Tsk. [RLDMG art]

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 4:20 pm

I'm sure that Marvel's Tomb of Dracula comic of the '70s was well liked by many Ravenloft writers and designers (heck, they even had a recurring enemy who was nothing more than a living brain), but I was a bit taken aback when I decided to thumb through one of the trade paperback collections (Essential Tomb of Dracula, Vol. 3)...

... and found that the artwork on p. 153 of the RLDMG is almost an exact copy of a panel of Gene Colan's art for that comic (I don't remember which of the reprinted issues, unfortunately).

Heck, Talon had the good grace to note on the Tarokka deck when he was reworking a Stephen Fabian original.

Joël of the FoS · Post by **Joël of the FoS** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 5:43 pm

Can you scan it and share it with us ?

Joël

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Wed Jun 01, 2005 9:19 pm

I'll see if I can. I don't *own* the TPB in question, but was looking at it at the gaming store I go to in Sacto (so I could even pick up their stock copy of the RLDMG and compare!). If the comic book store here in town has it, and will let me photograph the panel, I will-- money's tight enough that I won't be buying the book just yet (plus, I'd probably want to start with Volume 1, wouldn't you?).

For any reader here who *did* collect Tomb of Dracula: the issue would probably numbered in the mid or late #50s; I remember it was a story arc about the impending birth of Dracula's son.

(Gene Colan turns out to have a website and email-- I'm going to ask him if he recognizes the piece in question!)

Steve Miller · Post by **Steve Miller** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 2:40 am

My RLDMG doesn't have any illos at all on page 153.

The illo on page 53 rings faint Gene Colan bells, but nothing leaps off the page as swiped... and I have all volumes of the Essential Dracula AND the original comics, too. More details?

BTW, the "Tomb of Dracula" series are some of the finest horror comics ever produced. I think the first two volumes of the "Essential Tomb of Dracula" series are MUST HAVES for horror fans. There's also plenty of game inspiration in the pages, I think. (I feel the series lost its way toward the end, although there are a few good stories in vol. 3. Vol 4 is a collection of Dracula comics stories through the ages, but they run the gamut from mediocre to great. I think they're worth owning, but they are not must-haves.)

Another book to watch for is "Essential Monster of Frankenstein." It reprints the best comics adaptation of the original novel ever, as well as some other truly excellent tales. Unfortunately, the book also contains lots of awful drek. Basically, if the writer credit isn't Gary Friedrich, the story isn't worth reading. (The two exceptions being the two final tales in book.)

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Thu Jun 02, 2005 12:12 pm

Steve Miller wrote:My RLDMG doesn't have any illos at all on page 153.

The illo on page 53 rings faint Gene Colan bells, but nothing leaps off the page as swiped... and I have all volumes of the Essential Dracula AND the original comics, too. More details?

Hm... well, here's the illos I saw on p. 153 of my book, in the section on villain types:

IIRC the original panel had this woman speaking to another man, but the pose was pretty much the same, including the tilted camera angle (as it were).

Steve Miller · Post by **Steve Miller** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:05 pm

Are there two versions of the RLDMG? I recognize the illo, but I can't find it in my book!

As for the Colan panel, I flipped through Essential Drac 3, but don't presently have time to look carefully. That's definately a late-run Gene Colan/Tom Palmer Dracula hand in the illo, and if I squint, I can see how that woman might be a swipe of Domini.

Steve Miller · Post by **Steve Miller** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 4:09 pm

Another bit of Ravenloft/Tomb of Dracula trivia just came to mind...

The Living Brain was not inspired by Doctor Sun from Tomb of Dracula, but rather (I am nearly 100% certain) by a radio play starring Orson Welles that was titled "Donovan's Brain." (Bill Connors is a huge fan of old-time radio. If you've heard "Donovan's Brain," you can even see echoes of that story in the Living Brain's background.)

Catman Jim · Post by **Catman Jim** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 6:46 pm

Steve Miller wrote:Are there two versions of the RLDMG? I recognize the illo, but I can't find it in my book!

That illustration is also on page 153 of my RLDMG; don't know why yours would be different....

Brandi · Post by **Brandi** » Sat Jun 04, 2005 7:07 pm

Steve Miller wrote:The Living Brain was not inspired by Doctor Sun from Tomb of Dracula, but rather (I am nearly 100% certain) by a radio play starring Orson Welles that was titled "Donovan's Brain."

I've read the book it was adapted from. It's by Curt Siodmak, who wrote the screenplays for several vintage Universal horrors, most famously The Wolf Man. He also helped adapt it into two movies: The Lady and the Monster (1944), with Erich von Stroheim, and Donovan's Brain (1953), with not-yet-first lady Nancy Davis (Reagan)!

The book is highly enjoyable, BTW. Grab it if you can.

Manofevil · Post by **Manofevil** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 8:47 am

The villain's (or hero's) brain manipulating things from a jar is a very old and much used concept in Sci-fi and fantasy. I saw it at LEAST twice before the black box's publication. Once in a Dr. Who episode and again in DC Comics. A recurring enemy to an old 60's hero group called the Doom Patrol was a terrorists brain in a skull shaped mechanical can (with a glass dome, naturally) that allowed the Brain the ability to see, hear, and speak. (with a cheesy french accent. tres bien

) This Brain apparently stole as much as he could from the Doom Patrol's Chief, Niles Caulder, who bulit a robotic body for the brain of a old friend named Cliff Steele who was a Nascar driver and almost died in a race car crash. Steele became another member of the Doom Patrol named Robotman.

Apparantly, the Brain was never able to get the rest of the design to give himself arms and legs.

The last time I saw the Brain, he was marching in an Olympic parade representing a terrorist nation and he was asked by his intelligent Gorilla companion Mallah,
' By ze way, Brain, What shall we do tonight, Eh?'
'Ze same zing we do every night, Monsieur Mallah, Try to take over ze world.' (We can be sure that this interchange has plagued every campaign that has ever included RavenLoft's Brain. We all know who we are.

)
I've also seen stories about some Nazi scientist saving Hitler's brain in some way. I wish I could see a whole list of every incident of this particular plot device usage.

Dr Bloodworth · Post by **Dr Bloodworth** » Sun Jun 05, 2005 11:40 am

Don't forget the talking brain-in-a-tin-can from "The Whisperer in Darkness" by The Terrible Old Man, I mean H.P. Lovecraft.

Manofevil · Post by **Manofevil** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 10:35 pm

There's also a brain in a jar on the new incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. And they can still make it look original every time.

Fido · Post by **Fido** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 7:56 am

Manofevil wrote:There's also a brain in a jar on the new incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon. And they can still make it look original every time.

Hasn't there always been a brain in a jar in the TMNJ?

Bloody Morgan · Post by **Bloody Morgan** » Wed Jun 08, 2005 10:31 am

Nah. The Utroms in the original comics didn't turn up until the 3rd or 4th bound volume iirc. And even then they were meant to look like that, with little stubby ciddila, etc. It wasn't until Archie comics brought out their version that you had Warlord Krang, who'd had his body stripped from him.

I know too much of this.

Bloody Morgan

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Tsk. [RLDMG art]

Tsk. [RLDMG art]