Tomb of Dracula #65 (1978)

Continued from last issue... Shocked that Dracula has been restored to human form, Rachel finds herself unable to kill the vampire lord. She returns to Quincy Harker's apartment where she reports her findings to Quincy, Frank and Janus. Taking the situation into consideration, they wonder if they still should stalk and attempt to destroy Dracula for his past crimes now that he has been returned to human form. Elsewhere, "Cowboy" Brown unearths a vampire and tortures it to learn who killed his employer's daughter; learning that it was Dracula and he is now in Boston, he kills the vampire and continues on his bounty hunt. Meanwhile, on the street Dracula wanders around, trying to get used to being human once more. He comes across a prostitute named Harriet, shooting up heroin in an alleyway. Thinking that Dracula is a "john" she takes him back to her apartment, where Dracula finds old habits die hard, asking to be invited in and cringing at the sight of a crucifix. When Harriet offers Dracula some junk the former Lord of the Vampires refuses; they are then interrupted by the sudden arrival of a thug named Gunther, who has come to collect what she had stolen from a criminal named Wild Jack. Dracula tries to intervene and is shot in the arm. Realizing his own mortality, he quickly tosses one of his attackers out the window. The fight brings the police who arrests them and attempt to bring them downtown. Dracula panics as it is dawn, but finds that for the first time in centuries the Sun poses no threat to him. When Harriet explains the situation to the police and they cannot charge Dracula with any wrongdoing, they let him go. When a newspaper photographer takes his picture wanting it for a story on Harriet's "hero", Dracula loses his temper and attacks the photographer. When the police pull him off, Dracula fights free and runs away. Now with an A.P.B. out for his arrest, Dracula once more goes into hiding. Finding his existence as a vampire intolerable, Dracula contemplates a way to be turned into a vampire once more. He finds that not just any vampire will do, and decides the only one worthy of turning him would be his own daughter, Lilith. While finding that he has no money to buy food to eat, Dracula is almost struck by a car. When he attempts to attack the driver of the car, he finds that a mob of eyewitnesses arrive, and when they are told that Dracula attempted to attack the driver, the mob chases him away. The bizarre series of events make the news, which reaches the vampire hunters who muse over the circumstances and how Dracula has chosen to cope with his new existence. At a nearby airport, Dracula steals aboard a light airplane, threatening to kill the pilot if he does not take him to New York at once. When the plane attack is called into the police station, the call is overheard by "Cowboy" who was on location to find out more about Dracula's previous attack. After overhearing the conversation, he leaves and returns to his hotel room. Reloading his gun, "Cowboy" decides that he will follow his bounty to New York, even though he is not a vampire anymore. This story is continued next issue....