TERRORS OF DRACULA VOL. 1 NO. 3 (PART 1)

TERRORS OF DRACULA
Vol. 1 No. 3 (Whole Number 1)
May 1979
Eerie Publications
Publisher: Myron Fass
Editor: Carl Burgos (?)
Pages: 68
Cover: Fernando Fernandez (Reprint from Tales From the Tomb v3n6)

Myron Fass' Eerie Publications line of titles were well known for containing a generous amount of reprint stories from pre-code horror comics. They were normally reworked with a new, more "frightening" title, and a new splash page that typically depicted more grislier fare than the originals. Combined with overtly outré and outlandishly lurid covers, the overall effect was an assault on the visual senses ... which is what they were known for and which makes them valued collector's items today (who would've thought?).

Eerie Publications were not only infamous for using mainly reprinted material, but also for the habit of reprinting their reprints, even multiple times. For instance, a story entitled, "The Dead Demons", was used not once, not twice, but nine times over the course of Eerie's nearly twenty-year history!

Which brings us to today's post, the first part of TERRORS OF DRACULA. Fass adopted the practice of launching a new title with a higher issue number than #1 because distributors were often leery of giving rack space to an untested title on the newsstands. Thus, this the first issue, was printed as #3.

TERRORS OF DRACULA is not half bad for a monster comic, considering it was comprised of all reprints, and all that had already appeared in a previous Eerie title! Just to show you how deep the practice was, below is a list of the stories and their printing history.

Oh, and guess what ... "The Dead Demons" appears in this issue!

Inside Front Cover – Reprint of Bill Alexander cover art from Tales From the Tomb v5n4.

1. “Vampire” – Art by Oscar Fraga. Reprint from Tales of Voodoo v7n6 and Witches Tales v5n5 (Rework of “Shadow of Death”, Tomb of Terror #7 [Harvey, Jan 1953]. This story was reworked again as “This Bite is Sweet” in Strange Suspense Stories #21 [Charlton, Oct 1954].

2. “The Fleshripper” - Reprint from Terror Tales v6n6 – Art by Martha Barnes (Rework of “A Beast Is In the Streets”, Black Magic #25 [v4n1] [Prize, June 1953]).

3. “Vampires Bride” - Reprint from Horror Tales v7n2 – Art by Fernand (Rework of “Vampire Bride”, Web of Mystery #9 [Ace, May 1952]).

4. “Horror With Fangs” - Reprint from Tales of Voodoo v7n6 (Rework of “Special On Beet Soup”, Tales of Horror #6 [Toby, Aug 1953]).

5. “The Mummies” – Art by Oscar Fraga. Reprint from Weird v6n5 and Horror Tales v7n2 (Rework of “The Living Mummies”, Chamber of Chills #15 [Harvey, Jan 1953]).

6. “Never Kill a Corpse” - Reprint from Terror Tales v6n6 and Horror Tales v7n2 – Art by Alberto Macagno (Rework of “Don't Call on the Dead”, Black Magic #27 [v4n3] [Prize, Nov-Dec 1953]).

7. “The Dead Demons” - Reprint from Terror Tales v2n2 – Art by Dick Ayers (Rework of “Ferry of the Dead”, Chamber of Chills #2 [#22] [Harvey, Aug 1951]).

 

8. “Pool of Horror” - Reprint from Terror Tales v5n4 – Art by Domingo Mandrafina (Rework of “Colony of Horror”, Tomb of Terror #7 [Harvey, Jan 1953]).

 

9. “The Vampire Flies” (really!) – Art by Oscar Fraga. Reprint from Weird v5n4 (Rework of “The Improved Kiss”, Weird Terror #8 [Comic Media, Nov 1953]).

 

10. “Cats of Doom” - Reprint from Horror Tales v7n2 – Art by Kato (Rework of “Lynx Man's Nine Lives”, Web of Mystery #9 [Ace, May 1952]).

 

Back Cover - Reprint from cover of Tales of Voodoo v3n4 – Art by Bill Alexander.