From the May 1953 issue of The Purple Claw #3
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Final Horror
Appropriately enough, today’s story is called The Final Horror, and it marks the final Purple Claw mystery of August. Hope you enjoyed the brain hurting exploits of one of pre-code comic’s earliest ongoing enemies of the supernatural. Next month you can expect another Lance Storm classic, maybe even a chilly appearance by Sergeant Spook, and some more creepy fun from Bob Brant and the Trouble Shooters. Have a great weekend everyone… and wow, Monday is already September!
From the May 1953 issue of The Purple Claw #3
From the May 1953 issue of The Purple Claw #3
Seargent Spook?wow,that's some REAL old stuff from the '40's,i just know it'll be fun.
ReplyDeleteNot bad at all. :) It's maybe a little corny, but I like the idea of a superhero taking on a real-world monster in his own mystical mode. And pretty good art, catching the right note of dreamy sordidness.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like he could have hit people over the head with The Purple Claw until they stopped drinking or whatever else they were doing.
ReplyDeletetop drawer! that was way cool.
ReplyDeleteI remember this After School Special! My favorite part is when Dr. Weir used the claw to "join" Bill in his drunken "torment". Better than beerbells, that claw.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'll have to remain on the fence about the artwork in these, since I'm still sitting there. Sometimes it is just great, but often I feel like I'm looking at the rough draft. In any event, the stories are always so mind bending that I love reading them.
I am gratified that my favorite thing about the series persists in this latest installment: no matter what situation the claw is needed, someone will always gasp: "it's the Purple Claw!" the second Dr. Weir puts it on. Imperial Balkans? Check. Basemen Scientists? Check. Hell, even skid row junkies know the claw when they see it.
Altough the ending was bit predictable the story's great and the artwork top notch .
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
I REALLY LIKED THESE PURPLE CLAW STORIES. HE'S NO DR STRANGE BY ANY STRETCH BUT THE ARTWORK IS AS FUN AND SKETCHY AS THE ACTION........SO LONG DR WEIR!
ReplyDeleteGiven the tendency towards depicting bald men as bad guys in these stories (3 out of the 5 -- even the Death Flower itself was a bald guy!) you have to wonder what the creative team of "The Purple Claw" is trying to say. Or maybe you don't.
ReplyDeletePurple Claw seemed the perfect Saturday morning story... brainless and fun. It's pretty dead around here at THOIA on weekends anyway so this type of thing is ideal for posting for you die hards. Next month I'll probably reserve Saturdays to more stuff like this, (like the other characters mentioned in today's intro: Lance Storm, Bob Brant etc...)
ReplyDeleteTOMORROW: Brian Hirsch raises some Hell!!
Thanks for all these great horror stories!
ReplyDeleteWow. They don't cover that in AA.
ReplyDeleteThe Purple Claw is so ridiculously over the top that I can't help loving it. Is there anything the Claw can't do? Super-human hearing? The ability to enter another person's conscious? Directional guidance? Tearing a guy's brain apart? FTW?
You know what would be awesome? A remake of Indiana Jones featuring the Purple Claw vs. the Ark of the Covenant. No telling what would happen - probably it would rip apart the space-time continuum.
And it still bothers me that the claw inexplicably moves from hand to hand. Is it a universal fit model, can it change shape at will, or what?
Nothing to do with the Purple Claw, but it is worth noting that today is Mary Shelley's birthday.
ReplyDeleteI'll miss the Purple Claw.
ReplyDeleteMaybe he opened a rehab clinic after retiring from the ghost-busting biz.
The Claw needs to decide on a hand — left or right — and stay on it.
ReplyDeleteYeah. rarely is this more thrillingly egregious than page four where the Claw changes hands an amazing four times in six panels. This is almost a perfect non-continuity score, since there would be no way to have it change position more than five times.
ReplyDeleteIt's okay though. Because in that one panel (number five) where the illustrator forgets to accidentally switch the claw hand, Dr. Weir has inexplicably removed the device altogether--only to put it back on (the other hand) in the very next frame. Nice.
Or actually, maybe he's wearing it on his foot....
I want to see a relaunch of the Purple Claw.
ReplyDeleteMaybe in his first new adventure her could help David Duchovny with HIS little 'problem'...