Age 13/14/15? | 1981/82/83? There’s something verrrrry Dracula-like about that Wampa.

A Wampa looking like Gene Colan's Dracula!

A very Colan/Palmer-esque looking Vampire Wampa!

My Star Wars Influences

Its quite possible that it was inspired by Gene Colan & Tom Palmer’s amazing artwork on Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula comics. Tomb of Dracula (ToD) was my favourite Marvel comic with Spiderman, Conan and The Hulk as close competition. I got my hands on 2 issues of ToD in 1977 when I was 9 and just loved them. And I still do have the same copies! A few years ago I re-discovered their brilliance and bought most of them on eBay. It’s well nigh on time for a re-read I think! The 2 scans below are form the only two issues I owned when I drew the Empire adaptation. What do you think, look familiar?

tomb of dracula comic 58 colan palmer

From ‘Tomb of Dracula’ comic, 1977, #58. Art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer

Corrr… that was one that introduced me to the character, Blade at 9 years old.

Tomb of Dracula comic, issue 57 Gene Colan Tom Palmer

From ‘Tomb of Dracula’ comic, 1977, #57. Art by Gene Colan and Tom Palmer. This was the first one I ever bought.

The Forever Man was an absolutely fantastic, gripping and chilling story. Marv Wolfman was a hell of a talented writer. I still consider Marvel’s Tomb of Dracula run of the 1970s to be the greatest comics that I’ve ever seen and read. They’re quite simply exceptional pieces of work, and very entertaining. Nothing i can write here could ever do them justice. Some day when I have the cash, I’ll buy the glossily reprinted omnibus editions. Even though the publisher stupidly censored some nipples here and there.

More Gruesome Gore and Violence from the Pens of Babes

I clipped a publicity shot of Han and Chewie posing with their guns from someplace—maybe one of my mum’s magazines—and stuck it in here, continuing the comic/scrapbook effect. The shot doesn’t reflect anything that happens in the film, but I didn’t let that stop me.

a wampa having its head blasted off

Bye bye wampa. Mark Hamill will mourn you. Who is the ‘Good lad’ though? Is Han saying it to Chewie? Is Threepio saying it to Han?

Perhaps inspired by Tomb of Dracula—you can see how much I enjoyed showing the wampa’s head being obliterated! It was easy for me to be inspired by that sort of stuff. You may remember this other image that I drew in the ‘Star Wars’ adaptation, when I was a lovely sweet 9 year old? (« WARNING: it’s not for the faint-hearted).

I bet Mark Hamill wouldn’t have approved of this image. You might recall what I wrote last week about his feelings around the « wampa getting its arm sliced off?

I’d love to read your comments below! Did you ever read Tomb of Dracula? Did you love scary stuff as a kid?