Due to the Blade movie in Marvel Phase 5, we will probably lots of vampires in the MCU. While villains might not make the best long term comic investment, they might be good for a quick flip or so.

Having said that, have you noticed the rise of Tomb of Dracula #1? That is a villain book that is seeing a lot of interest in the secondary market.

Below are more interesting vampire comics that you want to consider for speculation.

 

If there is one vampire modern comic to speculate on, it will be this book. It features the first appearance of Dracula in his modern form. This takes Dracula from the traditional design that we used to, to the more modern centric look that is now commonly used.

Another important aspect of this book is that it introduces the concept of multiple sect within the Vampire community. This gives more depth to the whole Vampire world and might be used by MCU to convey something more sophisticated. Think Game of Thrones but done in vampire world.

Finally, this book also contains the first appearance of Xarus, otherwise known as Shadow Colonel. He is the son of Dracula and is always trying to overthrow his father to become the king of vampires. Recently, he created the Legion of the Unliving (see picture below), which is a cool group of vampire villains that appeared within the Avengers pages.

Besides its story significance, Death of Dracula #1 also has a pretty low sale numbers. There is a even second print for this book whose print run should be even lower.

   

Speaking of Legion of the Unliving, the above 2 books contain the first appearances of all their members. Most of them appeared in the Avengers comic but one appeared in Union Jack #1.

If you have not read the comic, think of the Legion of the Unliving as the military unit for the vampires. They attack enemies with precision, which is unlike how traditional vampires work.

In addition to the villains, the Avengers Vol 8, #14 also features the first appearance of Boy-Thing. This is a child like version of Man-Thing who is now part of Blade’s permanent arsenal. The reason is because it can produce endless stream of wooden stakes, which come in handy when killing vampires.

Note that Avengers book has a 1:15 variant. It has a wraparound cover, which is where I got the image of Legion of the Unliving from.

 

An interesting book to note is the first ever meeting between Doctor Strange and Dracula. These 2 have clashed quite a bit. In fact, Doctor Strange was responsible for Dracula’s ultimate demise.

Tomb of Dracula #44 also features a fantastic first meeting cover, with both characters being very prominent.

While first meeting might not as favored as first appearances, they do command a premium in the secondary market. Below is a comparison between Fear #24 and Tomb of Dracula #44.

Issue	Prices (Fine raw)	Prices (VF raw)	Prices (NM raw)
Adventures into Fear #24 (1974)	USD 30	USD 60	USD 130
Tomb of Dracula #44 (1976)	USD 4	USD 25	USD 40

If you compare these 2 books, there is definitely some room for growth for Tomb of Dracula #44. The potential is around 200% for the higher grades and much more for the mid to lower grades.

Currently, this book is very under appreciated so entry prices are pretty affordable.

Other related books are Doctor Strange Vol 2, #59-#62 whereby Doctor Strange used the Montesi Formula to kill all vampires. #62 is the first time the Montesi Formula appeared in comics.

 

Captain Britain and MI:13 #10 has one of the most sophisticated vampire stories ever featured. In this story, we see vampires beyond just horror creatures but a group of organized characters who developed deep strategies to achieve their objectives.

In this particular issue, we are introduced to Vampire Nation. This is a grouping of familiar vampire characters who have debuted throughout the history of Marvel comics. Below is a sense of who they are.

This group has not disappeared from comics after debuting in the Captain Britain comics. They are now part of Wolverine latest comic series, which has a vampire story running in the background.

Conclusion

Vampires might seem to be a one off villain for the Blade movie. However, we have seen many franchises build on Vampires alone. If Marvel Studios is smart, they will exploit the vampire characters they have to develop them further as independent franchises.