DRACULA

DRINKING BUDDIES

COLIN ROBINSON'S FUNKO POP COLLECTION

'What We Do in the Shadows'

S6 : E6 "Lazlo's Father"

DRACU-LA

BAT GIRL

Bat Girl

oil on panel

by John Brophy

'NOSFERATU' POSTER PRINT

by Silver Ferox
@silvereroxdesign

BRIAN LUMLEY'S 'NECROSCOPE' BOOK SERIES - UPDATED

I bought the first book at Safeway in like 1987 and would draw that skull all the time.

Only just now have I discovered it was the first in a series of books!

There's actually 18 books in the series!
But the above are the ones that stuck with that cover art theme.

1. Necroscope 1986 Necroscope
2. Necroscope II: Wamphyri 1988
3. Necroscope III: The Source 1989
4. Necroscope IV: Deadspeak 1990
5. Necroscope V: Deadspawn 1991
6. Blood Brothers 1992 Vampire World
7. The Last Aerie 1993
8. Bloodwars 1994
9. Necroscope: The Lost Years (Volume I) 1995 The Lost Years
10. Necroscope: Resurgence, The Lost Years (Volume II) 1996
11. Necroscope: Invaders 1999 E-Branch
12. Necroscope: Defilers 2000
13. Necroscope: Avengers 2001
14. Harry Keogh: Necroscope and Other Weird Heroes 2003 Supplemental
15. Necroscope: The Touch 2006 New Adventures of the Necroscope
16. Necroscope: Harry and the Pirates 2009 Supplemental
17. Necroscope: The Plague-Bearer 2010 The Lost Years
18. Necroscope: The Möbius Murders 2013

from wikipedia:

The term necroscope, as defined in the series, describes someone who can communicate with the dead (coined Deadspeak later in the series). Unlike necromancers, who here extract the knowledge they seek by brutal eviscerations of corpses, a necroscope can communicate with them as equals: peacefully and without any physical interference. The abilities of a necroscope are defined as a type of ESP.

Shlam16 writes on Reddit:

The Necroscope Saga by Brian Lumley most certainly has a cult following, but overall it is far too unknown amongst horror fans in general. Especially considering it represents the absolute pinnacle of all vampire fiction across all forms of media. Bold statement, but one I will forever stand by. These are the best vampires stories in existence, with the best vampires in existence. Not until recently has anything even come close.

I can understand people being reticent to begin such a long series, but the great thing about Necroscope is that it never started life with intention of being a huge series. It was a completely standalone book, meaning it's perfectly safe for anybody to try it out and see if they like it, with full knowledge that you'll get a satisfying conclusion to the story. The second book was a standalone sequel, as were all of the first five books. Not until book 6 did major story arcs begin to span multiple volumes.

Below is a visual timeline I created which shows all of the books in the series. Above the line are the core novels. Below are novellas and short stories which are largely side stories and less related to the core plot.

Additionally, it highlights two ways to read the series. Publication order (a must for first timers) and chronological order (excellent for re-reads).

you can also view here

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Two days after publishing this post, I found this issue of Malibu Sun from the 90s in a dollar bin at my local comic shop:



What are the odds?!!

DRACULA

by Andreas Bathory

 

DRACULA & FRANKENSTEIN

by Simon Bisley

SUPERMAN MEETS DRACULA

CLEVER 'DRACULA' BILLBOARD

MANGLORS

via Dinosaur Dracula:

From Ideal in the mid '80s, MANGLORS was a strange-but-cool series of toys that stuffed stretchy, sticky monsters inside big plastic eggs. (They were also notoriously advertised as having the ability to "reassemble" if you tore them to pieces -- something that didn't work nearly as well as promised!)

HARDEE'S "GREMLIMS--TRAPPED" RECORD

Dinosaur Dracula posts:

Flashback to 1984, when Hardee's released a series of Gremlins read-along book-and-record sets. Not too shabby for something you got while picking up cheeseburgers!

ALF ERASERS

I still have mine!

* via Dinosaur Dracula

ROYAL OOZE (1991)

via Dinosaur Dracula

BED BUGS

via Dinosaur Dracula:

Released by Milton Bradley in 1985, "Bed Bugs" was one of my favorite childhood games. It worked a bit like Operation, but this time, you had to use tongs to remove a bunch of bouncing bugs!

1083 : JABBA'S DUNGEON (SEARS EXCLUSIVE)

Dinosaur Dracula posts:

Kenner Star Wars toys, from 1983! On top is Jabba the Hutt, with his granite couch and pet monkey-lizard. A childhood fave! On the bottom is the Sears-exclusive "Jabba's Dungeon" playset, which wasn't much to look at, but did come with three action figures.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS

via Dinosaur Dracula:

Here's an assortment of Dungeons & Dragons items, from the 1982 Sears Wish Book. It was right around this time that D&D started catching heat for its "occult" atmosphere. Wild to think that this stuff could ever cause such a fuss!

I still have my Dungeon! boardgame!

GREG HILDEBRANDT PASSED AWAY

Greg Hildebrandt, artist and illustrator best known for his work in Star Wars, Marvel Masterpieces, Magic: The Gathering and The Lord of the Rings alongside his late twin brother, has died at the age of 85. Hildebrandt's wife Jean Scrocco posted the news that her husband of 15 years, and partner for over 30 years, died October 31st. She wrote "The light has gone out in my life. At 12:36 pm this afternoon [October 31], the love of my life, my best friend and soulmate passed away. Greg was 85 years young. He was the sweetest man I ever knew. We worked together for 45 years. We lived together for 33 of those years. We had a beautiful life we were blessed. Greg has been fighting for 5 months to regain his ability to breathe after a serious side effect of a heart medication. He fought very hard to win this battle but in the end he was just too weak. He passed away peacefully in my arms. He knew he was safe and he was loved and he will be missed terribly. I cannot imagine my life without him. He was my guy, yesterday, today, tomorrow and forever. You are my heart and it is broken!"

The Hildebrants work included the very first Star Wars movie with Luke Skywalker holding a lightsaber over his head, which came after their artwork for the official The Lord of the Rings calendars. And their Marvel Masterpieces work for Marvel Comics, and their trading cards spurred an entire industry. Tim Hildebrandt died in 2006, aged 67. I met them both once, with Nick Barrucci, in a bar in London, and their energy and passion for everything pop culture, in their sixties then, was evident.

Individually, Greg contributed to the art for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's albums and concert merchandise, Black Sabbath's Mob Rules album, his American Beauties pinup art and covers for IDW Star Trek comics. He also illustrated classic fiction Greg Hildebrandt's Favorite Fairy Tales, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Cottontail's Surprise, Peter Pan and Robin Hood to Dracula, Poe: Stories and Poems and The Phantom of the Opera. He recently contributed to Operation USA's benefit anthology book, Comics for Ukraine: Sunflower Seeds.

GREG HILDEBRANDT

1939 - 2024

'BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA' : RED ARMOR