Vampire Tales #2

History

Vampire Tales was published by Magazine Management, Marvel's parent company, specifically to sidestep Comics Code Authority restrictions that barred the supernatural content Marvel wanted to explore in color comics; the magazine format allowed moderate profanity, partial nudity, and more graphic horror. Issue #2 was on sale July 3, 1973, and carried an October 1973 cover date, with Roy Thomas credited as editor and Marv Wolfman as associate editor. An editorial printed in the following issue, Vampire Tales #3, recorded Thomas's own account of Satana's genesis: Stan Lee had long wanted to create a 'Devil's Daughter' strip but felt it impractical until the large-format magazines arrived, and when planning the companion Son of Satan series, Lee revived the concept — with Thomas and John Romita Sr. jointly developing the character's visual identity and Thomas himself contributing the succubus concept. The Morbius lead feature, 'The Blood Sacrifice of Amanda Saint,' was scripted by Don McGregor with art by Rich Buckler and Pablo Marcos, the same creative partnership that was building out Morbius as a tragic, literary protagonist across the magazine's early issues.

Trivia · 8 facts

• First appearance of Satana (Satana Hellstrom), the Devil's Daughter — created by writer-editor Roy Thomas and artist John Romita Sr. — in a four-page twist-in-the-tale teaser titled 'Satana'; she is established as a soul-harvesting succubus and the sister of Daimon Hellstrom (Son of Satan).
• First appearance of occult detective Hodiah Twist and his assistant Conrad Jeavons, both created by writer Don McGregor and penciller Carlos Garzon (with inks by Klaus Janson), in an 11-page story titled 'The Praying Mantis Principle!' set in 1930s Manhattan; Twist was consciously modeled as a Sherlock Holmes archetype who rejects supernatural explanations.
• First appearance of Amanda Saint, who debuts in the Morbius lead feature 'The Blood Sacrifice of Amanda Saint,' scripted by Don McGregor with art by Rich Buckler and Pablo Marcos.
• The issue reprints Jim Steranko's story 'At the Stroke of Midnight,' originally from Tower of Shadows #1 (September 1969), one of several classic horror pieces folded into the anthology alongside new material.
• Additional contents include a Gardner Fox–scripted fantasy story ('Five Claws to Tryphon,' with art by Jesus Blasco and John Romita), a Doug Moench article on Bela Lugosi's non-Dracula vampire roles, a Chris Claremont article, and a four-page Salem witch-trial reprint ('Witch Hunt!').
• The issue was published as a black-and-white magazine by Magazine Management (Marvel's parent), placing it outside the Comics Code Authority and allowing mature horror content unavailable in Marvel's color line.
• Roy Thomas and Marv Wolfman served as editor and associate editor respectively; the painted cover was the work of José Antonio Domingo Bernabéu (credited on the contents page only as 'JAD').
• Satana's debut was later reprinted in Essential Marvel Horror Vol. 1 (2006), Vampire Tales Vol. 1 (2010), Marvel Firsts: The 1970s Vol. 2 (2012), the Morbius the Living Vampire Omnibus (2019), and the Morbius Epic Collection Vol. 1 (2020), among other collections; Satana later appeared as a main character (renamed Ana Helstrom) in the 2020 Hulu television series Helstrom, played by Sydney Lemmon.

Cast · 11 characters

Full credits

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