believe that she is a true witch, but the hippie convinces him to take her for a ride in his ship. He asks her to prove that she's a witch by turning him into something. The girl grabs the ship's steering wheel and jerks it, causing it to collide into a wall. She smiles and says, "There! See? I turned you into the side of a building!"

Notes

  • The origin of Dracula is revealed in this issue.
  • This issue recaps the origin of the Zombie as first revealed in Zombie #1.
  • The Zombie appeared last in Zombie #9. He appears next in Daredevil Annual #9.
  • The events from "Tomb of Dracula: The Blood Request" take place concurrently with events from Dracula #2. Dracula appears next in flashback in Dracula #3.

Trivia

  • Editor Denny O'Neil was present during the photographing of this issue's cover.

See Also

Recommended Reading

Links and References

References

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