Monday, April 21, 2008

Living Dead

Tales about dirty drug pushers and frazzled dope fiends was another grim, exploitable subject for pre-code comics. Today’s post in particular is clever for the time, and quite obvious in its “horrors of drugs” anti-abuse message. But as time has shown it’s unlikely that comic-haters of the era like Wertham would have even taken this kind of illustrated message from a horror mag seriously.

From the February 1954 issue of Mister Mystery #15





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7 comments:

  1. Anonymous4/21/2008

    EERIE AND DIFFERENT, AND ANOTHER REALLY GREAT SPLASH TOO!

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  2. The Vicar of VHS4/21/2008

    What's with the comedy quotes in this one "Go away [kid]...you bother me!" is a direct W.C. Fields quote, and the whole "Number, Puh-leeze!" operator schtick has been used by Bugs Bunny among others. Strange.

    And those panels at the bottom of pg 3 make dope look like the thing to do! Where do I get some? :)

    This one is a bit too preachy for my tastes, but then PSAs often are. And it doesn't really show much of the degeneration apart from the robbery, which could just as easily happen for hooch. I think it would actually have been more effective personifying the habit as a demonic monster--esp. for regular readers of horror comics.

    I do like the "drowning" panel at the bottom of pg. 1, though.

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  3. Anonymous4/21/2008

    I thought the same thing as the Vicar's comment, the dialog is kind of unintentionally funny in this tale with a serious subject,

    but I think I enjoyed the story more than he did.

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  4. Mr. Karswell4/21/2008

    >the Vicar's comment, the dialog is kind of unintentionally funny

    That was the tough talk of the time I suppose... pratically every movie from that era has a dude yappin' in this manner. I find it all quite appealing really. Now if only the Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve style of communication would ever come back into fashion I'll be the first to join in with that wonderous laugh.

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  5. Don't be Swindle!4/21/2008

    For a bad case of 'the Imps' I use Lunestra.

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  6. Anonymous4/22/2008

    Cool drug post! Hey you don't happen to have Realistic's Reform School Girl 1-shot do you? I'd love to see that.

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  7. Mr. Karswell4/22/2008

    >Hey you don't happen to have that Reform School Girl one shot do you?

    I wish!

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