This week on Collector’s Corner, we continue to honor the memory of recently departed master artist – Gene “The Dean” Colan. We’re taking a look at Gene’s classic work on the greatest horror comic of the Seventies – Tomb of Dracula. Gene contributed all of the the art to the Tomb of Dracula series while Marv Wolfman contributed the scripts starting with the seventh issue in 1972 all the way to it’s end in 1979.
Gene recalled “when I heard Marvel was putting out a Dracula book, I confronted [editor] Stan [Lee] about it and asked him to let me do it. He didn’t give me too much trouble but, as it turned out, he took that promise away, saying he had promised it to Bill Everett. Well, right then and there I auditioned for it. Stan didn’t know what I was up to, but I spent a day at home and worked up a sample, using Jack Palance as my inspiration and sent it to Stan. I got a call that very day: “It’s yours.”
Colan and Wolfman were responsible for the creation of the character of Blade who would later serve as the basis for the Blade movies starring Wesley Snipes. Gene’s work on Tomb of Dracula was moody, atmospheric and horrifying. It stands today as a high water mark of both horror and comics in general.
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Gene would often record the soundtracks to his favorite films from the television and listen to them later while he drew his pages for Tomb of Dracula. Queue up this video featuring the score to James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein so you can play it along with the video with Gene’s art from Tomb of Dracula. You’re in for a treat if you do.
For his amazing contributions to the world of comic art and sequential illustration, the Mutantville Players salute Gene Colan. Thank you for all the amazing sights that you shared with us.
In this video, Streebo takes a look at his collection of Tomb of Dracula.
Queue up this musical score while you watch the other video.
