I’m not entirely sure whether the Halloween review will become a tradition.
I’m not particularly into horror, but several horror characters have a very long history with superheroes. Dracula, in particular, is very prominent in Marvel Comics and he occasionally shows up at DC as well.
But the Big Two are by no means the only publishers to venture into Transylvania.
In 1962, Dell Comics published an adaptation of the Bram Stoker novel.
But inexplicably, four years later…
Dracula #2 (1966)
by Don Segall & Bill Fraccio
Yep. This is Dracula as a superhero.
And the cover isn’t lying about this being a “collectors issue”: as of 2026, you can get a mint condition copy for about 400 dollars.
Assuming anyone wants to buy it.
We begin in a “little known middle European country” where Dracula used to live.
I’m pretty sure ANYONE buying this book would know this should be Transylvania… although I’m not entirely sure how many comic book writers know Transylvania is not a modern country; most of what is associated with the region is now part of Romania (although some parts spill into neighboring countries).
Although to be fair, how much of the target audience for this comic would know Romania in 1966?
But let’s meet our protagonist, who according to the captions has been working for years to find “world peace”.
He’s actually been experimenting with bats to create a serum that can heal brain damage.
We’re lucky he didn’t accidentally create Covid-66.
“Doctor, you have to allow me to give bat juice to your patients with brain damage.”
Are you sure you’re not the one with brain damage?
And this is why you should be nice to bats, people.
If you’re lucky, they turn you into Batman. If you make them angry… you’ll see.
I don’t think anything showcases how dull Dell Comics get than the fact that their characters toast by drinking water.
Don’t blame the bats for this, dude. You’re the one running medical experiments with open vials kept around live bats.
The serum has the effect of… turning him into a bat.
It’s temporary though, because the following panel he’s back to normal. And we learn that the doctor is actually the current Count Dracula: he’s a descendant of the original.
And then the country is invaded by General Eyebrows here.
I have never seen “Peiping” as spelling variant of Beijing. Was that a thing at some point?
As you might have guessed, General Eyebrows takes over the castle and throws Dracula Junior into the dungeon.
How much of that serum did you make?
Why did you have it on you when they threw you into the dungeon?
Why did they let you keep it?
And why did they even throw you into the dungeon to begin with?
And why am I trying to make sense of this?
Also the serum apparently allows him to return to human form at any moment.
Was it really necessary to take it to turn into a bat the second time?
You would think having a bunch of nuclear missiles would be enough for General Eyebrows, but he has a more complex plan.
Wait, sorry, I meant to say he has a stupid plan.
Part of the plan is infiltrating a peace conference attended by world leaders, which means that anyone can get in. It’s not like they would check your ID or anything.
Wait wait wait… you have the means to kill the leaders of all nuclear powers AND your plan requires them to accuse each other?
Wouldn’t the fact that every leader is assassinated be a big clue that the real enemy is a third party?
Wait, is the “Peace Palace” the United Nations headquarters?
Did… did Dracula Junior just fly to Transylvania to New York City AS A BAT???
Assuming he starts from Bran Castle (the Dracula castle in the novel) to New York City, that’s about 7500 km (4660 miles) as the crow bat flies.
Vampire bats fly at an average speed of 13.5 km/h (83.8 miles/h), so it would take a little over 24 hours of CONTINUOUS flight to make the journey.
It is possible that, even in human form, Dracula Junior now has super-strength.
Given how easily General Eyebrows got in, I prefer to think he’s just a regular guy and security is THAT bad.
In this comic about the descendant of Count Dracula becoming a superhero because bats spilled his medical bat juice into his mineral water cocktail, the fact that world leaders immediately listen to a guy who just barged into their peace conference is the least believable part.
Okay this is 1966 so his henchmen don’t have cellphones, but a guy who owns nuclear warheads certainly has access to regular phones and doesn’t need to take a flight?
For a moment I thought General Eyebrows returning with a helicopter meant that the Peace Palace might have been in Transylvania. But nope, Dracula Junior explicitly has to move to a different country.
Thank goodness, otherwise going through the trouble of tracking the journey to New York would have been a bit silly on my part.
Why would General Eyebrows even care about Dracula Junior joining force with him?
He already has the military power and resources to move nuclear weapons into another country, occupy the castle, while coming and going as he pleases.
Since he doesn’t know he has superpowers… what would Dracula Junior contribute?
Heck even WITH the ability to transform into a bat, what good is he to your goal of world domination?
Maybe the bats will save the day. Hey they can’t possibly be lamer than Dracula Junior.
Behold: the ONLY panel that even comes close to a horror theme.
This one definitely deserved a better comic.
I should point out that A) Dracula Junior has no control over the bats B) they are not supernatural in any way, they are just bats.
But the comic isn’t as silly as having bats saving the day.
It has the villain foiling his own plan by driving off a cliff.
The first story is over, but there is a backup feature that explores Dracula Junior’s powers.
Like turning into a bat with the proportional strength of a bat.
Wait, what?
Nevermind, because when he transforms back into a human he’s… still weak.
At least until his very own Epic Training Montage!!!
Also thanks to the delicious power of Generic Regular Bread.
It just works!!!
Dracula Junior is now so buff that he needs new clothes, which he gets from a nearby tailor who I guess has so many international customers that he has English signs despite the story still theoretically being set in Transylvania.
After stopping nuclear war, Dracula Junior’s next case is bank robbers.
Kind of a letdown after that.
It’s a bird! It’s a bat! It’s a… no, I got it right, it was just a bat.
“Dracula: he has the strength of a slightly buff man!”
This guy lives in a castle and goes around beating bank robbers; surely he’ll need SOMETHING to protect his secret identity?
Maybe something that doesn’t even cover his face will do the trick.
People will be so busy laughing at him that they won’t even look at his face.
Wait, when did he move to a hotel? HE HAS A CASTLE!!!
Did he move to another country to pick up his costume or what?
But the story requires that he HAS to be away from the castle for a while, in order to have the locals set in on fire.
And that’s what shakes Dracula about the state of the world.
And we finally end the story with Dracula’s pledge to use his powers to set an example for all mankind.
Which will definitely be inspired by a guy who can turn into a bat and nothing else.
Historical significance: 0/10
Silver Age-ness: 10/10
Monster-ness: 0/10
Does it stand the test of time? 0/10
There are TWO other issues of this trainwreck, as Dracula Junior stars in Dracula #3 and #4.
The book would be resurrected in 1972, with #6 through #8 reprinting older stories; it’s certainly a coincidence that this happened while Marvel was publishing Tomb Of Dracula.
You might notice I did not mention Dracula #5.
There is no Dracula #5.
They just forgot.
In issue #4, Dracula adopts the civilian identity of Aloysius Ulysses Card, or Al U. Card for short.
Which sounds like one of my stupid jokes but someone was paid to write, draw, ink, letter, edit and publish this thing. With money.
We never learn his full original name, but given this book I believe it’s probably Count J. Dracula.
Dracula Junior’s second adventure is on a boat fighting nuclear weather-manipulating dirigibles.
Adding that to the ever-growing list of sentences I never thought I’d need to type.
Saving the world in #3 makes Dracula famous, to the point that the latest fad is calling everyone Dracula. And taking drugs.
Mostly it’s the drugs.
These issues give Dracula Junior an assistant and love interest, B.B. Beebe.
And here I thought “Al U. Card” would be the dumbest civilian name in this series.
She becomes his sidekick Fleeta.
Would it kill any of you to put on a mask that covers your freaking faces???
This is the part of the review where I typically talk about extremely minor appearances after the end of the original series, but… I could not find ANYTHING about Dracula.
I’m also certain that it’s not in the public domain yet, if only because Fleeta did not join Femforce.
Dracula wasn’t even the only case of Dell turning classic monsters into superheroes; Frankenstein is even explicitly mentioned in Dracula #3, but the three monsters never actually meet.
