The Dracula File

"The Dracula File" is a

The story was not continued after the merger, but retains a cult following and has been released in trade paperback form by Rebellion Developments.

Creation

In 1984, IPC's juvenile division felt there was a gap in the market for a horror title as the genre grew in popularity on the back of successful films, and group editor

Shortly after publication began, Finley-Day fell behind schedule and assistant editor Simon Furman began writing the story, initially as a fill-in^[5] and then permanently when the disenchanted Finley-Day left the comic.^[6] Scream! itself was beset by management interference^[1][7] and ended after just 14 issues, not helped by an industrial strike hitting any early momentum. The title was merged into Eagle.^[2] While "The Thirteenth Floor" and "Monster" were continued in Eagle after the merger, "The Dracula Files" wasn't and some plot points were left unresolved.^[8] The strip would make occasional returns in Scream! Holiday Specials, however.^[9] Scream! aficionado David McDonald has suggested the first of these, drawn by Bradbury, was written for the weekly before its cancellation. Later one-offs featured work from Geoff Senior and Kenneth Page.^[10] In 2015, McDonald leased the rights to the "Dracula Files" and printed a low-volume collection under Hibernia Books.^[10][11]

Having purchased the rights to IPC's post-1 January 1970 catalogue in 2016,^[12] Rebellion Developments released a new "Dracula File" strip in the 2017 Scream! and Misty Special. The new story was written by Gráinne McEntee and drawn by Tristan Jones,^[13] both of whom praised the original and incorporated elements of it into their style for the new strip.^[14]

Shortly afterwards, a collection of the original story was announced as part of Rebellion's Treasury of British Comics series.^[9][15] The book featured a new cover by Chris Weston,^[16] the material from the specials^[10] and a written piece on Scream!'s history by McDonald.^[10]

Plot summary

A stranger escapes from his coffin behind the

Dracula continues his campaign in London, pursued by Stakis. Being hunted is nothing new for the vampire, however, who survived an attack by the determined Alexander Quinn and his burley assistant Carl in 1892.[18]

Collected editions

Reception

John Freeman praised the series when the Hibernia reprint was announced, noting the dark humour mixed in with the traditional horror material.^[11]

Reviewing the Rebellion collection for Slings & Arrows, Frank Plowright felt the story was not without positives but warned "this is not a lost masterpiece... the memory may prove stronger than the actuality".^[19] Andy Oliver of Broken Frontier pondered whether the Cold War setting made for an "intentional allegory or whether it was simply a topical twist", and felt that while the story was patchwork due to the publication format as short episodes, but praised Bradbury's artwork.^[9] Emily Lauer reviewed the collection for WomenWriteAboutComics, and felt it was "a fascinating time capsule".^[20]

References