and dangerous defect. Too often, however, Kawin simply provides examples of films that fit within a certain category, so that readers are left with little more than the knowledge that several films fea- turing that specific threat exist. It’s also interest- ing to note that the taxonomy is somewhat incomplete, as there is no mention of the subgenre involving cursed objects. Nonetheless, Kawin’s book possesses numer-
ous virtues, not the least of which is his eloquent summary of the value of horror films, which per- mit us to voluntarily make fear of death both our companion and master for a discrete period of time. Because, as Kawin notes, only the living can fear death, this most morbid of genres thus becomes, paradoxically, the most life-affirming.
DARK SHADOWS By Stuart Manning,
Aaron Campbell, Mike Raight, et al. 2012-13, Dynamite Entertainment
www.dynamite.com, 113 Gaither Dr. Ste 205 Mt. Laurel NJ 08054. 32pp., Softcover, $3.99. Reviewed by Chris Herzog
While Tim Burton’s 2012 DARK SHADOWS received decidedly mixed reviews from long term fans of the franchise, the resurgence in Dark Shad- ows merchandising which accompanied the film yielded a number of welcome releases across sev- eral media platforms. In addition to a new boxed set of the complete series on DVD, as well as long- anticipated releases of HOUSE OF DARK SHAD- OWS (1970) and NIGHT OF DARK SHADOWS on both DVD and Blu-ray, the months leading up to the film’s May 2012 premiere also saw the return of the Collins family to the comic page. DARK SHADOWS has had a surprisingly full his- tory in the comic format. Most DS aficionados are aware of the original Gold Key comic series which ran for 35 issues from 1969 until, surprisingly, 1976, well beyond the end of the show’s original television run. Fewer may be aware of the syndi- cated newspaper strip by Kenneth Bruce Bald which from March 14, 1971 to March 11, 1972 again provided DARK SHADOWS viewers with a Barnabas fix long after their hero had ceased to appear on television. Even the short-lived DARK SHADOWS revival series of the early 1990s came with its own comic book from Innovation Comics, which ran for nine issues from 1992-1993. In October 2011, Dynamite Entertainment became the latest comics publisher to provide
76
readers with new, ongoing adventures featuring the Collins clan. With an initial story arc written by Stuart Manning, best known for writing and pro- ducing a number of Dark Shadows audio dra- mas for Big Finish Productions, and art by Aaron Campbell (THE SHADOW—also from Dynamite), long-time fans can rest assured that the series has been placed in the hands of creators who know and love the Collins family as well as they do. Pre- vious DARK SHADOWS comics sometimes seemed to have difficulty matching the tone of the show and often appeared to have been put together by creators working from very basic show outlines and publicity stills who were not, ultimately, fans of the program (an issue common, especially, to Gold Key adaptations across the board). Serious fans often found familiar characters unrecogniz- able in both appearance and behavior. The first issue of the Gold Key series, for example, depicted the character of Angelique with flaming red hair. Other character illustrations tended to reflect their television counterparts in only the broadest man- ner, focusing on age, gender and general hair- style. Depictions of Barnabas Collins tended to be unmistakable, but other regulars would be tough to identify without captions and dialogue. In short,
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116