Night Force HC

by Robert Greenberger

When Marv Wolfman succeeded Archie Goodwin as the writer of Tomb of Dracula, he was paired with Gene Colan, the artist in residence. Much as Stan Lee found magic with Jack Kirby, so did Marvelous Marv with Genial Gene and their run on the series was ideal. Several years later, both found themselves working for DC Comics and the idea of working together was too irresistible to avoid. Gene, a huge fan of the fantastic and film noir, inspired Marv to conjure up a brand new gothic horror series. In late 1982, after a 16-page preview in New Teen Titans, readers were introduced to the Night Force. The misfit team, led by the irritating and enigmatic Baron Winter, was assembled to take on occult dangers.

At a time when DC was experimenting with format and genre, one would have thought the concept and creative team would have caught on. Instead, the series failed to find its footing and was gone after 14 issues. Today, in the age of the omnibus, we’re finally getting an opportunity to reconsider the series. The 360-page book features inks on the early issues by Dick Giordano before Bob Smith took over and while Smith lacked the lush lines of Tom Palmer on Dracula, he was Colan’s best inker at DC.

Speaking of Dracula, Wolfman wisely provided readers with a link to their seminal work by introducing to the series Vanessa Van Helsing, granddaughter of Abraham Van Helsing, a woman in possession of psychic powers. She’s joined by Jack Gold, an alcoholic reporter and her boyfriend; Donovan Caine, a professor of parapsychology who lost an arm and a leg on a previous mission and Zadok Grimm, an ancient warrior in the time of King David.

Just outside of Washington, D.C. lay Wintersgate Manor, a labyrinthine mansion and home to Winter, who never left its premises. Different doors in the Georgetown manor led to different lands and eras (much like Collinswood once did). He was a grouchy son of a bitch, who wheedled, cajoled, and threatened people into taking on missions, uncannily picking the right suckers for the deadly assignments.

The first story focuses on Caine and his wife Mariana who seem to be raising a demon and before that’s resolved, the team is whisked to Russia for a Slavic menace. Paul Brooks, a petty thug who got roped into a mission, also lost his life on a mission but redeemed his soul.

Winters’ life and history was slowly revealed, as we eventually met Katrina and their son Gowon. In time, they move back into the manor, as does a time-displaced Alice Jones.

The team was resurrected in the 1990s but it was never the same and only the good Baron has been seen with any regularity ever since. These stories, though, move with nice pacing and each escapade is different enough to show us what could have been. While not as memorable as Tomb of Dracula, these stories still make for good reading and if you’ve never been invited into Wintersgate Manor before, this coming Halloween is a good time to knock and say, “Trick or treat.”

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Night Force HC

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