I came across an old Dark Shadows comic book while sorting through some things. I have no idea how long I have had this. As the show did not screen in New Zealand, I would not have known what it was anyway.
It is by Gold Key, which was once a major US comic book company, publishing a wide range of TV and movie based comics. According to Wikipedia, the company was active from 1962 to 1984.
The Dark Shadows series was based on the US supernatural soap opera that included vampires and werewolves. There were 35 issues. My example is issue No.29, dated December 1974. Published bi-monthly by the Western Publishing Company. Authorized edition, © 1974 by Dan Curtis Productions Inc.
In 2010-11 Hermes Publishing released a five-volume, hardback re-print series of the Gold Key comics, under the title Dark Shadows - The Complete Series. They also reprinted the newspaper comic strips, and the original DS novels.
The cover of the original comic is printed on a light, glossy paper, while the contents are printed on a cheaper, newsprint-like paper. Full colour throughout. There are 32 pages, size 175 mm by 257 mm.
The Gold Key emblem appears in the upper left hand corner, with the number 90240-412; there is a small orange and black photo of vampire Barnabas Collins; and the price was 25 cents US. There is one story inside, divided in to two parts. Stolen Centuries - Part 1: the Return, and Part 2: Rite of Passage.
There are 25 pages of story, the remaining seven pages, inside covers, and the back cover, are all advertisements.
Paul Adams from New Zealand
Great post Paul. DS is a series I've always wanted to watch but never managed it. It does look fascinating, a horror soap and I don't like soaps. The paperbacks shown in the link are modern reprints by the looks of it, which is amazing; I can't believe there's enough interest in DS to warrant reprints. I used to collect those books and had most of the originals, along with a huge collection of gothic romance novels, which I've blogged about here on MC a few times.
ReplyDeleteDark Shadows was very popular in America. There were also two feature films, and the later Johnny Depp movie. Plus kits, which do get re-issued from time to time. A lot of people clearly remember, and love, this show. It did not screen in NZ. Was it shown in Britain ?
ReplyDeleteThere seem to be a few episodes, and other items, on You Tube, for anyone wanting to see what the classic original was like.