Yami no Teiô Kyûketsuki Dorakyura (Tomb Of Dracula) (1980)
In the 1970's Marvel comics excelled at combining superhero storytelling, and horror. The most successful result of this combination was Ghost Rider, but there were many more, including, Son Of Satan, Werewolf By Night, and Tomb Of Dracula. Tomb Of Dracula was a minor masterpiece by writer Marv Wolfman, and Artist Gene Colan, that ran for 70 issues, introduced the world to Blade, the vampire hunter, and in 1980 was the subject of an Anime by Toei.
The Anime, originally released in the United States as as Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, was based directly on a storyline from the comic where Dracula decides to trick a group of Satanists into thinking that he is the Devil, so that he can use their cult to influence the world.. He accepts the bride that they have chosen for him, and with her has a son named Janus. Meanwhile a group of vampire hunters led by Dr. Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan and Mina Harker) and featuring Frank Drake (a descendant of Dracula himself) try to track down Dracula's location so they can kill him. It turns out the Janus is not Dracula's son after all, but an Angel sent by god (who fights the Silver Surfer in the comic version of the story) to thwart the Satanist plot(did I mention that Janus grows into an adult spandex wearer,with various super Powers when he's a few days old?).
In the comic, this storyline revels in it's own absurdity, and ends up being great fun. The movie is less successful, but is still well worth a watch for comic fans, Dracula fans, and fans of horror anime like Vampire Hunter D.
The Anime, originally released in the United States as as Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned, was based directly on a storyline from the comic where Dracula decides to trick a group of Satanists into thinking that he is the Devil, so that he can use their cult to influence the world.. He accepts the bride that they have chosen for him, and with her has a son named Janus. Meanwhile a group of vampire hunters led by Dr. Quincy Harker (son of Jonathan and Mina Harker) and featuring Frank Drake (a descendant of Dracula himself) try to track down Dracula's location so they can kill him. It turns out the Janus is not Dracula's son after all, but an Angel sent by god (who fights the Silver Surfer in the comic version of the story) to thwart the Satanist plot(did I mention that Janus grows into an adult spandex wearer,with various super Powers when he's a few days old?).
In the comic, this storyline revels in it's own absurdity, and ends up being great fun. The movie is less successful, but is still well worth a watch for comic fans, Dracula fans, and fans of horror anime like Vampire Hunter D.
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