Wednesday, November 26, 2008

Werewolf

“Werewolf Wednesday” has just pounced upon you with this strange lycanthrope tale from the August 1954 issue of Out of the Shadows #14. Does anyone else question the oddball design decision of this creature? I can't figure out if I hate it or totally love the hell out of it. Ahh well, "Ahhhh-ooooooo!"









TOMORROW: Feeding your Thanksgiving hunger--- THOIA style!

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Factual Bonus Quickie:



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And for even more wild werewolf fun today head over to The Prof’s Magic Carpet Burn blog-o-boo for a THOIA submitted hairy heap of humorous horror by Dick Ayers, and from the April 1954 issue of Crazy #5!

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well i gotta admit the twist actually DID get me. I expected it to be the girl or her brother(the wolf didn't dress like a woman)since Langely was obviously a red-herring. That art is the kind of stuff which is so shoddy you can't decide whether you love it or hate it, i agree.

blackwalnut2001 said...

Yes, I see what you mean about the design. Every artist strives for a little originality when tackling oft-repeated themes, no? Some with more success than others. I don't think this one is very successful, more of a rush-job lycanthrope burped up during a deadline hangover, but then my favorite werewolves are those who look more human than not -- like Henry Hull in Werewolf of London. It seems to lend a bit of realism, if such a thing as a werewolf can ever be described as realistic. Thanks for the post, K.

Mr. Cavin said...

Man, I really liked the art, and whatever thought I credit going into the look of the creature certainly must have followed from the penciler's economy. There were times when it reminded me a little of Beto Hernandez (though maybe a little technical pen cross-hatchey in the background spaces). It seems to share with his work a certain expressiveness of style, a sympathetic cartooniness found in the lines rather than the forms themselves. Anyway, I thought it was pitched very nicely for a rather spacey, whodunit type werewolf story.

I am really looking forward to Wednesdays now. Werewolves are my favorite. Thanks for this, Karswell.

And everybody: have a safe and satisfying US Thanksgiving tomorrow (if you celebrate that sort of thing). See you in December.

AndyDecker said...

Worst wig ever! Or was this supposed to be wolfshair? Strange style of artwork. But the story had a good twist.

Anonymous said...

I ENJOYED THE ARTWORK TOO, KIND OF LOOKS LIKE A CHINESE WEREWOLF OR SOMETHING. LIKED THE TWIST TOO, EVEN THOUGH THE CLOSING LINE WAS UNINTENTIONALLY FUNNY ABOUT HIM TRAILIN' HIS OWN SPOOR. EWWW!

Todd Franklin said...

Werewolf! Werewolf? There. Where? There wolf. There castle . . .

Nice to wake up to a good werewolf story!

Mr. Karswell said...

I actually like the art alot here, it's just the werewolf I'm on the fence about.

>I am really looking forward to Wednesdays now.

Oops, did I say I was doing werewolves every Wed? I guess I am for the month of Nov (starting today), but... I'll make sure to add a couple lycanthrope tales in December just for you Mr C.

Any other requests? Complaints? Shout-outs from the grave?

Prof. Grewbeard said...

i like the werewolf. it has a Mexican-horror- film-fixed-expression look. but i like rubbery-looking monsters...

Anonymous said...

I liked this story too, especially the smart coloring. Nothing kills a story for me more than bad coloring.

Have a great Thanksgiving Karswell, thanks again for all your hard work!

Rex Parker said...

I have a request: Tag your write-ups. I want to read all the "werewolf" stuff you got, because *this* stuff is Gold. I love (and love to hate) werewolf stories. A vintage pb version of Guy Endore's "Werewolf of Paris" is currently staring me in the face, not four feet away from where I'm sitting.

Thanks for providing these great bygone comics.

Approvingly,
rp

8thRay said...

The 2nd story about Sgt. Francois Bertrand is a true historical case, however he was just a necrophile and corpse mutilator. Blech.

Unknown said...

1. I am adding "spoor" to my working vocabulary.

2. I like how Sir Langley Winshire's groundskeeper is a vampire, and nobody notices.

3. I second the above requests and comments.

Mr. Karswell said...

I do appreciate the tag suggestion, but in all honesty it is far too late for me to go back and tag everything on this blog. Anyone else care to take a stab at it for me? I'll give you a THOIA tee shirt or something for your troubles.

Also, I've asked this quite a few times now, but has anyone ever tried using the search engine at the very top of this blog? If you type in for example "werewolf" you will get EVERY post here at THOIA that even mentions the word... I swear. It's not 100% precise but it narrows down the play field.

But! if everyone insists, starting tomorrow I will take a few months off from posting new stories and start on this taskly TAG project immediately.

COMING IN MARCH: New stories here at THOIA!

Unknown said...

New as in not pre-code?

Pappy said...

Does this matter to anyone? I'm sure the pencil artwork is by Mort Meskin, and a strong hunch the inking is by George Roussos, hence the MR sig in the splash.

Mr. Karswell said...

>New as in not pre-code?

No, "new" as in I wasn't gonna post anything at all until I got finished tagging everything. Just a joke. Obviously I posted something new today. And my offer stands, if anyone wants to help me go through the archive and tag every post I'll give you some prizes.

Thanks the art creds too Pappy!