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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Have you read Red Rain? What do you think of its take on Dracula?

PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

But Dracula himself wouldn’t return for them, only appearing in Red Rain.

DC have also revisited the universe of Vampire Batman several times in other comics, and while it has been fun to do so sometimes, it’s never recaptured the magic of Moench and Jones’s original trilogy.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Red Rain had two sequels, Bloodstorm and Crimson Mist, which examined the consequences for Batman and his friends and enemies of the Caped Crusader becoming a vampire. They are also from the same team, and are both excellent, filled with their own tragedy and pathos.

Cover art for Bloodstorm, showing Batman, as a vampire, crouched on a tree branch, as bats fly passed.

Cover art for Crimson Mist, showing Batman as a vampire haunting a graveyard.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

He’s less the Prince of Darkness, and more evil dude in a trenchcoat. But he still feels dangerous, beyond the usual rogues Batman faces. He’s still Dracula enough to warrant equal billing with the Dark Knight.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Because it’s an Elseworlds book, Batman can die. Or undie, as it may be, and that lends the book a weight that it wouldn’t have otherwise, even before the powerful denouement.

Dracula himself is a little more low key in this book than we might be used to.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Honestly, it’s one of my favourite books by either creator. Jones’s Batman is one of those where his ears are crazy long, and his cape defies the laws of physics, but who cares when it looks this good? He and Moench perfectly balance the tragedy of the story as well.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

he ends the story as a vampire himself.

The book is great. Written by Doug Moench, who had already done some great Batman stories in Detective Comics, and drawn by Kelley Jones, who would go on to draw a lot more Batman after this, the book has a dark, gothic feel in keeping with the theme.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Batman begins investigating a rash of murders, mostly of homeless people, only to find that the killer is Count Dracula, who is creating an army of vampires. But Batman isn’t strong enough to defeat Dracula without paying a huge price, and (spoiler warning here),

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

Batman: Gotham by Gaslight, and Superman: Red Son are two brilliant comics that use their premise to the full. And then there’s Red Rain, the Elseworlds comic which DC just keeps coming back to.

The premise is fairly simple.

The cover for Gotham by Gaslight, showing a noir Batman brooding over a Steampunk, Victorian Gotham.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2h

#31DaysOfDracula Day 15 - Batman & Dracula: Red Rain

DC Comics Elseworlds imprint can be a real mixed bag. Essentially stories set outside the main DC continuity, pretty much anything can happen in them. And often does. While there are many duds in the line, there are also some absolute classics.

The cover for Red Rain, showing Batman clawing his way out of a grave.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 17h

I have had this Drew Struzan poster for The Empire Strikes Back in a frame on my wall for years now. One of my favourites. RIP to a master.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 21h

Ah, fuck. I failed my English A-level. I guess I’m not allowed a job. Wish someone had told me before I applied for 200 of them.

The Independent @the-independent.com · 1d

Migrants will need A-level standard English to work in UK

www.independent.co.uk

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 22h

241. Final Fight. I came to this one late (I was a Streets of Rage kid). In fact, my first encounters with the Final Fight characters were in the Street Fighter Alpha series. But I am glad I have now played Final Fight, as it really is one of the best scrolling beat-em-ups going. #365games

Cover art for Final Fight, showing Cody stood next to a thug on the ground, while another approaches him. Behind him, Guy is doing a spin kick into some others.

A screenshot from Final Fight. Cody and Guy are stood to the right, waiting for some bad guys who are walking towards them. Cody has a knife.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

If I want to play a Dracula video game, more often than not, I’ll go with a Castlevania. But if I’m after something that sticks a little closer to the novel? This is where I go.

What’s your favourite Dracula themed video game? Oh, it’s Castlevania? Yeah, okay, that’s fair.

My copy of Atari Lynx Collection 1 for the Evercade, which includes Dracula the Undead.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

It’s all suitably atmospheric, and captures the tone of the novel nicely.

That said, the Atari Lynx wasn’t really designed for point and click games, and the controls can be frustratingly clunky at times. But still, as an attempt to adapt the novel to the video game medium, I admire this attempt.

A screenshot from the game, of Harker and Dracula by a dining room table.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

The player has to guide Jonathan Harker through his escape from Castle Dracula. The game looks lovely, with a sepia tone and occasional splashes of colour (on the Evercade, stick with handheld mode. It loses something when blown up onto your television).

A screenshot from the game, of Harker investigating Dracula’s coffin.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

All of which is to say, when I got the Atari Lynx collection for my Evercade that had Dracula the Undead on it, it was a must play for me.

The game, which is narrated by Stoker himself in cutscenes, presents the first section of the book.

A screenshot from the game, showing a close up of Dracula baring his fangs. The text reads “The fresh blood has attracted Dracula. Unrestrained, the Count prematurely ends Jonathan’s adventure.”

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

and various adaptations of the film Bram Stoker’s Dracula (I haven’t played any of them, but I do want to try the platformer that came out on the Mega Drive and SNES, as it looks fun). But not a whole lot else. And certainly the games based on Coppola’s film aren’t readily available these days.

Cover art for Bram Stoker’s Dracula on the Mega Drive, showing Castle Dracula.

A screenshot from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, showing Harker confronting what I assume is Lucy Westenra.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

Now, my research on this subject has not been exhaustive, but it appears to me that video games is the medium that Dracula has the least presence in. There are loads of books, films, TV shows, comics, but video games? Not a lot. There’s the Castlevania series, of course (I’ll get there),

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

I have never even touched an Atari Lynx, despite being an avid gamer. Luckily, I do have an Evercade (more than one, actually), and Blaze have released two cartridges for that machine full of Atari Lynx games. One of them is Dracula the Undead.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

#31DaysOfDracula Day 14 - Dracula, the Undead.

No, not the novel that positioned itself as the official sequel to Dracula, which I have a lot of issues with, and I’ll get into that another time. Today, I’m looking at the 1991 video game, released on the Atari Lynx.

Cover art for Dracula the Undead, showing a garish painting of Dracula biting a willing victim.

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Reposted by PJ Montgomery

Francesco Francavilla @ffrancavilla.bsky.social · 1d

SARAH WINNEMUCCA
Born in 1844, by age 14 she spoke five languages: English, Spanish, and three native dialects. She was an Outspoken Advocate for Native rights & the first Native American woman to produce a published book (Life Among the Piutes, 1883).
#IndigenousPeoplesDay

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

First thing that popped into my head is Crimson Tide.

Sophia_Nyx 🏳️‍⚧️ @sophianyx.bsky.social · 1d

Without saying Malcolm X, fav Denzel Washington Film?

Denzel Washington in a black suit, short black hair. looking away. hot.

“At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what you've done with those accomplishments. Its about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It about what you've given back.”
Denzel Washington, A Hand to Guide Me

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 1d

240. Dirge of Cerberus: Final Fantasy VII. Not a good game. Not a bad game. Just a bit eh. But I played through it, because I enjoyed how it expanded the myths around FFVII. It’s fine. And I appreciate Square trying something. But yeah, no one’s crying out for an HD version or anything. #365games

Cover art for Dirge of Cerberus, showing a close up of Vincent.

A screenshot from the game, of Vincent shooting some bad guys in Nibelheim.

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PJ Montgomery @pjmontgomery.bsky.social · 2d

This book is probably the cornerstone of my love for the Dracula story. If I hadn’t found it in the school library and read it over those few PE lessons, I wouldn’t have become the Dracula fan I am today. Another one I’d be curious to revisit .

Is there an illustrated version of Dracula you love?

A spread from the book, showing pencil illustrations of Lucy in bed, and Dracula in his vampire bat form.

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