Family Mixup

I've had a few requests this summer for more Steve Ditko, so here you ditgo-- a very funny, but none the less equally morbid tale of a murderous marriage disastrously inflated (and smooshed) to the paralyzin' point of no return-- literally!

From the July - August 1954 issue of The Thing #15.

Murder in the Mummy Room!

Saturday Matinee time again at THOIA, and here we have another story that didn't quite make it into my MUMMIES book (still available-- CLICK HERE!), mainly because it's pretty light on horror and much more a fun little 40's style private eye / murder mystery complete with a moody museum setting. Snappy dialog and pacing, plus a cartoony art approach that puts this one more in league with  say, Dick Tracy. So enjoy today's slight deviation from the (ab)norm around here, and we'll be back shortly with more gruesome ghouls and terror! From the January 1948 issue of Captain Easy #11.



















And a really lovely cover as well!

The Twisted Hands

We're heading back out to sea (temporarily), and our captain today is the late great, Alex Toth, steering us headlong into a bloody tale of titanic treachery and inescapable doom. The fact that this story starts out in the middle of the ocean, yet ends in the middle of the Arizona desert makes it all the more frighteningly fantastic. From the February 1953 issue of Adventures into Darkness #8.

Partners in Death

Another gruesome gem from the June 1954 issue of Mysterious Adventures #20, (see our last post too), highlighted by some truly revolting, ultra rotted zombie panels courtesy of the ever-deadly, Dick Beck. Story Comics really amped up the art (and writing) in these final issues of the series run, and were clearly making every attempt possible to give EC a run for their morbid money.

Ghoulash

To those of you that have spent any considerable amount of time reading pre code horror comics, today's carnivorous climax will come as no surprise-- but holy moly, this one is definitely all about the terrific trip getting there! So many great, gory moments in this bloodthirsty tale of a murderous menage a trois gone monstrously wrong... so many moments in fact that we here at THOIA believe the appropriately named illustrative genius of Bill Savage deserves some kind of award of awesomeness or something. And yes, there's clearly a reason this story was remade quite a few times in the Eerie Pubs too-- whew! From the June 1954 issue of Mysterious Adventures #20.

HE

After we complete a month of Atlas posts, the first non-Atlas story to follow has some bloody big shoes to fill to get us back into the swingin' mix of all things pre code horror! So let's turn the pendulum controls over to Rudy Palais and see how he does it with this surprisingly gory, cutting edge tale of a cute couple, a dark and stormy night, an old house in the middle of nowhere, and a very large, very sharp blade! From the August 1952 issue of Harvey's great Black Cat Mystery #38.

I Can't Stop Running!

Time has officially run out for our August 2019 Atlas Fest, as we nail the creepy coffin shut with one final terror tale, also from the May 1953 issue of Mystery Tales #11 (see our last lurid post too.) I hope everyone enjoyed the selection of yarns presented, and we'll definitely take a look at more Atlas in the mix before 2019 winds down in the coming months. For now, Sam Kweskin does a nice, moody job here with a simple, spooky story-- I just hope that some of you don't miss the point! *wink! See ya next month, fiends...