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| Frank Neal | |
| Continuity: | Tomb of Dracula |
| Notability: | Supporting character |
| Gender: | Male |
| Race: | Human |
| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts Harrow's Point, Maine |
| Relatives: | Laurie Neal Angelica Neal |
| Status: | Deceased by virtue of time era |
| First: | Tomb of Dracula, Volume 2 #4 "Angelica" |
Frank Neal is a fictional character who is part of the Tomb of Dracula comic book franchise published by Marvel Comics during the 1970s and 80s. He was introduced in the first story in the fourth issue of the Tomb of Dracula comic magazine, cover date April, 1980, entitled "Angelica".
Biography[]
Frank Neal was the husband of Laurie Simpson and the father of Angelica Neal. In the early 1900s, Frank Neal accepted a position as lighthouse keeper on the island of Harrow's Point off the coast of Maine. Frank was embittered at his wife who resented the fact that Frank uprooted their family and moved them to Maine. She would have preferred had he accepted a position working at her father's bank.
Shortly after moving into their new home, Frank's daughter Angelica became the thrall of the vampire Dracula. Frank discovered his daughter naked and unconscious on the beach just outside the lighthouse. Bringing her back to her room, he summoned a local physician, Doctor Chowder, who informed Frank that Angelica's substantial blood loss was due to a vampire attack. He even provided Frank with a crucifix and cloves of garlic, advising him to hang them about Angelica's room. Angelica slowly began to recover, but in her delirium she kept voicing references to the "dead man". Frank brought his daughter up the steep steps of the lighthouse into one of the upper chambers. Upon entering, a horde of rats descended upon them and Frank fell back, injuring himself. Doctor Chowder returned to the lighthouse to tend Frank's wounds.
That evening, Dracula once again came to the lighthouse to lay claim to Angelica. The garlic kept Dracula away, so he instead sated his thirst on Frank's wife Laurie, ultimately killing her. During Laurie's funeral, Frank met with the bishop Father McFarland, who explained to him the nature of vampires. Three nights later, Frank, Father McFarland and Doctor Chowder opened Laurie's coffin and drove a stake into her heart just as she was rising as one of the undead.
They knew that Dracula would soon return to lay claim to Angelica, so they kept a close vigil over her. As predicted, Dracula did appear before them, and the three men pursued him up the lighthouse tower. Dracula slew Father McFarland, his blood spattering upon the lighthouse beacon in the shape of a cross. At Doctor Chowder's urging, Frank activated the beacon and the intense light in combination with the cross-shaped shadow drove Dracula away. Following this incident, Frank collected his daughter and left Harrow's Point forever. His final fate remains unknown.
Notes & Trivia[]
- The character of Frank Neal was created by writer Roger McKenzie and artists Gene Colan and Tom Palmer.
- Originally hailed from Boston, Massachusetts.