Wild West Lawman vs. Vampire

 

cover art by Earl Norem

Dracula Lives is one of several black-and-white books published by Marvel between 1973 and 1975, under the Marvel Monster Group brand. The 13th issue (July 1975) was the last and included a great story pitting a grizzled veteran lawman from the Old West against Dracula. 

Written by Tony Isabella and drawn by Tony DeZuniga, "Bounty for a Vampire" looks great in black-and-white. It starts off in media res, with the unnamed Marshal walking into Dracula's castle. 

It's actually a nice touch that Marshal is never given a name. Like Hammett's Continental Op, the Marshal is defined by his profession. We learn this in brief flashbacks that are seeded throughout the story. He had been an army scout (which is why he isn't freaked out by vampires--he's seen plenty of Indian magic) and has been a lawman for 20 years. When the town he's watched over fired him because of his age, he took a bounty hunting job.

That this job is tracking the vampires that killed a rich man's son back to Transylvania might be unusual, but it's a job he proves to be good at. Remember that the flashbacks are used to gradually give us his background. The story actually starts with his entry into the castle and proof that he's researched vampires and prepared properly. He guns down a few minor-league bloodsuckers with silver bullets, then beheads them to make sure they stay dead.

Next, he meets a sexy lady vampire, who--like all sexy lady vampires--attempts to, well, vamp him. He responds to her overtures by driving a stack into her heart.

But before he can behead her, Dracula himself shows up. He's been toying with the Marshal, allowing him to take out some minions, but the girl is too valuable to lose on a permanent basis. So he's decided to kill the Marshal personally.

That doesn't prove easy, though. The Marshal is very, very good in a fight. Also, he carries a shotgun loaded with silver buckshot. When it appears he might actually win the fight, Dracula changes tactics, playing on the Marshal's sense of law and order. Does the Marshal have the right to kill Dracula without a trial?

I'm pretty sure the correct answer to that is a resounding YES! But the Marshal seems swayed by the argument. He turns his back to Dracula as he walks back towards the castle entrance.

This is too much of a temptation for Dracula, who attacks again. But the Marshal is quick with the shotgun and he has no problem at all with the concept of self-defense. 

The stories in Dracula Lives weren't necessarily a part of the continuity of Marvel's color Tomb of Dracula book, which allowed them to run stories in which the Lord of the Vampire gets killed. On the other hand, he got killed a number of times in Tomb of Dracula, but was always getting resurrected. (Which includes one memorable occasion when he's brought back by the vampire hunters who had killed him to battle a disembodied brain that was about to conquer the world.) So that he might have gotten killed a few years before the events of the novel Dracula isn't impossible in a Marvel Universe context. Especially since the Marshal, in his eagerness to make a dramatic exit, seems to have forgotten about the necessity of beheading the corpse. Gee whiz.

But I don't mean to make fun of the story. It's well-written, with the use of flashbacks to gradually build up the Marshal's history and character being particularly impressive. And DeZuniga's art is fantastic. He had a flair for bringing stories of the Old West to gritty life, even if a particular Old West story is set in Transylvania and involves vampires.

That's it for now. Next week, we'll see what it's like to raise a baby who has superpowers.