A lot has happened in this run of issues. Dracula continues to battle Harker and his Vampire Hunters, including Blade, and a new side story appears in the form of Doctor Sun and his plot involving vampires. It also includes the Werewolf by Night cross-over issue.
(cover art --- Pencils by Gil Kane, Inks and Colors by Tom Palmer)
Part of the story line in here introduces Doctor Sun and his plot in capturing vampires, testing them, to see if he can find one that will do his bidding; a train-ride for most of the gang, heading for Transylvania, including a defector from Doctor Sun’s cadre, Dracula and Rachel Van Helsing are lost in the mountains of Transylvania with Frank Drake searching for Rachel by helicopter; wooden bullets galore fly through the stormy weather, until they stumble upon Doctor Sun’s lab and his nefarious plot.
I had never heard of Doctor Sun prior to this. Back in The Day I didn’t have enough money to buy every single comic book around, not even half of what was coming out every month, so not surprising I had not heard of this particular Marvel villain. sun’s backstory is that he was a scientist in Communist China, and caught up in various plots in his country, ended up having his brain removed from his body and interfaced with a powerful computer system, which spelled OOPS for the people who did that to him as he gained substantial power. Big OOPS!
The reason Doctor Sun is plotting to gain control over vampires is that his very existence depended on a constant in-flow of fresh blood, and the belief that an army of vampires would be the best way to keep him supplied. Of course, Dracula is none to thrilled by all of this.
While the Vampire Hunters now believe Dracula to have been destroyed, they are left at a bit of a loose end and what to do next, and Dracula having survived, has some freedom to move about. He makes arrangements to occupy an old Manor house, currently occupied by Sheila Whittier, who is being attacked and tormented by a malignant spirit. Dracula saves her, and thus begins a bit of a new story line. Dracula’s daughter, Lilith, is introduced in Giant-size Chillers #1, and also plays a role during this phase of the plot line, and we learn her own backstory, including how she is not affected by Holy Symbols or sunlight.
(cover art - Pencils and Inks = John Romita, no listing on colors for the cover)
Marv Wolfman continues to write the series, and the rest of the creative team during this phase, along with the creative talents of Gene Colan, Jack Abel, Petra Goldberg, Charlotte Jetter and a lot of other folks; Roy Thomas continues as editor.
The Tomb of Dracula continues to be a fascinating series to read with a good solid sense of the supernatural and some darn good story telling.