By Thomas A. Tuna

Vampires. Werewolves. Creepies. Crawlies. Things that go bump in the night. These have been fertile fodder for writers, artists and directors for decades now.

Our love of the specific genre of horror-themed comic books is evident, but these frightening incarnations have been splashed across larger-than-life movie screens since the early days of celluloid. And the recent spate of horror films-especially accenting vampires and werewolves-and their success begs the question: Will this box-office bonanza usher in the real Golden Age of Horror Comics?

Let's be honest. Horror comics have seemingly always taken a backseat to the derring-do of colorful superheroes, at times forcing the stars of shadows further back into the darkness. More's the pity.
Horror comics-and monsters and ghouls of all sizes, shapes and anti-social hangups-are a natural for comic book pages. Just look back at the classic black-and-white illustrated gems of the EC Comics heyday to see the potential.

Probably, Charlton Comics and DC gave the horror scene the best shot, back in the '70s and '80s. Charlton, of course, went the anthology route, with such moderately successful titles as Ghost Manor, Ghostly Haunts, The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves, Haunted and Monster Hunters. Unfortunately, the more successful writers and artists tended to gravitate to the DC bullpen, the group best known for its "long underwear characters," but which also delved into the horror universe as well.

Still and all, those horror story lovers among us stayed with a few of the Charlton titles, especially when the Connecticut-based group seemed to make a concerted effort to upgrade its line, giving such up-and-coming artists as John Byrne, Joe Staton, Don Newton and Mike Zeck the chance to work alongside such stalwarts as Steve Ditko and Tom Sutton.

Eventually, though, for whatever reason, the line went the way of all flesh (rotting and otherwise), leaving DC and then Marvel to step into the breach.

Both major players toyed with "straight" horror books, but also blended horror with superhero themes and had greater success with such titles as Deadman, The Demon, Son of Satan, Morbius and, of course, Tomb of Dracula and Hellboy.

Arguably the best written and drawn of the lot was Tomb of Dracula, brainchild of writer/editor Marv Wolfman and artists Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. Horror fans flocked to neighborhood newsstands and comic book emporiums to snatch up the monthly adventures of the Lord of Vampires, and the critically acclaimed book garnered several awards for itself, as well as for Wolfman and Colan.

Perhaps one of the key elements of the mystery behind why horror comics, in general, aren't huge sellers is the problem of choosing the best venue for the genre: the anthology series, usually three short scripts per issue with no real central theme, or the book-length stories that gave both writer and artist the opportunity to flesh out the characters and create a real fan base for their work.

Perhaps with the surge of popularity seen in movie theaters around the country for new horror flicks-like the updated "The Wolfman"-comix creators will finally realize the star power of the well-written and well-drawn horror story, with graphic novels leading the way. After all, vampires-as we all know-never really die.

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