Thursday, July 24, 2008

Down in the Cellar

No doubt today’s tale is by Paul Cooper, there’s his signature right in the splash. But the Atlas Tales page lists Matt Fox with a question mark so can someone explain this (Ger?) Maybe Cooper penciled and Fox inked? [That's the guess. -- Nequam] There is a definite Fox vibe here in places, most notably the creepy shrunken head and other random detail. Okay whatever, time to read a classic tale of terror, and for those still in the game its Lyric Challenge, Day Four! Begin!

From the Sept 1952 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #10





9 comments:

silvano said...

I find out now tis artist is named Paul Cooper , I did read and appreciateds a number of his stories in the aforementioned digest sized reprints ;good story , love the tier of panels with close ups of the taxidermist in the last page .
As for the "lyric contest" , I see very fitting the last line of MEGADETH's "Killing is my Business":
"IT BRINGS ME GREAT PLEASURE TO SAY MY NEXT JOB IS YOU..."
Thanks for sharing

Mr. Cavin said...

Straight up. Genesis Just a Job To Do
(Collins/Rutherford/Banks)

It's no use saying that it's alright, it's alright.
But where were you after midnight, midnight.
Heard a Bang, Bang, Bang; Down they go
It's just a job you do
Cos the harder they run, and the harder they fall.
I'm coming down hard on you.

Don't keep saying that it's alright, it's alright,
It seems you went just a little too far this time
Heard a Bang Bang Bang, and down you go,
It's just a job I do,
Cos the harder you run the harder you fall,
I'm coming down hard on you, hard on you - I hope my aim is true.
I got a name, and I got a number, I'm coming after you
I got a name, and I got a number, I got a job to do.

Anonymous said...

Loved that story - reminds me of a new twilight zone or outer limits episode (don't remember which one) where the wife is an animal lover and the husband takes up taxidermy as a hobby. He keeps pushing her and goes to far when he decides to stuff her dog - and in the end she kills him and stuffs him. Very good stuff. I suck at the lyrics so I will pass on this one.

Anonymous said...

I KNOW THE EPISODE ASBSINTHE IS TALKING ABOUT TOO, VERY CREEPY. HAVE YOU EVER POSTED A COOPER STORY BFORE? WOW THIS IS GREAT STUFF, I LOVE THE THICKER LINE STYLED PRECODE LIKE THIS, GIVES IT WEIRDER EDGE LIKE MATT FOX OR EVEN WOLVERTON.

AND I'M GLAD TO SEE SOMEONE ELSE WHO SUCKS AT THE LYRIC CHALLENGE! NOW IM NOT ALONE

Kitty LeClaw said...

I can't not:

"The Dark is so much darker here
The candlelight can't break
The sensation of fear
I see a trail of blood
Leading down into the Dark
Where no one should go

I shouldn't be down here
Not tonight
Evil is in the air, tonight
I shouldn't be down here
Not tonight
Everything is closing in on me"


-- King Diamond, "The Cellar"

Patrick said...

Loved the artwork in this one, and while it was somewhat easy to guess the ending, I still liked it a lot!

Too many people have learned the hard way that killing birds can have terrible consequences - thus, the lyrics to the epic Iron Maiden tune "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" from the classic album "Powerslave"

"The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and North across the sea
Sailing on and on and North 'till all is calm

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the Mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on and on at sea
And the thirst goes on and on for them and me"

Come on people, think about these things the next time you eat at KFC!!

Anonymous said...

I gotta go with The Kinks song Hatred for this one:

Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that keeps us together
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever

Driven by hate, driven by hate
Driven by hate, driven by hate
On the surface i'm a mild-mannered person
That's until you scratch the animal inside
Then you bring out all my animal aggression
I gotta hatred for you that is never gonna die
Driven to hate, driven to hate
Driven to hate, driven to hate

Chorus:
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that lasts forever
Hatred, hatred
Is the only thing that keeps us together

Mr. Karswell said...

Okay, I was gonna bow outta the game today because I already got a THOIA shirt (+ a couple dozen extra still) but with all this talk of glorious "hate" I just had to join in with a punk classic from the Spelling Mistakes:

Hate Me, Hate Me

You don't like my face,
But I'm not concerned,
You might like it slashed,
You might like it bruised...

Try not to hate me,
Try not to relate to me,

Hate Me, Hate Me...

Push my head in the toilet,
And pull the chain,
You can piss in my ear,
And wash out my brain...

Tim Tylor said...

And poor bird-hunters' doggies too, for shame... There's something wickedly funny about this tale.

We've gained notoriety,
And caused much anxiety
In the Audubon Society
With our games.
They call it impiety,
And lack of propriety,
And quite a variety
Of unpleasant names.
But it's not against any religion
To want to dispose of a pigeon.

Tom Lehrer, "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park"