Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements. It was unprecedented in daytime television when ghosts were introduced about six months after it began.
The series became hugely popular when vampire Barnabas Collins (Jonathan Frid) appeared a year into its run. Dark Shadows also featured werewolves, zombies, man-made monsters, witches, warlocks, time travel, and a parallel universe. A small company of actors each played many roles (as actors came and went, some characters were played by more than one actor). Major writers besides Art Wallace included Malcolm Marmorstein, Sam Hall, Gordon Russell, and Violet Welles.
Dark Shadows was distinguished in many manners: vividly melodramatic performances, atmospheric interiors, memorable storylines, numerous dramatic plot twists, an unusually adventurous music score, and an extremely broad and epic cosmos of characters and heroic adventures. Now regarded as somewhat of a camp classic, it continues to enjoy an intense cult following.
Comics
Gold Key Comics released 35 issues of a regular Dark Shadows comic book, which ran for years after the cancellation of the series on ABC. 1969–1976; and in 1991, Innovation Publishing released a short-lived comic book series based on the NBC-TV revival show. Hermes Press released a multi-volume archive reprint series of the Gold Key series beginning in 2010.
Thanks to Alhazred for the scans, but not for his unsightly Logo which I removed from issue #1, the only one it appears to my knowledge.
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Barnabas is back thanks to YOU!