VAMPIRES AND ZOMBIES 661
magazine. Th is human with vampire powers was a foray into the new territory. Once the
character was approved by the code and accepted by readers, Marvel Comics followed
up with the series, Tomb of Dracula in 1972. Th e other famous human-vampire hybrid
character, Blade, made his fi rst appearance in Tomb of Dracula #10.
DC Comics too was publishing zombie and vampire stories in horror or speculative
anthologies series such as Ghosts (1971), Secrets of Haunted House (1975), Secrets of
Sinister House (1972), Th e Unexpected (1968), Weird Mystery Tales (1972), and We i r d
War Tales (1971). However during the 1970s, Marvel Comics dominated horror with
ongoing series that featured recurring zombies (Simon Garth) or vampires (primarily
Blade, Morbius, and Dracula), as well as many anthologies series, including Crypts of
Shadows (1973), Dead of Night (1973), Monsters Unleashed (1973), Giant-Size Chillers
(1974), Haunt of Horror (1974), Supernatural Th rillers (1972), Tomb of Darkness
(1974), Uncanny Tales (1973), Vault of Evil (1973), and others.
Marv Wolfman both wrote and edited many of these series for Marvel Comics
including extended stints on both Tales of the Zombie and Th e Tomb of Dracula.
Both series portrayed and developed these monsters beyond their typical cinematic
representation of unambiguously evil. For most of their history, comics featuring
zombies and vampires took their lead from books and fi lm, but with Wolfman and
others, comics developed distinct trends within the overall vampire and zombie
mythology.
Since the change in the Comics Code, vampires have been featured regularly within
Marvel Comics’ continuum. Blade and Morbius made it into mainstream continuum
of Marvel Comics on a regular basis, while Dracula and vampires in general make
occasional appearances. Dracula fought the Defenders in Th e Defenders #95 (1981),
the X-Men in Uncanny X-Men Annual #6 (1982) and also encountered Apocalypse
(X-Men: Apocalypse vs. Dracula, 2006), and Captain Britain (Captain Britain and
MI13, 2009). In the 1990s, Marvel Comics launched the crossover series, Rise of the
Midnight Sons, which featured many of the supernaturally-based superheroes including
Morbius, Blade, and characters related to, or inspired by, Abraham van Helsing and
Dracula. Plots focused on the occult, thus vampires and zombie characters were reoc-
curring villains.
DC Comics pitted both Superman and Batman at diff erent times against Dracula
and other vampires, though not always in their main continuum (Batman & Dracula: Red
Rain, 1991; Batman: Bloodstorm, 1994; Batman: Crimson Mist, 1999; Superman #180,
2002; Superman and Batman vs. Vampires and Werewolves, 2008). Th ere are occasional
vampire and zombie villains, but DC Comics has few recurring vampires or zombies.
Andrew Bennet was a “good vampire” attempting to fi ght against evil ones. He appeared
as a regular character in House of Mystery starting with issue #290 for 30 issues and then
appeared sporadically in diff erent series throughout the 1990s and 2000s. DC Comics
also created Solomon Grundy, a recurring zombie supervillain who fi rst appeared
in All-American Comics #61 (1944) and has repeatedly battled Batman, Superman,
Green Lantern, Starman and others over the years.
