My Rating
“And Unto Dracula Was Born A Son”
Several quail erupt from a dense shrub as a bloodcurdling scream shakes them from their slumber. This remote section of the Transylvanian forest is historically quiet, but tonight, talk of witchcraft fills the air. A local woman stands accused of signing a compact with the Devil, and the villagers believe her dark magic has cursed their livestock.
The year is 1792. What future generations might recognize as disease or natural misfortune is blamed on witchcraft by the superstitious people of this age. A large mob of angry Christians has arrived from the nearby village, determined to put an end to the Devil’s handiwork. There is only one solution in their minds: burn the witch responsible for the turmoil.
As the angry villagers prepare to set the young woman ablaze, a pair of yellow eyes watches from the nearby tree line. The smell of something ancient fills the night air—an aroma reminiscent of a freshly unearthed grave mixed with the stench of rotting corpses.
Something has ventured down from the abandoned castle high in the mountains to the west.
A monster of legend.
The Strigoi.
Future generations will know him as Count Dracula.
The Thirst
Driven by an uncontrollable thirst for the young woman’s blood, Count Dracula swoops from the darkness and liberates the accused witch from hell itself. Unfortunately, Dracula has plans of his own. Her destiny is motherhood, and the child growing inside her was conceived by the vampire himself.
Dracula would have a son!
The young mother vows that her baby will never become corrupted by the teachings of vampirism. As her belly grows, so does her determination to escape. Then, one day, while Dracula sleeps inside the crypts beneath the castle keep, she makes her move. With the newborn cradled in her arms, the woman flees toward the nearest port city.
Her child will grow up far away from Transylvania in the land of milk and honey.
Young Adam will become an American.
The year is now 1975. Inside a classroom at Columbia University in New York, Professor Adam Lucard has just finished teaching a course on the mystic arts of the occult. As the students file out, a young blonde named Debbie Porter rushes toward the front of the room. Her infatuation with Professor Lucard has been building throughout the year, and now she sees an opportunity to earn a little extra credit.
If he’ll have her, that is.
Can the son of Dracula survive in the modern world of 1975 without feasting on the blood of the living? Will progressive-thinking Debbie get her grade changed from a C- to an A+? More importantly, has Count Dracula finally discovered the location of his long-lost heir?
Collect the series to find out!
Review
I recently reviewed Marvel Comics’ Tomb of Dracula #1, so now it is time to check out the Atlas/Seaboard knockoff, Fright Featuring the Son of Dracula.
Yes, you read that correctly.
Dracula has a son!
The old bloodsucker should be proud, too. Adam Lucard has grown into a respectable professor at a prominent New York university. Forget lurking around crumbling castles and sleeping inside filthy coffins. The son of Dracula has tenure!
Can you say lifetime job security?
Booyah!
The history of Atlas/Seaboard is a colorful one. In a nutshell, former Marvel publisher Martin Goodman launched the company during the 1970s with hopes of competing directly against Marvel and DC. Atlas offered creators higher page rates, better working conditions, and certain rights and incentives that helped lure established talent away from competing publishers.
For Fright Featuring the Son of Dracula, Atlas assembled Gary Friedrich, Frank Thorne, and Larry Lieber, all veterans of the comic-book industry with Marvel experience under their belts. That level of talent definitely shows.
Although I’m only giving this issue three out of five stars, the score isn’t a reflection of the writing or artwork. Both are solid. My biggest problem lies with Atlas itself and the company’s determination to chase characters and concepts already selling for its competitors.
History
During Atlas/Seaboard’s short existence, the company rushed numerous titles into production while trying to carve out a piece of the market dominated by Marvel and DC. Unfortunately, many of its characters felt suspiciously similar to heroes and monsters already sitting on comic racks.
Fright Featuring the Son of Dracula is a perfect example.
Marvel had already found success with Tomb of Dracula, so what does Atlas give us? Dracula!
Well…his son, anyway.
The concept of Adam Lucard is actually pretty interesting. Instead of giving readers another centuries-old vampire brooding inside a Transylvanian castle, Friedrich drops Dracula’s offspring into 1970s America and makes him a university professor specializing in the occult. There is plenty of potential here. Unfortunately, the opening story never gets enough time to develop Adam into something truly unique.
That is a shame because I wanted to see where this strange little vampire tale was headed.
Frank Thorne’s artwork is easily one of the highlights. His characters are expressive, the supernatural scenes have plenty of atmosphere, and his Dracula looks suitably ancient and sinister. In my opinion, the artwork is better than what appeared in quite a few horror comics from Charlton and DC during the same period.
Had Atlas/Seaboard survived longer, Adam Lucard might have developed into an interesting horror character in his own right. Instead, he became another strange artifact from one of the comic industry’s most fascinating failed experiments.
If you can find an affordable copy of Fright Featuring the Son of Dracula, I recommend picking it up. Atlas/Seaboard has developed its own small collector following, and this is one of the better-produced horror books in the company’s catalog.
Is it Tomb of Dracula?
Hell no.
But there is enough good writing, great Frank Thorne artwork, and wonderfully weird 1970s horror packed between these pages to make the book worth owning.
I give Fright Featuring the Son of Dracula three out of five stars.
Go, Son of Dracula, go!