I once did a chronology of The Teen Titans. It was much easier than I expected.
I’m now doing a chronology of Tomb Of Dracula. It was much harder than I expected.
I’ll be basing this on The Tomb of Dracula The Complete Collection, because that’s how I’ve got these stories. I’m including the volume and page numbers from those collections.
I’ve decided not to include #1 in this collection on the grounds that I don’t have it. It collects The Tomb of Dracula (1972) #1-15 and Dracula Lives! (1973) #1-4. If anybody can add that to this article, they’re welcome to.
Here are my base assumptions:
If there’s no specific date given in the story, I put the date in the middle – so, June if I only know the year, and the 15th if I only know the month. If I do only know the month, that means I’m basing it on the cover date.
If there’s a run, the date given will be the first issue of that run.
I’ve split off a couple of stories that don’t feature Dracula directly, but included them here for reading purposes. I’ve tried to include every major piece included in the collection. (There are a couple of one-page write-ups of, say, actors in Dracula movies that I haven’t put in.)
What you’re going to see is:
The order I think the story is in, then the date, then the main character of the story, then the name of the story; then which volume of The Complete Collection it’s in, then the page of that volume and finally, the original issue it came from:
2 15 Mar 1975 Lilith Nobody Anybody Knows v 3 p 404 Dracula Lives! 11
The Chronology
Transylvania On A Budget v 2 p 350 Dracula Lives! 5
How To Ward Off Vampires v 3 p 291 Dracula Lives! 9
These are just a couple of pieces about vampires in general, and aren’t set at any particular time; though Transylvania On A Budget has got to be hopelessly out-of-date by now.
15 Jan 1975 Lilith The Blood Book v 3 p 358 Dracula Lives! 10
15 Mar 1975 Lilith Nobody Anybody Knows v 3 p 404 Dracula Lives! 11
15 Jun 1975 rando Dark Asylum v 3 p 487 Dracula Lives! 5
15 Jul 1975 rando The Toad v 4 p 72 Dracula Lives! 13
11 Apr 1903 vampire A Vampire Stalks Melrose Abbey v 3 p 374 Dracula Lives! 10
21 Sep 1904 vampire The Vampire Of Mednegna v 3 p 390 Dracula Lives! 11
These two are about historical events, so I looked up the dates online.
1448 Dracula The Boyhood Of Dracula v 2 p 381 Dracula Lives! 5
1448 Dracula Yes, Virginia, There Is A Dracula v 2 p 398 Dracula Lives! 6
These are about Vlad Tepes; I’ve used a year from his actual life (when he was about twenty, where some serious stuff happened to him).
15 Jun 1465 Dracula The Sins Of The Father v 4 p 37 Dracula Lives! 12
15 Jun 1471 Dracula Blood Of My Blood v 4 p 82 Dracula Lives! 13
The year is given in the story.
15 Jun 1574 Dracula Retribution In Blood v 5 p 338 Savage Sword Of Conan 26
This is a crossover with Solomon Kane. I tried to find a year for it, and there was a very wide range. Basically, I guessed.
Somebody here must know about Solomon Kane. Any hints?
05 Jun 1597 Dracula Parchment Of The Damned! v 4 p 6 Dracula Lives! 12
The year is given in the story. I’m not sure anymore where I got ‘5 June’.
15 Aug 1670 Giant-Size Man-Thing #5
It’s set ‘more than 300 years’ before the issue came out – Aug 1975.
15 Jun 1776 Dracula Assault Of The She-Pirate v 2 p 460 Dracula Lives! 7
It’s about 300 years after Vlad Tepes, so the 1700s. The actual year may be given.
14 Jul 1785 Dracula A Duel Of Demons v 2 p 353 Dracula Lives! 5
14 Jul 1789 Dracula Shadow Over Versailles v 2 p 413 Dracula Lives! 6
12 Oct 1809 Dracula The Pit Of Death v 3 p 337 Dracula Lives! 10
12 Oct 1809 Dracula The Pit Of Death v 3 p 379 Dracula Lives! 11
The dates are given in the stories.
23 Jan 1850 Dracula Bounty For A Vampire v 4 p 50 Dracula Lives! 13
It’s a Western, so I’m setting it at the time.
3 May 1890 Dracula Dracula v 2 p 338 Dracula Lives! 5
4 May 1890 Dracula Into The Spider’s Web v 2 p 425 Dracula Lives! 6
5 May 1890 Dracula The Female Of The Species v 2 p 473 Dracula Lives! 7
9 May 1890 Dracula And In That Sleep… v 3 p 263 Dracula Lives! 8
26 Jul 1890 Dracula Ship Of Death v 3 p 348 Dracula Lives! 10
10 Aug 1890 Dracula If Madness Be Thy Master v 3 p 392 Dracula Lives! 11
3 Sep 1890 Dracula Death Be Thou Proud v 4 p 94 Legion Of Monsters 1
17 Sep 1890 Dracula Hour Of The Wolf v 5 p 350 Stoker’s Dracula 2-4
This is an adaptation of the original Stoker novel, spread out over several years and then within my collections. It’s an epistolary novel, and the dates are given.
17 Nov 1898 Dracula The Frankenstein Monster #7-9 v 2 p 286
I know the year from reading the Marvel Frankenstein series.
17 Mar 1903 Dracula Twice Dies The Vampire v 3 p 323 Dracula Lives! 9
9 Apr 1926 Dracula Black Hand… Black Death v 3 p 253 Dracula Lives! 8
Year given in story.
1 Jun 1934 Dracula Let It Bleed v 3 p 426 Giant-Sized Dracula 4
It’s set in the Depression.
15 Jun 1936 Dracula The Art Of Dying v 3 p 456 Giant-Sized Dracula 5
It takes it for granted that zeppelins are a thing, so I’m putting it before the Hindenburg disaster.
20 May 1947 Dracula Child Of The Sun v 3 p 278 Dracula Lives! 8
Seemed kind of early, so I set it after a time the airplane involved was invented.
14 Jan 1974 Dracula Here Comes The Death Man v 2 p 442 Dracula Lives! 7
Date given in story.
From here on in, I’m starting with the (15) Jan for Tomb Of Dracula 16, and working forwards.
15 Jan 1974 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 16-18
15 March 1974 Dracula Werewolf By Night 15
15 Apr 1974 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 19-22
16 Jul 1974 Dracula Giant-Sized Spider-Man
17 Jul 1974 Dracula Marvel Chillers v 2 p 23
15 Aug 1974 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 23-24
03 Mar 1974 Dracula Demons In Darkness v 2 p 364
04 Mar 1974 Dracula Night Flight To Terror v 2 p 371
05 May 1974 Dracula A Death In The Chapel! v 2 p 388
06 May 1974 Dracula Blood Moon v 2 p 406 Dracula Lives! 6
06 May 1974 Dracula Blood Moon v 2 p 452 Dracula Lives! 7
27 May 1974 Dracula A Night In The Unlife v 3 p 313 Dracula Lives! 9
15 Sep 1974 Dracula Last Walk On The Nightside v 3 p 241 Dracula Lives! 8
16 Sep 1974 Dracula The Lady Who Collected Dracula v 3 p 293 Dracula Lives! 9
15 Oct 1975 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 25-35 v 3 p 4
15 Jul 1975 Dracula Bloody Mary v 4 p 62 Dracula Lives! 13
15 Sep 1975 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 36-44
15 May 1976 Dracula Dr Strange (1974) #14
15 Jun 1976 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 45-60
14 Nov 1977 Dracula Marvel Preview 12 v 5 p 113
(cover-dated Jan ’78, but it’s put in the trade between Tomb Of Dracula #60 and 61.)
15 Nov 1977 Dracula Tomb Of Dracula 61-70
Le Messor: No ToD # 1? Guess you’ll have to hunt that one down to complete your set.
No mention of ToD vol. 2 and 3 for this timeline?
The Complete collection v1 has gone to collector prices, making it nigh-impossible for me to get my paws on, I’m afraid.
Sometime in the mid-1600s (or “more than 300 years ago” as of 1975), Dracula sired Bessie the Hellcow, as seen in Giant-Size Man-Thing #5.
That’s great! I’m aware of her, but didn’t know her origin.
I’ve now added that issue to the chronology.