May 7, 2007 (Fangoria / Daniel Dickholtz) -- Dracula’s thirst for conquest has never been restricted to Transylvania and England. But most Americans are probably unaware that the vampire lord had designs on India, or that his 2003 assault on the subcontinent was thwarted by its resident champions Nagraj, a hero with snake-based powers, and Super Commando Dhruva, the acrobatic leader of an elite police squad.

Detailed by writer Jolly Sinha and artist Anupam Sinha in Raj Comics’ DRACULA KA HAMLA, NAGRAJ AUR DRACULA and DRACULA KA ANTH (all of which can be ordered from the company’s official website), the massive conflict was prompted by a small question.

“Nagraj has the deadliest venom in the universe,” explains Manish Gupta, Raj’s CEO. “His bite can liquefy any living and many non-living things. Dracula has the ability to transform any creature into a vampire with his bite. We asked ourselves, ‘What will happen if Dracula bites Nagraj and vice versa?’ We found Dracula interesting due to his aura of mystique and invincibility, and decided to pit him against our superheroes.”

Unlike European-style bloodsuckers, the undead of India tend to be more ghostly and into possession. But little effort was made to alter the Count for this trilogy. “Though Dracula retains his roots, the series depicts him in an entirely new light,” Gupta says. “Dracula is portrayed as a supreme Dark Lord who has overcome most of his traditional weaknesses. He can’t be vanquished using the same method twice, as he acquires immunity against the weapon used to kill him.”

Resurrected by the supervillains Nagpasha and Grurudev, the Count fears only the bones of Dhruva’s friend Lori, a descendant of a saint. With a revived Frankenstein monster and an army at Dracula’s command, it should have been simplicity itself to kill the girl, yet Dhruva defeats the vampire with a cross made from her teeth. In book two, Grurudev helps Nagpasha take over Dracula’s body. With his new powers, Nagpasha creates more vampires—turning even Nagraj, at least temporarily. “Dracula regains control over his body but nearly gets killed when he tries to drink Nagraj’s [venomous] blood. He survives by drinking the blood of Nagpasha, who was blessed with immortality. [Ultimately,] Dracula is trapped in an enchanted world,” which, in the third book, sparks “a chain reaction where every evil force vies for supremacy and ushers large-scale destruction and death.”

The storyline, Gupta says, “was an instant hit. Dracula’s mystique and western backdrop invoked an overwhelming response from the readers. India has a rich legacy in mysticism and folklore. Dracula was the first experimentation with a foreign monster, and we plan to introduce monsters from different cultures in the future.” And Dracula could return “if we’re able to find a good story.”

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Vamps Gather For Mr and Mrs Dracula Contest

January 23, 2003 - Vampire fans are gathering in Germany in the hope of being voted Mr and Mrs Dracula. The competition is part of the annual three-day Vampire Congress, held in Fernwald forest, Hessen.

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Chapter 21: The Once and Future Bartender

*hearing the exclamation about the bartender, or lack thereof, Deadend swings the door open wide*

Lousy?? I didn't think I was THAT bad. *L* You never complained before, LB.

*Deadend enters the Black Raven Inn dressed as he always had in his saner moments...tightly creased black dress pants, nearly reflective black shoes, a white silk shirt and blood red smoking jacket...his dark brown hair combed neatly atop his head*

Deadend
8 May 2001

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'Goat Sucker' Spreading Fear Across Mexico

May 12, 1996 (Dudley Althaus / Houston Chronicle) - ZAPOTAL, Mexico -- The roosters had not yet crowed when the fierce barking of neighborhood dogs jolted Violeta Colorado from her sleep. The dogs had some animal cornered at the rubbish pile behind Colorado's small concrete house in Zapotal, a farm village in the steamy oil country of southeastern Mexico.

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Silent Screams

When you cry out in pain
and nobody can hear you,
when your dying inside and
it appears that nobody can
see it in your eyes or that
they even give it a second
thought or don't even care
about your silent screams;

When you scream out for help
and nobody even notices your
true confusion about your
own very existance or your
own worth or your own right
to live because without any
acceptance no one has any
acceptance for themselves;

My silent screams are heard
by none thus I am neither

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Eternity

My head tells me I've found a teacher.
My heart tells me I've found a friend.
My body tells me I've found a lover.
Why, then, should I fear your immortal kiss?

Is it because students graduate.
Or because friends grow apart.
Or because lovers cease to love.
And we have eternity to feel the pain?

Casandra
January 3, 2001

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