Charlotte Fierro

In the 1970s, after having spent more than a decade as a juggernaut of superhero comics, Marvel expanded their line in a new direction, going back to their 50s Atlas Comics tradition of horror and supernatural stories. But instead of Kirby-esque creatures from outer space like “Xemnu the Living Hulk” or “Groot from Planet X,” Marvel found its new monsters in literary and cinematographic icons such as Frankenstein’s monster, the Werewolf, and — most notable among them — Dracula.

The Tomb of Dracula became the most successful of Marvel’s 70s horror comics, telling the story of the continued struggle between a group of vampire hunters and the titular villain. Count Dracula is presented as a villainous – although at time sympathetic – figure, sometimes fighting alongside the heroes, but always motivated by his hunger for blood and power.

For most of his initial series, Dracula stayed in his own part of the Marvel universe, very rarely crossing over with other titles, and mostly with similarly horrific or supernatural characters. But this started changing in the 2000s, when the Lord of the Vampires became a villain for the whole Marvel universe, encountering characters like Captain Britain, the X-Men, or even Deadpool. Most recently, since 2019, Dracula has become the leader of his own Vampire Nation, serving as an antagonist for the Avengers as well as Wolverine. [Read more…] about Dracula (Marvel) Reading Order!