Vampirella of Drakulon

"'Feast come, feast served!' - Vampirella"“Vampirella of Drakulon” is the first story in the first issue of the Warren Publishing magazine Vampirella. The story, written by Forrest J. Ackerman with art by Tom Sutton, is notable for being the debut of the character Vampirella. The story was released on September, 1969 along with other stories in the first issue of Vampirella.

Plot Summary
Drakulon is “a planet of blood” and its inhabitants, like Vampirella, have evolved in a manner that requires them to consume blood for sustenance. However, the twin suns that Drakulon orbits have led to widespread droughts across the planet which has greatly weakened the Drakulonians across the planet.

One day a spaceship crashes on the outskirts of Gosi-Bram, a barren area of the planet, and Vampirella uses her wings to fly to the area to check out the area. As Vampirella gets closer to the ship she sees two survivors and decides to approach in her “other form” and transforms herself into a large bat.

The survivors of the crash are startled by the “animal’s” sudden appearance and shoot at Vampirella with guns. Vampirella then wills herself to be invisible in order to avoid further detection. However, she is greatly weakened from days without consuming blood and her powers begin to fluctuate. She is unable to maintain invisibility and reverts to her original form, much to the panic of the survivors.

Vampirella attacks the men and is surprised to learn that “H2O! Water flows through their veins!!” The caption of the panel reveals that on Drakulon the formula for H2O stands for hemoglobin + water. Vampirella drinks the blood from the men’s veins and wonders if there are more men with “water” inside the crashed ship. When she enters she sees a large row of sleeping men inside pods and she excitedly proceeds to kill the men and consume their blood.

Offscreen, she uses the ship to fly to Earth, as we learn in her next appearance in “Down to Earth” from the second issue.

Collections

 * Vampirella Archives Vol. 1

Trivia & Continuity

 * Drakulon is misspelled as “Draculon” on the title page of the comic story.
 * Vampirella’s characterization would change dramatically in future stories. This story is of a more humorous and parody nature, but once Vampirella became a leading character her storylines became more serious and weighted. Initially, Vampirella comes across as a bloodthirsty creature who cares not for the death she causes, but in later issues Vampirella would express remorse for her actions.
 * Vampirella is surprised that the humans have “water [blood] in their veins," but in later issues, it would be stated that Drakulonians have blood in their veins as well.
 * Vampirella's costume is very different in her first story from the outfit she comes to be well known for wearing. She has pants.