michael--you should be grateful that most of the personnel of the series were absent from the Gold Key comics... given that Certa's attempts to render Quentin, Julia, Stokes et al. resulted in some really unspeakable caricatures... Quentin always looked like a bad cross between pop star Engelbert Humperdinck (who I believe hailed from Tasmania) and the WB's Tasmanian devil... sigh.

I have just read issue 1 of the Dynamite DS comic--excellent work over all!  Given Liz's terse reference to David's "pyromania," I would guess that a certain former Mrs Roger Collins may be lurking in the shadows, or should I say, the embers...

I thought Liz's "rampant pyromania" line was the one false note in the comic. I was around in '71 and I don't remember anyone using a phrase like that. Maybe they did, but I just can't see Liz saying it.

Also, Joe Certa was a very good artist. I'm a professional comic artist and as Prof. Stokes says in one of the comics "Ahem, I'd stake my reputation on it!" Granted, some of his work was awful, but every version of DS has it's terrible moments and we still love it. Many of the Gold Key books are textbook lessions in excellent storytelling and dynamic, fluid, figure drawing with a great sense of drama and animation. He was also a master aat establishing locales. Collinwood and Collinsport are very vivid in his work. It's a pity no one ever interviewed Certa, because I'd love to know what he thought about what he was doing on DS. It does seem as though he sometimes woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and took it out on the characters. At various times, he seems to dispise all of them, with Julia coming under fire with some particularly brutal renditions.

Anyone know where to buy these online that's not ebay?

You can buy them directly from the publisher.

I put one of the photos through a few filters and it seems they can adjust the makup to whatever hue they prefer. I think the movie will be filtered to death ala Sweeny and I hope it is. That's what I want to see. It looks like they are actually going for a very Frid look. The dark makeup on the sides appears to be an attempt to give him that shallow Frid-ness we know so well. The main thing causing the Jackson comparisons is the skin plus hat, glasses and hair. Fortunately, Barnabas isn't likely to parade around the entire movie wearing shades, a hat and a long green coat. Barnabas will probably go through several transformations and looks. This is a big budget movie and he doesn't have to stick to a uniform the way he did on tv. I'm getting more and more intrigued. I like Tim Burton's visual sensibility very much and I'm glad they seem to be doing some very audacious things while staying tradional. I can barely watch DS '91 now it's so visualy conservative and boring to look at.

I don't see a problem. I think the makeup is for a lighting effect. The costume looks ok. The hair looks weird but so was Frid's. I expected them to go non-realistic with that.

I've almost never posted here but I lurk regularly and I wanted to weigh in on the Gold Key DS comics.  I love em! When I was a kid I got them all. Dark Shadows and comics were a very big thing for me, in fact I became a professional comic book artist. Some of my DS comics are now like the Dead Sea Scrolls and I've been clamoring for reprints for years. Never thought it would happen though. I hope Herme's plans go off without a hitch.
 
Yes, the artwork at times leaves something to be desired. I don't know much about the artist Joe Certa, but I know he was already an older guy in his 50's when he got the DS assignment in 1968. He was hardly one of the best comic artists of all time but he was a solid pro and had a distinguished career dating back to the early 40's. He's best known for his long run on DC's Martian Manhunter series in the 50's and early 60's. I believe he is credited with designing that character's costume which is still in use today. Comic book artists are often brutally overworked and under paid. Certa didn't even receive credit on the books but it's clear on the earlier issues he put a tremendous amount of effort in. When the book went from quarterly to bi-monthly his approach became more streamlined but even then there are positive features to his work. At best, Certa's art has an animated, kinetic feel with a great storytelling sense and credible, detailed backgrounds. At worst: guilty as charged, ugly faces and stilted awkward poses. Certa didn't endeavor to render the characters to look like replicas of the tv actors and I don't think that was necessary. This was a different version after all. Ken Bald, who meticulously copied Frid's face in all his Dark Shadows newspaper strips has a lifeless quality to his efforts that I think Certa beats at his best. At least I think Joe Certa should get some credit for being a creative individual who was involved with a Dark Shadows production longer than anyone else in any medium. He drew the book for eight years. I haven't said anything about the story content of the comics but there is a pretty definitive review on Collinwood.net I'm sure most are familiar with.
I hope everyone will give the Gold Key series another look when and if they comes out. Plus, if there's anyone reading this connected with DS merchandising please contact me. I'm the perfect guy to draw new DS comics!

So is "the second season" on or isn't it? Guys should update their website.

Under portraits of Quentin and Aunt Abigale, Amy Jennings has a potentially terrifying encounter. Pic here at: http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/cyberfloyd

Barnabas, Julia and the Golem in sad contemplation at Eagle Hill Cemetary. To see it go to http://pictures.aol.com/galleries/cyberfloyd