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The Innovation
Comics: Book 2 |
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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) and Book One of Innovation's series. A study of Book One is presented here, available from the editorial address. This story was issued under the collective title Lost in Thought. Part
1: Street Date: April 1993. Touchy
Situation At the Blue Whale, two dubious men discuss the stealing of some old money which lies in the Old House at Collinwood. They think that the Old House is uninhabited and decide to break in that night. Meanwhile, Victoria has gone there to visit Barnabas; all the other Collinwood residents are away and she is lonely. She spends some time with Barnabas, then returns to Collinwood only to be attacked by the two thieves. She escapes in a dazed condition, but almost falls off Widow's Hill - only to be rescued by the mysterious young man, who takes her back to Collinwood. Meanwhile, the two robbers enter the Old House by the cellar, but are caught by Barnabas. They blurt out about Vicki, and are dragged to Collinwood by an anxious Barnabas, who finds Vicki being cared for by the young man. Medical help is called for, and the two robbers are scared off by Barnabas, who finds out about the old money. The young man leaves too, once he is sure that things are alright. Christmas Eve arrives, and the rest of the Collins family try to find out what happened to Vicki, but her memory of the incident is sketchy. The young man is outside, watching them. He turns to leave and finds more statues in the garden, which give him the same suffocating feeling. Part
2: Street Date: May 1993. Very Touching The next morning, Nathan calls on Willie and admits he lied about Vicki's recommendation. He explains what really happened when she was attacked, then tells an incredulous Willie that he can sense her thoughts, as he had touched her with his bare hand. He can read the mind of anyone he touches, and only distance can reduce the intensity of the voices in his head. This is why he lives as a drifter, having left home when he was twelve. He also mentions that he senses Vicki is in danger. The next day, Vicki is walking in the woods when she finds a statue of a man. She goes to Barnabas to see if he knows anything of it. Julia, meanwhile, is concerned about the treatment. One of her vampire mice has died and she is worried that Barnabas may also suffer. Barnabas and Vicki find the statue, which turns out to be of his centuries-dead father, Joshua. It bears the Latin inscription, "Carpent Tua Poma Nepotes", which translated means, "your descendants shall gather your fruits". The shock of finding the statue brings on a vampiric attack, but Barnabas manages to make Vicki leave before he fully succumbs. However, Nathan, sensing danger to Vicki, finds Barnabas, who turns on him. Part
3: Street Date: June 1993. Touch
Me Not Part
4: Street Date: July 1993. Touch
and Go Written by Maggie Thompson, Edited by David Campiti and Scott Rockwell, Illustrated by José Pimentel, Cover Artwork by Hector Gomez, 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 The second back-story in Lost in Thought concerns the Grimm sisters, who are revealed to be Gorgons, legendary creatures from Ancient Greece. Recognising that the television series had borrowed greatly from literature, but had mostly ignored myths and legends as a source, Maggie Thompson decided to explore the options these ancient stories could offer her own. Previously on Dark Shadows, only the story of the Phoenix (based upon an Egyptian myth) in the original series, and the occasional Paperback Library novel (notably Barnabas, Quentin and the Serpent) had taken their inspiration from mythology. Thompson found the Greek myth of the Gorgons (or "Grim Ones") offered an extra dimension to her story, although she had to greatly simplify the original story when explaining their history for the comicbook. In fact, there are many variations of the tale, each giving different explanations of how the three sisters became hideous creatures whose gaze could turn people to stone. The comic subscribes to the version which tells how the sea god Poseidon became enamoured with Medusa, youngest and most beautiful of the sisters, and pursued her. Unfortunately, the goddess Athena also loved Poseidon, and used her powers to turn Medusa into a scale-covered monster with bulging red eyes, brass wings and claws, and a head full of hissing snakes. Her older sisters, Euryale and Stheno, protested at this treatment but Athena turned them into similar creatures. Medusa was slain by Perseus, but the other sisters escaped a similar fate, and, being immortals, were left to continue their existence, subsequently travelling, Thompson suggests, to America as Allie and Thenno Grimm. Thompson's attention to detail is apparent here, as we are shown the winged horse Pegasus flying away, having emerged from Medusa's corpse - echoing another part of the Gorgon myth. In their time in the Collinsport area, it is implied that many have unwittingly stumbled across the Grimm sisters' terrible secret. One of these victims appears to be Barnabas' father, Joshua Collins - an alternative demise for the 18th Century character? Unfortunately, the question of whether this is a merely statue of Joshua or his body turned to stone by the Gorgons is not made entirely clear to the reader. The first book was deemed very successful both by Innovation and Dark Shadows fans, and had met with some considerable acclaim, but the four individual parts had been issued at irregular intervals. Innovation claimed that this was due to artist Ed Silas Smith's painstaking attempts to produce his best possible work, but it has been suggested in some quarters that this reason was partly used as a smokescreen to cover Innovation's already perilous financial state - they would eventually go bankrupt in early 1994. Many readers had written to express their frustration at the long gaps between issues and David Campiti did his best to solve the problem by commissioning another artist to work on Book Two before Smith had finished the first. This artist was José Pimentel. In Lost in Thought, Pimentel occasionally captured the characters' likenesses superbly, but unfortunately, his work was far from consistent. His paintings of the regular cast members plainly being taken from recognisable photographic sources. (As an aside, Nicholas Fairfax's likeness was based upon Roger Rees, an English actor, who has appeared in Cheers and the RSC production of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby.) The most disappointing aspect of Pimentel's work though, has to be his inability to maintain continuity from one frame to another, contributing to what has to be seen as a highly unsatisfactory product on the visual front. This is particularly unfortunate considering that it followed Smith's tour-de-force. Likewise, the covers were not all they could have been. All the cover artwork for Lost in Thought was executed by Hector Gomez and are striking but again likenesses are not good. The cover painting for the second issue features Barnabas, kneeling before Joshua's statue, his wolf's head cane on the ground before him - without that pertinent clue, the reader could easily have mistaken Barnabas for a depiction of Roy Thinnes' Roger Collins. The final two covers in the run are the most unusual in the entire range, and definitely do their utmost to justify the comic book's "not intended for children" rating. Bountiful cleavages and heaving bosoms dominate the proceedings ! These mildly erotic images could definitely be seen as a ploy to increase sales via the lowest common denominator, but are actually of a highly inventive nature - so much so, in fact, that neither of these paintings have any genuine relevance to the story unfolding within. The painting which adorns the cover page of Part 4 is particularly notable, not least for its atypicality. Gomez transports Thompson's modern day Gorgon tale into the mythic past of Ancient Greece - not what you'd expect on a Dark Shadows cover. Unfortunately the dramatic effect of the painting is somewhat spoilt by the representation of Barnabas, looking for all the world like he's hailing a cab on a New York street corner. Despite Barnabas' taking centre stage on the covers, his involvement in the story is almost incidental for, in essence, this is Willie Loomis' vehicle. At the time of writing Lost in Thought, Maggie Thompson admitted to a growing fascination for Jim Fyfe's excellent portrayal of Willie, which had convinced her that the character was a great deal more interesting than the "Renfield pastiche" that she had initially taken it for. In many ways, Thompson's is the most in-depth exploration of Willie's character ever presented in any medium. Noticing that after the 'missing' ten weeks in the television narrative, Willie possessed greater confidence and self esteem and enjoyed closer relationships with those around him, Thompson integrated Willie's gradual personal growth as a central theme in her story. In an extremely valid statement, Thompson later noted that Willie Loomis is probably the only character in fiction to have actually benefited from a vampire's bite. When we first see Willie on the NBC series, he is at his lowest point: a drunken, idle and thieving punk. We start to see his development in the early television episodes, and then more so in the first Innovation book, where he risks his life to rescue Barnabas and Julia from the Reverend Swann. Here, Maggie Thompson takes Willie still further down his developmental path, as she ably demonstrates his selflessness and devotion to Barnabas and Vicki, and his concern for others. In the space of a few short months in narrative terms, we have seen the transformation of Collinsport's outcast into someone who is not only a trusted confidante of Barnabas, Vicki and Nicholas Fairfax, but who also fully deserves their faith in him. We are also treated to the sowing of the first seeds of his friendship with Julia. It is through her professional capacity as a doctor, while tending the wounds Willie suffered from Barnabas' beating, that she initially reaches out to him. She is impressed by Willie's continued loyalty to Barnabas despite the regular violence to his person. Willie then confides in her that it was actually he who freed Barnabas from his long exile. These are the beginnings of a remarkable friendship where unequal intellect is overcome by mutual trust and commitment. Meanwhile, Julia is beginning to realise that finding a cure for vampirism is not going to be as simple as she had hoped. In this sequence, which is later mirrored in the Grimm sisters' reluctance to cure Barnabas of his affliction as it would most likely kill him, we discover more about the nature of a vampire's existence. Through her diary entries (a nice stylistic touch, keeping continuity with Book One), we learn that Julia has managed to cure a laboratory mouse of the condition, but the creature died as a result. In attempting to discover the reason for this effect, she thinks back to when she cured Daphne. It suddenly strikes her that the mouse had died and been resurrected, whereas at the time of her initial treatment, Daphne had been still alive. She speculates that to give life back when natural life has ceased is obviously a different matter. Maggie Thompson herself believes that Barnabas doesn't know everything about his condition. "His initial reactions were instinctive," she pointed out in an interview published in Part Two. "All he knew was what he felt. All his other information came from Angélique - hardly a trusted informant." If we are to concur with Thompson, then what Barnabas professes to 'know' about himself may not, in fact, be true. Thompson further speculates that he is not safe in his coffin and agrees with David Campiti's theory that Barnabas actually mentally shuts down and drifts into a coma-like state during the day. As a natural progression from this point, which is in line with evidence presented in Book One, it is revealed that Barnabas is capable of dreaming, but due to the haunted nature of these subconscious visions, he finds little relief from the experience. In another attempt to show Barnabas adapting to modern life, he takes Vicki to the cinema, at Willie's suggestion, and the pair see a 1940s fantasy film revival, featuring La Belle et la Béte and The Uninvited. Unfortunately, due to Pimentel's poor artwork, if is impossible to work out whether Barnabas is loving or hating the experience! It is also interesting to note that Thompson speculates, in a thought-provoking tangent off the telepath theme, that should Nicholas become a vampire, he would feel the deaths of each of his victims. Maggie Thompson's storyline sees Barnabas finding his dark secret revealed to more and more outsiders. By the conclusion, Barnabas has attacked Nicholas Fairfax and made him a vampire also. However, having been cured by the Sisters Grimm, Nicholas is set free and leaves Collinsport a normal human being. Barnabas must rely on his silence. The Grimms have also learned Barnabas' secret, recognising him as "one of the Empusae - the blood drinkers". Once again, Barnabas finds himself having to trust in strangers, though at least in this case, he has an equal hold over them, for they have an equal interest in remaining undiscovered. Conversely, Barnabas is still able to keep his condition hidden from Victoria, though this would in part seem to be due to her unquestioning nature and innocence. Willie and Julia appear to be well aware that keeping the secret under wraps will require greater effort as time passes. Also, in an uncharacteristic show of charity, Barnabas allows two burglars who stumble upon him in the Old House to go free, despite the possible trouble they could bring him whilst still alive. Although his motivation in this instance is unclear in the story, perhaps it was intended as an illustration of Barnabas' attempts to live by Julia's rules, resisting his thirst for blood. Barnabas' development under his treatment is further depicted by his growing sensitivity towards Willie, giving him a crucifix as a New Year's present, which should guarantee his safety should he lose control. Obviously unable to handle this himself, he had someone else wrap it for him - most likely this task was performed by Julia, who, we could surmise, had suggested this course of action to Barnabas in the first place. Oddly, at one point, Julia is seen praying over a bible, clutching a crucifix. It is highly unusual for a present-time Dark Shadows character to be seen practicing religious observance. However, it is unclear whether this is something Julia does for its religious significance or for protection against the vampire. While the artwork throughout Lost in Thought is at best patchy, the comicbook is ultimately saved by the exceptionally high standard of Maggie Thompson's storyline. She treats the reader to a multi-layered story, treading paths rarely taken in Dark Shadows fiction, and brings these diverse and atypical plot strands together with finesse. Her handling of the characters and their development is second to none, and for these reasons, this is a highpoint of Dark Shadows in print. There are few minus points, most too trivial to allude to, but the rather pointless appearances of Angélique are definitely an irritation, her character playing no part whatsoever in the storyline. Seeing her spectral appearances in various frames throughout the book, you feel that she has been included only to keep her presence fresh in readers' minds. No doubt future stories would have had her move to a more central placing in the plots. These are unimportant points, and do not detract in any great way from a very satisfying read. Sadly, with Innovation's disappearance after the issuing of the first part of Book Three, Dark Shadows fans lost an excellent publication which presented a bold and unique vision for the future of the series. Whereas Dan Curtis and NBC had effectively short-changed viewers with well-worn plots and copybook direction, Innovation delivered quality and imagination in abundance in their short time as the bearers of the Dark Shadows flame. Their work should not be overlooked. Original Content and Design © Copyright Stuart Manning Dark Shadows © 1966 Dan Curtis Productions, Inc. All rights reserved. |
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Four
days before Christmas, a mysterious young man hitches a ride to
Eagle Hill Cemetery, and breaks into a nearby mansion. Inside are
many statues of animals, and one of a woman. He touches the woman
and suddenly feels as if he is suffocating. He hurriedly leaves
the house and runs out into the night.
In a
rage, Barnabas beats Willie for leaving Vicki unprotected on the
night she was attacked. Then, in a fit of remorse, he has Julia
tend to Willie's wounds and blood loss. She becomes concerned by
Barnabas' lack of control. The next morning, the young man - Nicholas
Fairfax - calls at the Old House looking for information on the
house with the statues. He claims that Vicki said that he might
be able to get work there. Willie knows the owners - the Grimm sisters
- and helps Nathan to get a position there as odd job man. The Grimm
sisters are sculptors, from an old Collinsport family, and look
odd as they always wear dark glasses. That night, Willie tells Vicki
about Nathan, but she does not remember him. Barnabas, meanwhile,
is impatient with Julia's treatments - claiming that the pain and
blood lust have not disappeared.
Willie
intervenes to stop Barnabas drinking Nathan's blood, but Nathan
has learned about Barnabas and his victims telepathically. He questions
Willie about Daphne - scared that he too will become a vampire.
The next day, Julia informs Willie that she will start a new treatment
for Barnabas. Later, Willie meets Nathan, who tells him about his
childhood days and why he left home - hearing too many voices in
his mind was driving him insane. Nathan also confides to his friend
that he plans to kill Barnabas, believing that if the source of
the vampirism was eliminated, those under his control would be freed.
Willie does not agree with Nathan's plans, and gets hold of a pistol,
with which he vows to defend Barnabas, if necessary. That evening,
Nathan breaks in to the Old House, but Willie stops him before he
can do any injury to Barnabas. After speaking to Joe Haskell, who
still grieves for Daphne, Julia administers the new drug to Barnabas
- and Nathan, working at the Grimm mansion, feels the pain of the
injection simultaneously. He causes a stone pillar to fall, which
narrowly misses Thenno Grimm, but instead lands on him, pinning
him to the ground by his wrist. She manages to release him, but
through the physical contact, he learns that she and her sister
are the two surviving Gorgons.
Nathan
runs out into the snowy night and the sisters realise that he knows
what they are. They decide he must be destroyed, but lose his trail
because he wades through the icy cold waters of the river. He stumbles
to the Old House, his feet now severely frost-bitten and there,
Willie does his best to make him comfortable. Nathan warns Willie
about the Gorgons and the next morning Willie questions Vicki about
the legend. He also gets Julia to come and examine Nathan. Vicki
decides to teach David about the Gorgon legend and discovers that
they were also known as the Grim Ones. Also that one of them could
cure with blood from her left side and destroy with blood from her
right. Whilst Thenno and Allie Grimm check the hospital and the
church for Nathan, Julia realises that Nathan is on the verge of
death. He asks Willie to kill him with a stake, to prevent him from
rising as a vampire, but Willie cannot bring himself to carry out
this demand. The sisters call at the Old House just as Barnabas
wakes, and Nathan rises as a vampire. The sisters recognise Barnabas
from two centuries past and realise what he is. He is about to attack
them when Nathan stops him - their blood is death. They offer to
turn Nathan to stone to ease his pain but he refuses, saying that
the statues are alive and in pain. They did not realise this. Instead,
Allie makes Nathan drink blood from her left side, which turns him
back into a healthy human once more. Barnabas cannot partake of
a similar treatment as it would leave him as a two hundred year
old man, his immediate death inevitable. Nathan's cure also means
he can control the "volume" of his telepathy, and he goes
with the sisters to help treat the statues, before returning home.
Finally, Barnabas gives both Vicki and Willie crucifixes to protect
them from himself should he lose control again.