JANEZ PLAZNIK

Real Name: Janez Plaznik

Identity/Class: Human vampire (1950s era)

Occupation: Predator

Group Membership: Unidentified vampire community

Affiliations: Marko Plaznik, Majda Plaznik, unidentified witch

Enemies: Igor Plaznik

Known Relatives: Marko Plaznik (father), Majda Plaznik (mother), Igor Plaznik (brother)

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Unidentified Eastern European country

First Appearance: Marvel Tales I#127 (October, 1954)

Powers/Abilities: Though Janez was stronger than an average human he was weaker than other vampires in every aspect due to a rare disease that required him to intake twice the amount of blood a vampire his size needed on a regular basis. Compared to other vampires of his kind his wings were small and he couldn't fly long distances. He possibly possessed other vampire powers and weaknesses as well.

Height: Unrevealed
Weight: Unrevealed
Eyes: Gray
Hair: Black

History:
(Marvel Tales I#127 (fb) - BTS) - Janez was born with a rare disease that required him to intake twice the amount of blood a normal vampire needed.

(Marvel Tales I#127) - For seven years Janez was the only child in his family. His parents needed to treat their sickly son carefully and rarely took him out of his coffin, feeding him with the blood he needed.

   The day his brother Igor was born Janez felt jealous because he wasn't the only child anymore and walked off.

   Janez watched as his brother Igor was proudly shown off to the rest of their vampire community because off his long fangs, large wings and his ability to feed off insects even as a baby. Janez grew sad hearing how proud his parents were of Igor. Even when they stroked his wings and brought him the blood he needed to survive he noticed how absent-minded they seemed and believed they were only thinking of Igor.

(Marvel Tales I#127 (fb) - BTS) - Janez's parents dreaded they day when Janez needed more blood than they could provide for him and were delirious with joy when Igor was born because he was strong and they knew he would one day be strong enough to provide for himself and his sick brother. When their sons grew older Igor started to do as they hoped, but he insisted to keep it secret from Janez because he didn't want his brother to feel like an invalid. For years Janez was fed through blood transfusion while he slept by his parents with the blood Igor drank.

(Marvel Tales I#127) - Years later Igor helped Janez fly home one night, which made Janez feel like an invalid. Resenting his brother for all the adoration he received from his family and the vampire community, Janez came up with a plan to kill him.

   Janez visited a witch at the edge of the forest, who hated vampires because they had killed her sister years ago, and asked her for help to kill his brother Igor. The witch gave Janez a powder he was supposed to sprinkle on his brother's wings, which would be paralyzed the next time he tried to fly.

   While Igor was sleeping in his coffin Janez did as the witch told him to and sprinkled the powder on Igor's wings. Twelve hours later Janez watched from the shadows as his brother attack a villager and wondered when the witch's powder would take effect. When his brother tried to escape from an angry mob his wings failed him and he was staked by them. With a smile on his face Janez flew back home and told his parents about Igor's death. The news saddened his parents greatly because it meant they had now lost both their sons in one night. Janez's father then explained to him how Igor had secretly helped them to keep Janez, who was suffering from a rare disease, alive for years since he was strong enough to get enough blood for himself and Janez and that Janez was doomed without Igor. Janez then broke a branch off a tree and committed suicide by staking himself through the heart. In his final moments he could hear in the distance the laugh of the witch that sold him the powder that caused Igor's death.

Comments: Created by unidentified writer and Gene Colan (artist).

Vampires giving birth? Always strange, but they could've been Purebloods even though they didn't exactly look like them. But they are not the only ones and whatever clan, sect or sub-species of vampires they belonged to they mated and their sons were born.

The vampires not having fangs and the general lack of blood and violence was most likely caused by the newly installed Comics Code, which was created that year as a result of a series of US Senate hearings and Fredric Wertham's book Seduction of the Innocent.

This story likely took place in an Eastern European country near an ocean...like Romania (the obvious choice for vampire stories).

Only Igor was identified by name in the original story. The rest of the family, including their last name, were identified in the Vampires Appendix in Vampires: The Marvel Undead#1 (December, 2012).

A vampire story drawn by Gene Colan decades before he started working on Tomb of Dracula for Marvel? Sweet!

Thanks to Ron Fredricks for providing the scans for the story.

Profile by Markus Raymond.

CLARIFICATIONS:
Janez Plaznik and his family should not be confused with:

Igor Plaznik

(Marvel Tales I#127) - Igor was the son of Marko and Majda and the eight year younger brother of Janez, who was filled with jealousy from the day Igor was born.

   Igor's proud parents showed baby Igor off to everyone in their vampire community, impressing other vampires with his long fangs, his wingspread, which would soon allow the young child to fly on his own, and the fact he was already feeding on insects all by himself. All the while Janez grew more jealous of Igor every day.

(Marvel Tales I#127 (fb) - BTS) - When Igor was old enough he was strong enough to not only get enough blood for himself, but also for his sick brother Janez. For years his parents fed Janez by blood transfusion with the additional blood he needed from Igor's body. Igor insisted to keep it secret from his brother because he didn't want him to feel like an invalid.

(Marvel Tales I#127) - Years later Igor helped his brother Janez fly back to the vampire community, angering Janez because it made him feel like an invalid. Igor was adored by his parents and the whole vampire community, while Janez's hatred for him had grown so far that he wanted to see Igor dead.

   One day Janez sprinkled a magic powder acquired from a local witch on Igor's wings while he was sleeping in his coffin.

   Twelve hours later Igor flew to the nearest human village to attack a man. Janez watched the attack from the shadows and wondered when the witch's powder would take effect. When Igor tried to take off again his wings were paralyzed. Hunted down by an angry mob Igor was staked by them.

(Marvel Tales I#127 - BTS) - When Janez returned to his parents to tell them about Igor's death they revealed to him how Igor had secretly helped keep Janez alive for years by feeding him and how they were unable to do the same because they were not strong enough. Janez committed suicide after learning that he was doomed without his brother.

--Marvel Tales I#127 (Marvel Tales I#127, [Marvel Tales I#127 (fb)], Marvel Tales I#127, [Marvel Tales I#127]

Marko Plaznik

(Marvel Tales I#127) - The proud father of Janez and Igor and husband to Majda.

   He lived in an Eastern European vampire community. For years he and his wife took care of their sick son Janez while his younger brother Igor filled him and his wife with pride.

   When Igor was old enough he secretly took care of his own need for blood and his brother's, which Marko and his wife kept secret from Janez.

After Igor's death Marko and his wife cried because they knew they had just lost both their sons. Marko revealed how Igor had taken care of Janez's increased need for blood for years because it become too hard for them to do it themselves. After learning the truth Janez committed suicide.

--Marvel Tales I#127

Majda Plaznik

(Marvel Tales I#127) - The proud mother of Janez and Igor and wife to Marko.

   She lived in an Eastern European vampire community. For years she and her husband took care of their sick son Janez while his younger brother Igor filled her and her husband with pride.

   When Igor was old enough he secretly took care of his own need for blood and his brother's, which Majda and her husband kept secret from Janez.

   After Igor's death Majda and her husband cried because they knew they had just lost both their sons. Janez committed suicide after his parents revealed to him how Igor had taken care of him for years because they were not able to do so anymore.

--Marvel Tales I#127

unidentified witch

(Marvel Tales I#127 (fb) - BTS) - Years earlier the sister of the unidentified witch living at the edge of forest was killed by vampires. She hated vampires for her sister's death.

(Marvel Tales I#127) - When Janez came to her to ask her for help to kill his hated brother Igor, the witch gave him a magic powder that would paralyze Igor's wings.

(Marvel Tales I#127 - BTS) - The witch's laugh could be heard from the woods after Janez committed suicide following his brother Igor's death.

--Marvel Tales I#127 ([Marvel Tales I#127 (fb)], Marvel Tales I#127, [Marvel Tales I#127]

images (without ads)
Marvel Tales I#127, p5, pan1 (main)
Marvel Tales I#127, p5, pan3 (head shot)
Marvel Tales I#127, p5, pan7 (suicide)
Marvel Tales I#127, p4, pan5 (Igor hunted)
Marvel Tales I#127, p4, pan6 (Igor's death)
Marvel Tales I#127, p1, pan2 (Marko with infant Janez)
Marvel Tales I#127, p1, pan2 (Majda)
Marvel Tales I#127, p3, pan6 (witch)

Appearances:
Marvel Tales I#127 (October, 1954) - Unidentified writer, Gene Colan (artist), Stan Lee (editor)

First Posted: 02/04/2019
Last updated: 02/04/2019

Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.

Non-Marvel Copyright info
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Special Thanks to www.g-mart.com for hosting the Appendix, Master List, etc.!

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