Warning: contains spoilers for Universal Monsters: Dracula #1!Bela Lugosi’s interpretation of Dracula is iconic and still haunts audiences even after 90 years. Now, Image Comics, along with Skybound Entertainment, have come together to make new comics starring Dracula and other classic Universal Monsters. Their first offering, Universal Monsters: Dracula #1 gives fans a new, but still stylish, take on the tale.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #1 is written by James Tynion IV and drawn by Martin Simmonds. The first issue reintroduces readers to the cast of the 1931 film: Doctor Seward, Jonathan Harker and his fiancé Mina, her best friend Lucy as well as Renfield. Beginning shortly after the Demeter returns to England, the book shows the earliest days of Dracula’s reign of terror, including his first victims. Renfield tells Doctor Seward about his “new master,” saying he will consume them all in time. While Seward and Harker deal with Renfield, Lucy and Mina have a heart-to-heart conversation, unaware of the menace that awaits them.
Dracula #1 Proves Bela Lugosi’s Ghoul is Still Scary After 90 Years
Dracula, directed by Tod Browning, is widely regarded as one of the best horror movies ever made. Released at the height of the Great Depression, Dracula was a runaway box office success, and inaugurated not only a string of sequels, but the entire Universal Monsters franchise. These characters, including Frankenstein’s monster, the Wolfman and the Invisible Man, have become some of the most endearing figures in pop culture. As Dracula helped launch the Universal Monsters on the big screen, it is only appropriate he led their way into comics.
Tynion and Simmonds’s Dracula Gives a Fresh Look at an Old Favorite
What makes Universal Monsters: Dracula #1 so successful is that Tynion and Simmonds do not merely retread the original film’s story, but instead fill in its gaps. The Demeter scene, one of the most chilling in the movie, is fleshed out further, showing fans the horror that went down. Mina and Lucy, the first movie’s sole women characters, are given more development here as well. Flat and two-dimensional characters, such as Doctor Seward, take on new depth here too. Tynion’s script builds a sense of dread and unease and Simmonds’ art propels the story forward. The duo created something special with The Department of Truth, and have struck gold again.
Beyond being a good read that offers new and fresh insight into the classic story, Universal Monsters: Dracula #1 is a grand start to what promises to be a great line of comics. Tynion and Simmonds’ not only look back to what made the original so good, but forward, giving old characters a fresh look, and in some cases, agency for the first time. If Image and Skybound give the same loving and reverential treatment that Tynion and Simmonds give Dracula, then the publisher has another hit on their hands. The time has come for the Universal Monsters to leave their mark on comics, and Dracula is the perfect start.
Universal Monsters: Dracula #1 is on sale now from Image Comics.
