From the December 1954 issue of Mystery Tales #24
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Cast of Characters
Here's a story that's not only entertaining but educational as it shows you the reader how Atlas pre-code writers came up with all their great and "foreboding" ideas! If that's not enough there's also a Stan Lee cameo on the last page (don't blink or you might miss him.)
From the December 1954 issue of Mystery Tales #24
From the December 1954 issue of Mystery Tales #24
If i could make myself look like Countess Von Kruner,i wouldn't be writing comic books!,ha,ha...great stuff though,not as sketchy as Pikes work for DC,and i think i can recognize some of the fiends in the splash(i know that eyeball thing is from either ASTONISHING#30,or ADVENTURES INTO WEIRD WORLDS#3,and i recognize the vampire from a story in spellbound,unless its the same one from here.)this is also a pretty good satire on the comics witch-hunts of the time and a nice self-parody,EC. did that too,i like to conside that atlas's advantage to other publishers.-Mr. A. (hey you named me!,dont worry though im not an objectivist radical!.)
ReplyDeletePikes stuff is sketchy but fun at least, his style isn't very consistant at this pre-code point in his career but I still like him alot... he's got a good sense of composition and his artwork always reads clear and defined and not muddied or cluttered.
ReplyDeleteheres three whole dollars......now go home and write some more!!!!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE HOW HE KEEPS USING THE WORD "FOREBODING" TO DECRIBE EVERYTHING.... WE ALL KNOW HOW GREAT BUT CLICHED ALOT OF THESE STORIES WERE IT'S NEAT TO SEE THE WRITERS PLAY WITH THESE CONCEPTS AND MAKE FUN OF THEMSELVES TOO. I BET THIS WAS A GREAT TIME TO BE A COMICBOOK WRITER.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. And the difference is that these guys from the 50's not only created the comic book horror genre but they were also the ones who created the cliches... so they actually had the right to "swipe" or rip themselves off. Nowadays all anybody creates is the annoyingly tired "re-hash" cliche which is completely inexcusable. If modern comics (and film, music etc...) had even half as much inventive originality as the pre-coders did then we'd see a new wave of greatness flooding current day pop culture, but it's all just bland and immmediately forgettable, from Phase 1: crummy comicbook, to Phase 2: crummy movie (with crummy soundtrack.) There are a few exceptions to the rule of course (I do like some of Steven Niles stuff, Mignola etc) cuz they know how to inject some fun into the seriousness of the dakrer side of things, which is what the best 50's horror comics were all about.
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