Bram Stoker’s Dracula, #3, December 1992 (& A Topps Gallery, 1992-1995)
Better late than never — Topps Comics actually launched its first title, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, in October, not November of 1992. By mid 1993, we had film adaptions, SF anthologies, Kirby superheroes and dozens more under our belt.
It was a wild ride.
In early 2023, we will have a more extensive look back with some new art, photos, memorabilia, etc. In the meantime, here’s a gallery of previously posted art. (Each piece links to the original post.)
2020 is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Ray Harryhausen, movie visual effects pioneer who inspired generations of filmmakers.Interestingly, Harryhausen and Ray Bradbury, subject of our previous post, were lifelong best friends.
Harryhausen’s cinema creatures are iconic, including The Cyclops from his first color feature, the 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958).
Bill Stout drew this impressive Cyclops (plus a few supporting “characters”) to use as his cover for his tribute book to Haryhaussen in 2003. Stout has done a number of these tribute books, including one appropriately enough for Willis Obrien, Haryhausen’s special effects mentor.
The art ended up in the collection of film director Frank Darabont, and was auctioned off when Darabont sold much of his collection in 2019.
Leading comic art dealer Mike Burkey then acquired it, and I acquired it from Mike.
And now, to paraphrase, the Cyclops stops here.
The original 1958 US posters featured a hodgepodge of images from the film, but in 1975, the Japanese re-release poster dramatically emphasized the Cyclops.
The legendary SF author Ray Bradbury would have turned 100 years old this year. He passed away in 2012.
Ray Bradbury’s A Sound of Thunder is my favorite time travel short story.
It’s also the very first time travel short story I ever
read. (I had already read HG Wells’ novel, The Time Machine, at that point.
Multiple times in fact.)
Thanks to the progressive spirit of my secondary school system, we read the Bradbury short story collection “R is For Rocket” in eighth or ninth grade.
A Sound of Thunder: Time travel. Adventure. Dinosaurs. In other words, for my tastes, perfect.
Nearly 20 years later, Byron Preiss and Topps struck a deal to publish comic book versions of Preiss’ graphic novel series, Ray Bradbury Illustrated. Main feature in the first issue? A Sound of Thunder, cover by the incredibly talented Bill Stout, who is generally in a class by himself when it comes to Dinosaurs.
(The comic features a new adaptation by Richard Corben and
the reprint of the classic EC story by Al Feldstein and Al Williamson.)
And 25 years after that? Stout decides to part with the
cover, and I literally stumble upon at his booth at SDCC. Hanging in the frame
that hung in his studio for many years.
Serendipity at work. Lets call this one a part of the “ permanent collection.”
Covers for both the Topps comic book version and the Byron Preiss “graphic novel.”
Richard Corben did an outstanding job on the “modern” version of Sound, while Al Williamson drew both the cover and the adaptation of the beloved EC Comics version.
Ray Bradbury’s intro for the first issue of Topps Bradbury comics, along with the cover of the 70s paperback version of R Is For Rocket, ubiquitous at the time.
