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The Innovation
Comics: Book 1 |
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This story is based on the NBC Dark Shadows nighttime series and is set during the 1991 time sequence, following the events of Episode 2 of the series (tx. January 14, 1991). Part
1: Street Date: June 1992 [No subtitle] Part
2: Street Date: August 1992. A Time of Innocence... And Confidences Part
3: Street Date: November 1992.
Old Friends Part
4: Street Date: March 1993. Swann's
Way Written and Edited by David Campiti and Scott Rockwell, Illustrated by E. [Ed] Silas Smith, Calligrapher: Vickie Williams, Consulting Editors: George Broderick, Jr. and Jim Pierson, Series Created by Dan Curtis, Certain Characters Created by Art Wallace. Observations
and Comments Readers are presented with a wealth of character background - more than was generally seen on television. We see Barnabas reading many books to gain knowledge about world developments during his exile and Willie and Julia also tutor him in 20th Century technology. Upon being shown a video tape of Dracula, he admits to being dismayed that vampires are seen as an entertaining fictional diversion. In fact, when his vampire urges take hold, Barnabas is depicted as a long haired, ill-groomed and unshaven beast - a far cry from the clean-cut, yellow-eyed pin-up from the NBC series. When initially resurrected, he really looks like he's spent nigh on two centuries in a coffin! In this sequence, Barnabas mistakenly recognises Willie as his 18th Century servant, Ben Loomis, unaware of the gulf of time between these generations of Loomises. This continuity reference was not made on television, as the part of Ben was originally hoped to have been played by John Karlen - when this fell through, Jim Fyfe was given the dual role. Through Barnabas, the authors tackle a perennial ambiguity about vampires - why do some victims die and others rise from the dead? Apparently, if a vampire takes blood a little at a time from a victim, he can gradually bring them under his control and pass on his condition. If a victim's blood is mostly drained off in one attack, the victim will not rise from the dead. He reveals that Daphne should have died from his attack (see NBC Dark Shadows Episode 1, tx. January 13 1991), but received a blood transfusion, which, temporarily, saved her. Unusually, in the comics, we actually see Barnabas bite Willie on the neck. This was only implied on the NBC series, and avoided completely in the original ABC series, owing to the potential homo-erotic connotations of the act, Willie being bitten on the wrist instead. Julia is revealed to have been studying vampirism for several years. In laboratory experiments, she has succeeded in breeding vampiric mice. This lends some credence to her ability to synthesise a cure for Barnabas' affliction so quickly. Whilst imprisoned in the cellar with Barnabas, she is able to study his sleep patterns, and Julia seizes the opportunity, making notebook entries. Noting his dramatically slowed metabolism and his irregular breathing, she suggests that perhaps his daytime state has more in common with hibernation than with sleep. Unlike in the NBC series, she is here given a 'cover story' for staying at Collinwood after Daphne's death. In an obvious nod to the original series, here she is pretending to be writing a history of the Hoffman family in Collinsport - in the ABC series, Julia's claims to be studying the Collins family for a similar tome. Despite this, her home town is revealed as nearby Barrettstown, and she has two relations there, her aunt Lara and uncle Vincent. With the full approval of the actress, Lara's likeness was based upon that of Lara Parker, the original Angélique. A pleasant, but unobtrusive acknowledgement of this 'guest appearance' was concocted - with Barnabas believing that he had seen Lara Hoffman somewhere before. Interestingly, Barrettstown was originally to be called "Bennettstown", in tribute to the then recently deceased original series actress, Joan Bennett. Sadly, this idea was rejected because the authors felt the name did not work well. There are several other points in the plot where additions or clarifications to the Dark Shadows mythology are made. Perhaps most importantly, Roger and Elizabeth talk openly to each other about the latter's reasons for bringing her daughter Victoria to Collinwood. Naturally, this is a secret they are keeping from the young governess. It is revealed furthermore that, with Laura in a mental institution in England, Roger has reluctantly taken David into his custody, after playing no part in his son's life for the previous six years. Also of note is the revelation of Angélique's involvement in the making of the music box, destined for Josette duPres. Not content with cursing Barnabas, she's put one on the music box for good measure! Ed Silas Smith's artwork is simply stunning, and his likenesses of the featured television cast are uniformly excellent - not to mention consistent. His attention to detail was such that in order not to compromise the high quality of his work, several issues of Book One had to be delayed by as much as two months. It is pleasing that his remarkable efforts are matched by a very high standard of printing. If nothing else, Innovation's titles look beautiful - all full colour, glossy, often with card covers. Sadly, in early 1994, Innovation went bust, their extravagant production values maybe speeding their financial decline, but for a while, they put the likes of Marvel and DC to shame. The first issue features an interview with Smith in which he revealed that although he had photographic reference material for Ben Cross and the other players, he preferred to use video footage as a source to paint the character rather than physical likenesses of the actors. "You have to get the feel of the character; you have to depend on your own intuition of how that person looks. You can't take images right off the television screen or photograph, because you're trying for something else. You're trying to interpret it into these panels, and you're trying to create a mood - the Dark Shadows mood." This is an area in which Smith excelled, but the subsequent illustrator, Jose Pimentel and particularly future cover artist Hector Gomez were sadly not as proficient. If there is any criticism that can be made of Smith's artwork, it is that it could be said to be occasionally too static - the paintings are technically excellent but composition is not always interesting. Smith is particularly shaky on pages which are dialogue-based - such as the final page of the first installment, where he presented six equally sized frames with near identical picture content in each. This is a minor point, and it is a missed opportunity indeed that Smith did not contribute further to the Innovation Dark Shadows. Ed Silas Smith actually had one page of artwork for Book One returned as unsuitable - the editors reckoned it wasn't gory enough! "It was the scene where [Barnabas] kills the cleaning lady. So I just took off - I even put footprints where he'd been slogging around in the blood. Very sloppy! I think you have to overdo it a little bit," he revealed. Oddly, it would appear that Innovation were just as unclear of the comic's target audience as Smith. The first two issues proclaim they are "not intended for children", while the third has no rating at all. To round things off in a highly confusing fashion, the fourth issue is "for readers of all ages", yet features strong language and violence! Go figure! Although our heroes' sojourn in Barrettstown could be seen to be more in Paperback Library's territory than in that of the television Dark Shadows, this is a fairly mature piece. Fortunately, David Campiti and Scott Rockwell do not dwell overly on the pulpish nature of their central idea - the good in something being equally balanced by a dark side - and, with the exception of some very forced explanations for the degenerative syndrome from a "babbling" Julia, their plot is intelligently communicated. Characters have motivations for what they do, and the dividing line between good and evil is not always a definite one, those on the side of right often committing acts that are just as callous as those perceived to be evil. For instance, witness Barnabas' cold and clinical despatch of Marla, the cleaning woman at Julia's laboratory, or Vincent Hoffman's willingness to commit genocide against Swann and the degenerates in Part 4. Where the plotting fails, however, is in the rather unnecessary inclusion of Angélique, her link with the main thrust of the story being highly tenuous at best. She appears to have been written in as an afterthought and has little to do that furthers the plot. Both as an introduction to their Dark Shadows range and as a new approach at a Dark Shadows story, Book One must be marked down as a success. It is an all round polished product, created with obvious care and respect. After Dark Shadows fans suffering years of sub-standard Gold Key fare, Innovation had laid down a new set of rules and had given Dark Shadows comics a much-needed shot in the arm. Original Content and Design © Copyright Stuart Manning Dark Shadows © 1966 Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Victoria
is shocked when she sees a ghostly apparition in front of Barnabas'
portrait. Barnabas calms her nerves and suggests that she accompany
Julia and himself on a visit to the doctor's laboratory. They arrive,
in Julia's Rolls-Royce, on the pretext of viewing the facility.
The real reason for the visit is for Barnabas and Julia to discuss
his cure. Shortly after they arrive, Barnabas slips out, ostensibly
to the men's room, and is compelled to take the life of a cleaning
woman, to sate his lust for blood. He disposes of the body and returns
to his friends. Julia's work on his cure has a price - Barnabas
must help her discover what has happened in her home town of Barrettstown.
The town has a dark history of witch-hunts, not dissimilar to that
of Collinsport. However, amongst the tragic deaths of innocents,
several true witches were also drowned - their essences mingling
with the drinking water of Barrettstown. It is generally attributed
to this legend that the townsfolk tend to live much longer and more
successful lives than most.
Julia
begins her treatment of Barnabas with his first injection. She then
shows Barnabas a letter from her great-uncle Vincent Hoffman, who
seems to be begging her to come back to Barrettstown. Julia explains
that she left there as a young child and that on her only subsequent
visit to the town, she had felt disturbed by its horrible aura.
Meanwhile, Barnabas courts the affections of Victoria Winters, unaware
that Angélique's presence is starting to be felt at Collinwood.
We also see, in flashback, Angélique's involvement in the
making of the music box that Barnabas intends for Josette. The next
night, Barnabas and Julia meet up and travel to Barrettstown, only
to be confronted by a hoard of demon-like creatures.
The
strange creatures are in fact the true children of Barrettstown,
the dark side of the coin that spawned the superior products of
the community - people like Julia. Due to centuries of in-breeding,
and the fact that many of the superior specimens left town, the
population produced a huge number of degenerates. These creatures
are now led by a mysterious preacher, who recognises Barnabas from
the 1700s. He
has Barnabas and Julia imprisoned in a cellar during the day - giving
Julia the chance to study Barnabas in his sleeping phase. Back at
Collinwood, Vicki is having yet more trouble with David's behaviour,
but she and Willie are concerned about Barnabas' whereabouts. Willie,
convinced that his master is in danger, even defies Roger Collins
and takes the artist's car to search for Barnabas and Julia. That
evening, Barnabas and Julia are taken from the cellar to meet her
uncle and aunt, Vincent and Lara Hoffman, who reveal that their
note pleading for Julia to return was written under duress.
Vincent
and Lara Hoffman are being held by the Rev. Redmond Swann - whom
Barnabas knew over two hundred years before. He has made it his
task to look after the deformed children, believing them to be the
only good people left in Barrettstown. In an act of mania, he has
had all the remaining 'normal' people killed in an effort to drive
out evil, and plans to do the same with Vincent, Lara, Julia and
Barnabas. Meanwhile, Willie has arrived in Barrettstown and overhears
Swann's plans. When the Reverend exits, Willie sneaks in and rescues
Barnabas and the Hoffmans, but is hurt in combat with a degenerate.
Together, they head towards the old hall, where Swann is addressing
the degenerates. Vincent burns down the hall to destroy the mad
preacher and the 'children'. Barnabas, Julia and Willie leave Lara
and Vincent with the task of remoulding Barrettstown, and return
safely to Collinwood. However, it appears that events may have been
engineered by Angélique, and Swann's revengeful spirit returns
to haunt Vincent and Lara.