Real Name: Clifton Graves
Identity/Class: Human
Occupation: Uncertain
Affiliations: Legions of Doom, Dr. Sun, Ilsa Strangway;
former friend of Frank Drake; former lover of Jeannie; former pawn of Dracula
Enemies: Blade, Dracula, Frank Drake, Quincy Harker, Taj Nital, Rachel van Helsing
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: None
Base of Operations: Formerly Boston, Massachusetts; later Transylvania and England
First Appearance: Tomb of Dracula I#1 (April, 1972)
Powers: None. Graves lived off of others, was weak-willed, and more than willing to betray his fromer friends and allies when a better offer came along. He had no known advanced skills or combat training.
History: (Tomb of Dracula I#1 (fb) ) - Little about the past life of Clifton Graves
is known. His lover, Jeannie, left him for Frank Drake, but he
maintained friendship with both. When Drake exhausted his million
dollar inheritance, Graves convinced him to try to sell his only
piece of capital, a castle in Transylvania that had once been
owned by the legendary Vlad Dracula.
(Tomb of Dracula I#1) - Graves accompanied Frank and
Jeanie to visit Castle Dracula, in Transylvania. While exploring
the castle, Graves fell through a rotted floor and discovered the
skeleton of Dracula himself. Deciding that the castle had vast
monetary worth, Graves unwittingly removed a stake from the
skeleton of Dracula, planning to use it to arrange an
"accident" to get rid of Frank and Jeannie, making
himself sole proprietor of the castle. Freed of the stake,
Dracula reformed and revived, easily overpowering Graves and
throwing him into his "Pit of Death" for later. Drake succeeded in temporarily driving off Dracula, but
Jeannie became a victim of his bite. (Tomb of Dracula I#2) - Drake located and freed
Graves, who concocted another explanation that concealed his
fault in reviving Dracula. While Drake and Graves were back at
their hotel, Jeannie returned, now a vampire. Drake discovered
her true nature and succeeded in tying her to a chair while he
figured out if there was any way to save her. Jeannie easily
convinced Clifton that she wanted him as a lover, tricking him
into drugging Drake and untying her. Jeannie then allowed Dracula
into the room, but Drake revived in time to save Clifton, drive
off Dracula, and stake Jeannie. (Tomb of Dracula I#3-4, 7-8) - Graves, however, quickly parted ways with Drake and ended
up as a pawn of Dracula. Graves acted as his human agent, making
transport arrangements, etc. for him. (Tomb of Dracula I#10) - While both Graves and
Dracula were aboard the luxury liner, the Michele, the vampire
hunter Blade located and attacked Dracula. Dracula had Graves set
a series of explosives aboard the ship to kill Blade, and then
abandoned Graves aboard the ship. Graves appeared to be killed in
the explosion, which Blade escaped. (Tomb of Dracula I#20 (fb) ) - Graves, however, was found, more dead than alive, floating in
the ocean waters by agents of Dr. Sun. Sun's surgeons rebuilt and
revived Graves. Clifton gave Dr. Sun information about Dracula's
habits to enable him to ambush and capture him. (Tomb of Dracula I#20) - After Dracula's
capture, Graves revealed himself, taunting Dracula and explaining
his survival. Dracula freed himself and slew several agents of
Dr. Sun. Graves, at last showing some loyalty and courage,
attacked Dracula himself, but was easily overpowered. When Frank
Drake and his new allies, Rachel van Helsing and Taj Nital,
arrived, Dracula used Graves as a shield. Graves was killed by an
arrow fired from van Helsing's crossbow. Comments: Created by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan. Appearances: Last updated:
05/01/05 Any Additions/Corrections? please
let me
know.
Non-Marvel Copyright info
Tomb of Dracula I#1 (April, 1972) - Gerry Conway (writer), Gene Colan (artist), Stan Lee (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#2 (May, 1972) - Gerry Conway (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Vince Colletta (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#3 (July, 1972) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Stan Lee (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#4 (September, 1972) - Archie Goodwin (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#7 (March, 1973) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#8 (May, 1973) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Ernie Chan (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#10 (July, 1973) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Jack Abel (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
Tomb of Dracula I#20 (May, 1974) - Marv Wolfman (writer), Gene Colan (pencils), Tom Palmer (inks), Roy Thomas (editor)
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