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Dark Shadows: The Comic Strip Book
Book by Bald, Kenneth Bruce
152 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 24, 2022
It was fun revisiting the idea of daily newspaper comics (with color Sunday spreads). My rating doesn't really show how much I loved the stories, characters, and comics - but are kind of just a take on the quality of the stories, which, while fun, are not well-developed and are, honestly, just "OK." If the stories had not been Dark Shadows, I doubt if I'd have thought much of them at all - but as Dark Shadows stories, I liked them. If you aren't a Dark Shadows fan, I don't see how the book can rate more than 2 stars, and if you are, most of the fans rate it around 4, so I am giving it a 3.
I want to add that the artwork is exemplary. Ken Bald could draw characters that looked exactly like their TV counterparts. The comics only include Carolyn, Elizabeth, Angelique, and Barnabas from the TV show - and leave out the rest of the family.
The first storyline is "Revenge" and introduces Barnabas to the Collins family (Carolyn and Elizabeth Stoddard). Barnabas battles a 310 year old warlock who blames the Collins family for putting his mother to death for witchcraft. The comic adds to Barnabas' powers and makes him seem very supernatural, which I liked. This was a strong story and I rather liked it.
The second storyline is "A Vision of Isis," which has Barnabas and Isis falling in love and gives Barnabas 5,ooo years of reincarnations across history. Basically, Barnabas is the reincarnation of Osiris, and Isis wants to free his soul, but she finds she also loves his current physical incarnation. Set also wants to kill Barnabas, and Isis ends up defending him - and it concludes with Barnabas (as a bat) defeating Set's machinations. This was a pretty good story.
The third storyline is "Werewolf." One of the new librarians is a werewolf and Barnabas has to figure out which one. The werewolves are ferocious and it was an entertaining story.
The fourth storyline is "Mr. Sinestra," which had an interesting character in Mr. Sinestra, but a rather weak conclusion to the story. Angelique returns, which was good. Barnabas is framed for murder and has to find a way out of it. This was probably the weakest story in the bunch.
The fifth storyline is "Desiree Kapora," about a woman who would transform into a cat and kill people with snake venom on her claws. Basically, Barnabas has to deal with a Caribbean magic cult threatening Collinwood. Apparently, in bat form, Barnabas can fly at supersonic speeds, flying to the Caribbean from Maine to talk to an expert on the cult, secretly spy on a cult initiation ritual, and back again to Maine in a single night. That's approx. 1,723 miles (one way) that had to be traversed twice. Even if we assume night lasted 12 hours, he'd have to fly more than 287 mph to do it - and that wouldn't even give him time to have the conversation with the expert, reach the ceremony, and watch the ceremony while in the Caribbean. Most bats only fly at 15 mph (although the fastest bat can reach close to 100 mph). Still... that is super fast. Anyway, other than that detail, it was a decent story.
The sixth storyline is "Phantom Fire" which was as unique a time-travel story as I've seen. It plays havoc with the TV show timeline, but the comic strip had a different timeline anyway. The storyline centers around the Collinwood of 1772. On the TV show, Barnabas was born around 1760, Collinwood was built in 1767 by Barnabas' father, Barnabas was alive while it was built, and Barnabas actually lived in Collinwood with his family in 1772 (he didn't become a vampire until 1796 - both in the TV show and in the first installment of the comic). I thought, well - maybe Jacob and Esau had this event while Barnabas was in Martinique, but Barnabas didn't travel to Martinique until 1792. Anyway, Barnabas in this story did not seem to know Jacob or Esau Collins, and didn't know about the room that burned up, but they apparently lived in the house with him. It was a good story and I liked the time travel aspect and the unborn child angle. It was just weird how the timeline works.
I want to add that the artwork is exemplary. Ken Bald could draw characters that looked exactly like their TV counterparts. The comics only include Carolyn, Elizabeth, Angelique, and Barnabas from the TV show - and leave out the rest of the family.
The first storyline is "Revenge" and introduces Barnabas to the Collins family (Carolyn and Elizabeth Stoddard). Barnabas battles a 310 year old warlock who blames the Collins family for putting his mother to death for witchcraft. The comic adds to Barnabas' powers and makes him seem very supernatural, which I liked. This was a strong story and I rather liked it.
The second storyline is "A Vision of Isis," which has Barnabas and Isis falling in love and gives Barnabas 5,ooo years of reincarnations across history. Basically, Barnabas is the reincarnation of Osiris, and Isis wants to free his soul, but she finds she also loves his current physical incarnation. Set also wants to kill Barnabas, and Isis ends up defending him - and it concludes with Barnabas (as a bat) defeating Set's machinations. This was a pretty good story.
The third storyline is "Werewolf." One of the new librarians is a werewolf and Barnabas has to figure out which one. The werewolves are ferocious and it was an entertaining story.
The fourth storyline is "Mr. Sinestra," which had an interesting character in Mr. Sinestra, but a rather weak conclusion to the story. Angelique returns, which was good. Barnabas is framed for murder and has to find a way out of it. This was probably the weakest story in the bunch.
The fifth storyline is "Desiree Kapora," about a woman who would transform into a cat and kill people with snake venom on her claws. Basically, Barnabas has to deal with a Caribbean magic cult threatening Collinwood. Apparently, in bat form, Barnabas can fly at supersonic speeds, flying to the Caribbean from Maine to talk to an expert on the cult, secretly spy on a cult initiation ritual, and back again to Maine in a single night. That's approx. 1,723 miles (one way) that had to be traversed twice. Even if we assume night lasted 12 hours, he'd have to fly more than 287 mph to do it - and that wouldn't even give him time to have the conversation with the expert, reach the ceremony, and watch the ceremony while in the Caribbean. Most bats only fly at 15 mph (although the fastest bat can reach close to 100 mph). Still... that is super fast. Anyway, other than that detail, it was a decent story.
The sixth storyline is "Phantom Fire" which was as unique a time-travel story as I've seen. It plays havoc with the TV show timeline, but the comic strip had a different timeline anyway. The storyline centers around the Collinwood of 1772. On the TV show, Barnabas was born around 1760, Collinwood was built in 1767 by Barnabas' father, Barnabas was alive while it was built, and Barnabas actually lived in Collinwood with his family in 1772 (he didn't become a vampire until 1796 - both in the TV show and in the first installment of the comic). I thought, well - maybe Jacob and Esau had this event while Barnabas was in Martinique, but Barnabas didn't travel to Martinique until 1792. Anyway, Barnabas in this story did not seem to know Jacob or Esau Collins, and didn't know about the room that burned up, but they apparently lived in the house with him. It was a good story and I liked the time travel aspect and the unborn child angle. It was just weird how the timeline works.
April 10, 2012
I've been a huge Dark Shadows fan for 40 some years, I've read many Dark Shadows books, including the whole series by Marilyn Ross, but I think this here volume just may be my very favorite. You can't really tell by the cover, but the art inside is quite excellent. This is a terrific supernatural adventure strip! What a shame it only lasted one year. The stories are fun as well. If you're a Dark Shadows fan, you really much read this book. It's best available directly from the Publisher on their web site.
November 26, 2025
Dark Shadows: The Comic Strip Book is a remarkable time capsule. Kenneth Bruce Bald’s artwork is consistently impressive—elegant, expressive, and far above the average newspaper strip of its era. As a collected edition, it’s a pleasure to flip through, and the visual storytelling alone justifies the read for fans of classic horror or vintage comics.
That said, the book also shows the limits of the comic-strip format. The scripts often fall into repetition, with story beats that echo themselves and tension that resets rather than deepens. It’s not a flaw of Bald’s talents so much as a structural constraint: daily strips had to continually reorient readers, which makes the narrative feel cyclical when read all at once.
For longtime Dark Shadows admirers or anyone interested in comic-strip history, this is a valuable and enjoyable collection. Just don’t expect the storytelling depth of the TV series or modern graphic novels. As a historical and artistic artifact, it’s strong. As a sustained narrative, it’s solid but limited.
That said, the book also shows the limits of the comic-strip format. The scripts often fall into repetition, with story beats that echo themselves and tension that resets rather than deepens. It’s not a flaw of Bald’s talents so much as a structural constraint: daily strips had to continually reorient readers, which makes the narrative feel cyclical when read all at once.
For longtime Dark Shadows admirers or anyone interested in comic-strip history, this is a valuable and enjoyable collection. Just don’t expect the storytelling depth of the TV series or modern graphic novels. As a historical and artistic artifact, it’s strong. As a sustained narrative, it’s solid but limited.
December 26, 2022
A fun, if slightly repetitive, collection of stories. What a wonderful reminder of an old tradition of reading “the funnies” with my grandparents.
August 7, 2018
I was born after Dark Shadows went off the air. Stumbled upon it via a recommended for you type of thing and was hooked immediately. When I mentioned it, my mom recounted fond memories of rushing home from school to catch it. It took me a few years to get through the whole series, but then I needed more. Snatched up a couple of old Marilyn Ross DS books. Watched the 90s series. And read the Lara Parker books. But I haven't had any new to me DS stuff in awhile. So when I saw this, I knew I needed to pre-order.
I am not disappointed. The book is beautiful. It's a hard cover (no jacket, all of the art is right on the cover). Inside of the covers they've used a blown up faded comic to fill those often blank pages. The introduction describes the history of the 52 week strip. It also summarizes the 6 storylines that ran through the course of the strip. I personally skipped the summaries so as to be surprised since I've not read these before. The art work is lovely. The print is very legible. The B&W text is generally a bit larger, but I can read both without resorting to my glasses, which is always a good thing.
As is the norm with comics, some likenesses are better than others. I feel like if you're into DS the most important character to get right is Barnabas. In recent years he's even appeared in a Vampire meme, so he's clearly still known as the face of DS. And the likeness of Barnabas as portrayed by Jonathan Frid is about as good as it gets in a daily comic strip. The others are passable.
The story lines are as you'd expect from Dark Shadows. As always if your only previous DS experience is the Tim Burton movie or the 90s series, I highly recommend starting with the original show. It helps to really understand the books and comics. But if you're already a fan, this is a must.
I am not disappointed. The book is beautiful. It's a hard cover (no jacket, all of the art is right on the cover). Inside of the covers they've used a blown up faded comic to fill those often blank pages. The introduction describes the history of the 52 week strip. It also summarizes the 6 storylines that ran through the course of the strip. I personally skipped the summaries so as to be surprised since I've not read these before. The art work is lovely. The print is very legible. The B&W text is generally a bit larger, but I can read both without resorting to my glasses, which is always a good thing.
As is the norm with comics, some likenesses are better than others. I feel like if you're into DS the most important character to get right is Barnabas. In recent years he's even appeared in a Vampire meme, so he's clearly still known as the face of DS. And the likeness of Barnabas as portrayed by Jonathan Frid is about as good as it gets in a daily comic strip. The others are passable.
The story lines are as you'd expect from Dark Shadows. As always if your only previous DS experience is the Tim Burton movie or the 90s series, I highly recommend starting with the original show. It helps to really understand the books and comics. But if you're already a fan, this is a must.
January 17, 2016
This is about the Dark Shadows comic strips that were run in some newspapers for a while. The book has a foreward, an introduction, information on how the strip series was promoted, the strips themselves (all in black and white), and information about the Gold Key comic book series along with other information.
The comic strips ended up with four stories.
A guy named bell had a mother that was a witch and was burned at the stake. He swore (like so many others) to kill all the Collins for revenge.
Isis, the goddess, finds an amulet that will help her transfer the soul of Osiris into a suitable body which just happens to be the body of Barnabas. The various incarnations of Barnabas are shown and she ends up falling in love with Barnabas.
Another story has a werwolf attacking people and Barnabas tries to find out what is going on.
A strange story is a villain named Mr. Sinestra (which is a pretty hokey name, actually) who wants Barnabas' soul. There are a couple more stories.
All in all the stories are pretty good and, like a soap opera, take a while to finish a story. This is not a book that's easy to get, although I did manage to find a copy on Amazon. It is definitely worth adding to your collection.
The comic strips ended up with four stories.
A guy named bell had a mother that was a witch and was burned at the stake. He swore (like so many others) to kill all the Collins for revenge.
Isis, the goddess, finds an amulet that will help her transfer the soul of Osiris into a suitable body which just happens to be the body of Barnabas. The various incarnations of Barnabas are shown and she ends up falling in love with Barnabas.
Another story has a werwolf attacking people and Barnabas tries to find out what is going on.
A strange story is a villain named Mr. Sinestra (which is a pretty hokey name, actually) who wants Barnabas' soul. There are a couple more stories.
All in all the stories are pretty good and, like a soap opera, take a while to finish a story. This is not a book that's easy to get, although I did manage to find a copy on Amazon. It is definitely worth adding to your collection.
August 10, 2018
I was such a Dark Shadows fan as a kid. I used to race home from school to watch it with my best friend. When I was away on school vacations visiting my dad who did not watch TV, my sweet mom took notes on the episodes I missed. ❤️ her. I never knew there was a comic strip! I came across a mention of this book on a Dark Shadows fan page and now it’s finally here. I love it.
November 21, 2015
Wonderful cheese.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews