Dark Shadows: The Complete Series Volume 1

Dark Shadows: The Complete Series #1

by D.J. Arneson, Arnold Drake, Joe Certa (Artist)

Hermes Press proudly announces the complete reprint of Gold Key Comics' graphic tie-in of the legendary, supernatural suspense television series, Dark Shadows, in a series of five hardcover volumes. The forerunner to today's immensely popular, vampire-themed television programs and theatrical films, Dark Shadows still garners serious attention as one of the most memorable TV shows of the last forty years. First published from 1968 to 1976, the 35 Gold Key comic books featured in this completely digitally restored collection present archetypal tales of vampires, werewolves, and the supernatural. In addition to reprinting the stories, Hermes Press will supplement each volume with poster art, pin-ups, and documentary material from the show, as well as essays about the history of Dark Shadows.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Comics, Humor

223 pages, Hardcover

First published May 28, 2010

Reviews

[Brett C · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this first volume of the Dark Shadows series. Hermes Press has made these as reprints from the original Gold Key comics that were produced from 1968 to 1976. These are stories and do not directly mirror the show, but have the characters and motifs from the show. Also the story plots do not follow in sequential-continual order, so this might make reading confusing. It is Dark Shadows but do not expect a linear reflection of the show. The artwork did a great job of giving the gothic tone.


The plots hold true to the character portrayals in the original TV series as well. Overall I enjoyed the book ,the artwork, and story vignettes. I think his is a good starting point for any fan to the Dark Shadows series. Thanks!

[Richard Tolleson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place in an alternate version of Dark Shadows' Collinwood, which works just fine within the concept pf parallel time. The reader is assumed to already know the characters, so a reader unfamiliar with the series will have some catching up to do. In some of the stories, Barnabas is a vampire; while in others he is cured (as Julia managed to do for a while on the series). Barnabas is almost always depicted as someone trying to save another Collins from some supernatural terror. My biggest gripe about this comic series is the art. There is a lack of consistency from panel to panel; the characters look different each time they are drawn. But the comic ran longer than the TV series, so what do I know?

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I can remember REALLY wanting to buy these comics as a kid, but dang it, Mom wouldn’t let me. So it’s fab that Hermes Press has reissued the complete series in hardcover. While it concerns characters from the television series, the comic book has little to do with the plot line, other than Barnabas is the reluctant vampire. While the plots are something else to be desired (they hop all over the place,) the art is fantastic. I’ve already purchased Volume II; not sure if I’ll do the complete thing or not. Definitely one for “Dark Shadows” and comic book fans.

[Quentin Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection includes the first seven issues of the Gold Key Dark Shadows comic series. I only have a basic knowledge of the Dark Shadows characters, but I enjoyed this volume. The stories seem to be set in different timelines of the series (for example, in some stories Barnabas is a vampire, in others he's been cured, and I think it goes back and forth) but if you take each story as a stand alone it works.

The art isn't stellar but it's not bad either and fits the series well.

The series is a lot like most Gold Key comics in that they are rarely great, but are usually good. If you're a fan of the TV series I think you'll either really enjoy it or be appalled at the various continuity errors that are probably there but I can't see.

[Craig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing to discover new events in the lives of the Collins-Stoddard family. But a little formulaic/ repetitive with Barnabas declaring every issue, "I must protect my secret!" I realize that these appeared quarterly so folks likely needed the reminder, but when reading all at once, it doesn't work as well.

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark Shadows purists are probably going to have problems with this book. As stated in the introduction, it was written without any oversight from Dan Curtis Productions (producers of the TV show) by writers who weren't experts in the show. In fact, the stories don't even necessarily keep continuity between each other, much less between themselves and the show.

However, taken on its own terms, this is a nice collection of horror stories from the 60s and 70s, with really nice art by John Certa. While the stories may not fit in neatly between episodes of the TV series, they certainly capture the weird, Gothic tone of the show. Fans of comics of the period will enjoy this, as will fans of more esoteric Dark Shadows merchandise.

Unfortunately, two pages in the first story are transposed, which makes for a frustrating reading experience. Accidents and misprints happen, and the rest of the book is enjoyable enough that I'm willing to forgive this error. But I hope that future volumes will be produced with a bit more care and attention, as I certainly look forward to reading them.

[Wil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't enjoy it as much as I thought. The writing wasn't very good, and the stories were disjointed and somewhat repetitive. It reminded me of the early spider man comics... more geared toward eight year old kids. It's a far cry from some of the great comics being produced today, like Unwritten (also reading that). But the kitsch factor alone made this worth reading.

[April Cole Ledebur · Rating 3 out of 5]

it is funny how unoragnized the Dark Shadows comics are. As the intro to the book states half of the writers of the comic did not watch the show so they got alot of things wrong. But knowing that ahead of time helped me like or at least get a laugh out of the the indivdual stories.

[WhatShouldIRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storylines in the comics, fun graphics by the artist though had to laugh at each Barnabas drawing - he seemed to always be running here and there! Not a comic book fan but a Dark Shadows geek so just HAD to read this. Two more volumes to go!