DS & Innovation Comics.

[Doug]

Does anybody remember when Innovation Comics brought back Dark Shadows in a comic book series?
I don't know if anybody else has already mentioned this subject. But back in 1992, Innovation started
a new comic book series based on the new NBC series. The stories takes place after the new series was
cancelled. I think there were a total of 9 or 10 issues. I remember the first issue where it showed Barnabas
learning and catching up with the history of the 19th and 20th Century with books and videos.

I remember a couple of issues where it told a story of Barnabas and Julia trapped in a village of small
creatures and it had a couple of a old man and a woman. The woman had the face of Lara Parker and
Innovation wanted to use Louis Edmonds face to the old man. Edmonds would not allow it and I don't
know why. There was another issue where the story took place during a Christmas season and Barnabas
had a Christmas tree inside the Old House.

The last issue was the beginning of a four-part story called "The Haunting of Sarah Collins". But Innovation
went out of business after that. I was hoping another comic book company like Dark Horse would take
over the series and it never happened. The comics had painted pictures.

[PennyDreadful]

 I own all the Innovation issues.  They were visually quite gorgeous.  There was also a story with mythical gorgons as I recall. 

 I think it'd be great if a good comic book picked up where the classic series left off, using the likenesses of the original actors.  Now THAT is something I'd really like to see - if it were well-written and nicely illustrated of course.

[Gothick]

I thought the Innovation stories were set in-between episodes of the 1990 series.  I seem to recall editorial statements in the letters section of the mag clarifying the chronology of the stories in the books.

I bought a few of them during a stressful period of my life when I was teaching at Wesleyan University and the comics were being sold at this little hole-in-the-corner shop near the bus stop.  I'm not a fan of the 1990 series but the books were fun to read.  Some of the letters were interesting since there were fans from what I think of as the REAL DS (from the Sixties) and there were comparisons between the original lore and the changes made in the 1990 version.

Best, G.

[Doug]

I thought the Innovation stories were set in-between episodes of the 1990 series.  I seem to recall editorial statements in the letters section of the mag clarifying the chronology of the stories in the books.

I bought a few of them during a stressful period of my life when I was teaching at Wesleyan University and the comics were being sold at this little hole-in-the-corner shop near the bus stop.  I'm not a fan of the 1990 series but the books were fun to read.  Some of the letters were interesting since there were fans from what I think of as the REAL DS (from the Sixties) and there were comparisons between the original lore and the changes made in the 1990 version.

Yes I remember when some of the readers were asking about including the characters from the original series into
the comic book. Innovation responded by saying this book is based on the 1990 characters. Then Innovation were
asking the readers if they would like to print a another DS comic book based on the original series.

[arashi]

I have those comics as well. I thought they were really visually striking. As beautiful as the first set of painted series were, I love the watercolor-esque art in the final issue. Really gorgeous.

[Doug]

I'm wondering after Innovation went out of business, was the final issues have been released? I
remember talking to a comic book dealer I used to know was telling me the final issues were kept
in a publishing warehouse. But that was 13 to 14 years ago.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Sadly nothing has ever been released. At least ShadowGram has never mentioned that anything was. And given how tight David Campiti was with SG, it's not likely that he wouldn't have informed them - even if only so that more copies would have been sold. Not to mention, if anything had been released, it(they) would have surely shown up at a Fest...

[Brandon Collins]

I think it would be a good idea for someone to bring back DS in comic's form today. Look how well Buffy and Angel have done since they're "official canon" continuations have come out. They've make mega-bucks! And while our fan base is significantly less than that of those two shows, DS could probably be successfully marketed as like "The original tale of a vampire with a soul/conscience/thought-process/lust for a beauty/etc" towards that crowd. I think it would be a good money maker for DCP, or whoever the heck would have to liscense it out. And I'm in a comic buying ferver since B&A came back, so now's the time to jump on the train!

[Doug]

I think it would be a good idea for someone to bring back DS in comic's form today. Look how well Buffy and Angel have done since they're "official canon" continuations have come out. They've make mega-bucks! And while our fan base is significantly less than that of those two shows, DS could probably be successfully marketed as like "The original tale of a vampire with a soul/conscience/thought-process/lust for a beauty/etc" towards that crowd. I think it would be a good money maker for DCP, or whoever the heck would have to liscense it out. And I'm in a comic buying ferver since B&A came back, so now's the time to jump on the train!

You're right. That is why I wished another Comic Book company picked up the DS book after Innovation went under.
Maybe the comic book will make a comeback if the new DS movie is successful and if it is, the WB Network will realize
they made a huge mistake for refusing to air the new series Dan Curtis wanted to do four years ago. Anyway, does
anybody have any of the old Gold Key DS comic books of the original series? I have some in my comic book collection.
But today, the only comic book I buy is Ghost Rider.

[Brandon Collins]

I do have some of the original Gold Key comics, but not many. I think I have maybe 4 or 5. I was going to attempt to collect them all, but after I completed my collection of all the Marilyn Ross paperbacks, I decided not to. Because all those paperbacks are doing are sitting in a sealed back that's collecting dust. But, I'm certainly not going to sell the comics that I have! I need to read them, get some use outta them for a change. LOL

[Doug]

I do have some of the original Gold Key comics, but not many. I think I have maybe 4 or 5. I was going to attempt to collect them all, but after I completed my collection of all the Marilyn Ross paperbacks, I decided not to. Because all those paperbacks are doing are sitting in a sealed back that's collecting dust. But, I'm certainly not going to sell the comics that I have! I need to read them, get some use outta them for a change. LOL

I remember when I was a kid, my Aunt was a huge DS fan back then and she had a collection of the Marilyn Ross
paperbacks. I remember she had the paperbacks in her bookshelf in her bedroom. Today, she doesn't have them
and I asked her what happened to the paperbacks, she doesn't remember, but she said that she might have given
them away or sold them at a garage sale back in the early 70's.

I tried to get some of the Marylin Ross paperbacks on ebay, but people will bid on those and it is hard to get. I
remember 10 years ago, I saw the very first Gold Key DS comic book issue at a comic book show. The dealer
wanted $35 for it. I did'nt buy it.

[Gothick]

Doug, check Good Will and Salvation Army stores or consignment shops (we used to call these "junk shops') in your area for the DS paperbacks.  You should be able to find them for a buck or two each.  They're really only worth collecting for the covers, IMNSHO.  There was a website somewhere that had a gallery of the covers, I believe.

As for issue one of the DS Gold Key comic, it's only worth that kind of money if the poster is still in it.  I would say it's still not worth more than say ten dollars, but people will pay these crazy sums to complete their collections.

You really have to see the panel in which some creature labelled as Cassandra Collins appears. Between that and the artist evidently believing that Julia was a drag queen afflicted with acromegaly and Quentin was portrayed by Engelbert Humperdinck (the Tasmanian pop singer), well, the less said the better!  And then, there are the actual scripts for those books--oo la la.

G.

[arashi]

I still find it a riot in one of the Gold Key comics that Stokes? runs off chanting "In-a-gadda-da-vida" (NO LIE!) at some menacing supernatural baddie. I *think* it's in the one with the giant dog, but don't quote me on that.

A lot of the painted covers of the Gold Key comics have some really cool artwork. The pages within though are an ENTIRELY different story.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

the artist evidently believing that Julia was a drag queen afflicted with acromegaly and Quentin was portrayed by Engelbert Humperdinck (the Tasmanian pop singer), well, the less said the better!

   But sadly, that's also all too true. 

[PennyDreadful]

You really have to see the panel in which some creature labelled as Cassandra Collins appears. Between that and the artist evidently believing that Julia was a drag queen afflicted with acromegaly and Quentin was portrayed by Engelbert Humperdinck (the Tasmanian pop singer), well, the less said the better!  And then, there are the actual scripts for those books--oo la la.

Oh this gave me a good laugh!  Thank you dear Gothick!