Dracula #5: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Dracula #5 was published 4 October 1975:

The cover is a Newtonese-coloured version of the cover on Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #6:

It was subjected to another variation of Newtonese colouring when it was issued as a poster:

Note this poster has the Tales of Horror banner which is absent on the cover. This poster appeared a few months before Dracula #5 in The Amazing Spider-Man #6. 

It also appeared in black and white as a single-page ad/filler in Daredevil Special:

The stories:

The Moorlands Monster!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #6, January 1973

When Calls The Vampire!, previously published in Dracula Lives #4, January 1974

The Moorlands Monster is reprinted complete and intact. It was reprinted in Australia a few years later in Yaffa's The Tomb of Dracula #2 and Evil Dracula.

When Calls the Vampire! is also reprinted complete and intact, including the original grayscale production. It was reprinted a few years later in Australia in Yaffa's Dracula Lives! #4.

The poster in this issue features the cover image from Ka-Zar #1:

 

The swap card in my copy is Fantastic Four Series A (1 of 15) No. 4.

As previously documented, Dracula #5 was advertised with the cover to Dracula #6 in The Silver Surfer #2, 25 October 1975:

Dracula #5 was advertised with the correct cover and issue number in The Incredible Hulk #8, 11 October 1975:

This issue includes the following in-house advertisements:

Hulk King Size Annual #1

The Silver Surfer #1

The advisory Out Next Week was out of date by the time this issue was published.

This issue includes an ad for Origins of Marvel Comics on the inner front cover; two Marvel Mailbag pages on the reverse side of the poster; a Reeves art and craft set contest on the inner rear cover, expiry date 17 November 1975; and a Hulk t-shirt offer on the rear cover.

Strange and Terrific! Ditko stories

Some of my favourite Steve Ditko stories are the shorts which appeared in comics such as Amazing Fantasy and Journey Into Mystery and, generally speaking, the more existentially karmic the better. 

For example, here's the first page of The Man on the Endless Stairway!, scanned from Journey Into Mystery #87:

And you just know this won't end well for the hapless Carl Cragg!

This scan is sourced from the Atomic Kommie Comics blog, which suggests with a query that it might be a never-reprinted story as of 2016. Well, it was reprinted shortly afterwards in Marvel Masters of Suspense: Stan Lee & Steve Ditko Omnibus #2 in 2019. 

However, it was reprinted at least five times in the previous century, according to the GCD: by Alan Class in Astounding Stories #44 and Weird Planets #4; in IPCs Terrific! #41; in Aredit -Artima's Eclipso #19; and in Yaffa's The Mighty Thor #2, from which the scan below is sourced:

The black and white printing is attractive, however it is rather lightly reproduced. 

A bolder printing can be found in Terrific! #41, however something decidedly Strange occurs in that reprinting:

That's right - Dr. Strange is enlisted as the host of the tale ala the Mysterious Traveller and other such hosts familiar to comics readers. He also appears on the final page of the story, in which Cragg meets his fate:

I can confirm Dr. Strange hosted other such stories in the pages of Terrific!, for example, in the following issue for the story Long Live The Queen!;

And on the final page of the story:

Long Live The Queen! was originally published in Journey Into Mystery #88, and also happens to appear unadulterated in Yaffa's The Mighty Thor #2.

I haven't sourced the Dr. Strange images -  a task for another day!

Update: The Dr. Strange figure in The Man on the Endless Stairway! splash page appeared on the cover of Strange Tales #146 and in the interior art:

And the Dr. Strange figure at the end of the story hails from the cover of Strange Tales #148:

Dracula #8: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Dracula #8 was published 15 November 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #11:

The stories:

The Voodoo-Man, originally published in Dracula #11, August 1973

The Vampire-Man, originally published in Dracula Lives #3, October 1973

These stories were reprinted a few years later in Australia by Yaffa - The Voodoo-Man was reprinted in in The Tomb of Dracula #4, and The Vampire-Man in Dracula Lives! #3.

These stories are reprinted complete and intact.

This issue contains a Silver Surfer poster:

It varies slightly from the poster found in The Fantastic Four #4. See my post on The Silver Surfer #6 for more information on this image as used by Newton Comics.

This issue contains the following in-house ads:

The X-Men with The Avengers #2

Newton Team-Up Annual 1[A]

Doctor Strange 6

This issue also contains three Marvel Mailbag pages; the Monkey Planet contest with an expiry date 29 December 1975 on the inner rear cover; and a Black Panther t-shirt offer on the rear cover.

Dracula #4: The Newton edition

 Newton Comics' Dracula #4 was published 20 September 1975:

The cover originally appeared on Marvel Comics' Dracula Lives #10:

This cover also appeared as a black and white pinup in the second issue of Newton Triple Action:

The stories:

The Fear Within!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #2, May 1972

Bats, originally published in Vampire Tales #7, October 1974

The Fear Within! was previously published in Australia in KG Murray's Super Giant #7, and subsequently by Yaffa in The Tomb of Dracula #1 and #11.

This issue includes a Silver Surfer poster:

My copy does not have the poster, however I've seen a partial pic of this poster on an eBay listing for this issue. The pic above is from my copy of The Fantastic Four #4. By my reckoning Newton's Silver Surfer series began 27 September 1975, so it is possible the blurb at the bottom advertising the forthcoming series is present in the poster native to Dracula #4. TBC. Note this poster was also in Dracula #8 with minor variations, including a partial text omission in the blurb.

This image eventually appeared on the cover of Newton's The Silver Surfer #6.

This issue also had a Swap Card. AusReprints records a copy with the cover to The Amazing Spider-Man #2. Spiderman (sic) Series A (1 of 15) No. 2 looks like this:

This issue has the bulletin for The Swap Cards Cometh on the inner front cover; the Toltoys Construction Kit contest on the inner rear cover, expiry date 3 November 1975; and the Black Panther t-shirt offer on the rear cover.

Presumably the outer pages of the poster contained in-house advertisements and/or Marvel Mailbag pages.

That's as much as I can muster for a profile of this issue considering my copy is battered and incomplete. I'll update the post when I secure a complete copy of this issue.

Dracula #3: The Newton edition

Newton Comics' Dracula #3 was published 6 September 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #3:

The main features:

Who Stalks The Vampire?, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #3, July 1972

A Vampire's Home Is His Castle, originally published in Vampire Tales #4, April 1974

The Vampire's Coffin, originally published in Mystery Tales #15, September 1953, however this print is likely related to the reprint in Vampire Tales #4, April 1974

The last page of The Vampire's Coffin is printed on the inner rear cover.

These stories were reprinted a few years later by Yaffa: Who Stalks the Vampire? was reprinted in Tomb of Dracula #1; and A Vampire's Home Is His Castle and The Vampire's Coffin were reprinted in Vampire Tales #4.

This issue has a Spider-Man and Dr. Doom poster:

This image is the centerpiece of the splash page to the story Marked for Destruction by Dr. Doom!, originally published in The Amazing Spider-Man #5. Here's a scan of the splash page as it appears in Newton's The Amazing Spider-Man #4:

The poster is virtually the same as the poster which previously appeared in Planet of the Apes #2, however it has the following minor differences: the title and Dr. Doom's cape are distinctly more purple than blue; there is a trademark notice on the bottom of the image; and the colouring on Spider-Man's legs is marred by splotchiness.

This issue contains the following in-house advertisements:

Conan the Barbarian #2

Planet of the Apes #7 

This issue contains the Planet of the Apes Tee Shirt and Iron-On Decals mail order offer on the inner front cover and the Win More Monster Contest on the rear cover with an expiry date 20 October 1975. 

This issue also carries the bulletin for The Swap Cards Cometh and a Marvel Mailbag page on the outer pages of the poster.

The Tomb of Dracula #1: The Yaffa edition

Page Publications' The Tomb of Dracula #1 was published late 1977:

The recoloured cover is from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #1:

This issue reprints the first three stories from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula series:

Dracula, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #1, April 1972

The Fear Within!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #2, May 1972

Who Stalks the Vampire?, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #3, July 1972

These stories were previously published in Australia by Newton Comics, albeit out of sequence. Dracula previously appeared in Dracula #1; The Fear Within in Dracula #4; and Who Stalks the Vampire? in Dracula #3.

These stories are all reprinted complete and intact.

The rear cover carries an advertisement for The Avengers series:

The image of Giant Man is from The Avengers #1, which was published c.September 1977 at the outset of Yaffa's Marvel reprint program. This suggests The Tomb of Dracula #1 was also published c.September 1977 or shortly afterwards, certainly by December 1977 - the indicia indicates a 1977 publication date.

This issue was recycled with a $1.10 cover price as Dracula #11 c.July 1982:

This edition is identical to the parent issue apart from the cover pricing and issue numbering, the amended indicia - typically there is no date in this post-licence phase - and the rear cover is blank.

The Tomb of Dracula #3: The Yaffa edition

 This is the front cover to Page Publications' The Tomb of Dracula #3: 

It is a recoloured and slightly altered version of the cover on Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #7:

There are three stories reprinted in this issue:

[Night of the Death Stalkers!], originally published in Tomb of Dracula #7, March 1973

The Hell-Crawlers, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #8, May 1973 

Death from the Sea!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #9, June 1973 

Night of the Death Stalkers is reprinted without the splash page/title page. The other two stories are complete - Death from the Sea! ends on the outer rear cover.

This issue was recycled as the digest-sized one-shot Night of the Vampire:

There are some anomalies in this issue. For example, this is page 5 of The Hell Crawlers as scanned from the original Marvel issue:

And this is the same page in the Yaffa edition:

There are two distinct differences between the two printings. The Yaffa edition has an extra speech balloon in the second panel, and the lettering and speech in the speech balloon in the last panel have been altered.

I have compared the scan of the original Marvel comic to the other prints I have to hand, in Newton Comics' Dracula #7 and Essential The Tomb of Dracula Vol. 1, First Printing 2003, and these alterations (and other similar ones) are only in the Yaffa edition (and in the Night of the Vampire). I am curious to find other reprints of this story for comparison.

This issue has a 1978 indicia date. My copy has a newsagent's date stamp on the rear cover 3 NOV 1979. On the basis of this information I could date this issue as either 1978 or August 1979. However, I note that AusReprints records a copy of The Tomb of Dracula #4 with a newsagent's stamp Oct 1979 - so I must assume The Tomb of Dracula #3 was indeed published in 1978. The Tomb of Dracula #2 was published c.April 1978, so it appears The Tomb of Dracula #3 was published late 1978. TBC.

Update 12 December 2023: James has checked the print of the page above in Dracula Lives (UK) #15, 1975, and confirms the altered text in the Yaffa edition does not appear in it:

Dracula #6: The Newton Comics edition

 Newton Comics' Dracula #6 was published October 1975:

The cover is from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #7:

The main feature in this issue is Night of the Death Stalkers!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #7. This appears to be reprinted in full without undue tampering.

The backup feature is the first 6 pages of Bounty for a Vampire, originally published in Dracula Lives! #13, July 1975. This story is continued in Dracula #7.

The poster in this issue features the cover image from Marvel Comics Ghost Rider #1:

There was no Ghost Rider series published by Newton however it appeared as a backup feature in Doctor Strange. 

The swap card in my copy is The Avengers Series A (1 of 15) No. 2, being the cover to Newton Comics' The Avengers #2.

This issue was advertised in-house in Silver Surfer #2, 25 October 1975:

Note the cover is misnumbered #5.

This cover was used as a poster. This pic is from Silver Surfer #3:

This issue contains the following in-house advertisements:

Conan the Barbarian #5

The Incredible Hulk #8

These two advertisements also reference the Hulk King Size Annual #1.

This issue is not cover-dated, and there is no publication date in the indicia. The contest expiry date is 1 December 1975. This suggests a publication date of 18 October 1975. This date is supported by the ad for The Incredible Hulk #8, which I date to 11 October, so it would be the current issue on the stands. I date the Hulk King Size Annual to 20 September, which presumably had an extended shelf life. I have yet to firmly date Conan the Barbarian #5. I also note it is possible Dracula #6 was subject to a delay in publication, given the erroneous numbering on the advertisement above in Silver Surfer #2.

This issue also includes an advertisement for Origins of Marvel Comics on the inner front cover; two Marvel Mailbag pages; a Lone Ranger Kit contest, as mentioned above, on the inner rear cover; and a Black Panther t-shirt offer on the rear cover.

And for those keeping track of such things, Night of the Death Stalkers! and the cover to Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #7 were also published in Australia by Yaffa a few years later in The Tomb of Dracula #3:

A few years later Yaffa recycled this issue in the digest-sized unnumbered one-shot Night of the Vampire:

The Tomb of Dracula #6: The Yaffa edition

Page Publications' digest-sized The Tomb of Dracula #6 was published c.November 1980:

The cover is reprinted from Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #17:

The contents:

Return from the Grave!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #16, January 1974 

Death Rides the Rails!, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #17, February 1974 

Enter: Werewolf by Night, originally published in Tomb of Dracula #18, March 1974 

The stories appear to be reprinted complete and intact.

Return from the Grave! begins on the inner front cover, and Enter: Werewolf by Night ends on the inner rear cover. 

The printing of Enter: Werewolf by Night is preceded by a reprint of the cover to Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #18, sans trade dress: 

The rear cover has an ad for Oxford Stamp Co. 

Return from the Grave! was previously published in Australia in Newton Comics' Dracula #14.