The Blind, the Doomed, and the Dead

Ending the month here with a Bob Powell classic from the April 1952 issue of This Magazine is Haunted #4. This one has it all, evil deeds within a weird wax museum, a frightening fun house, and finally a trippy excursion into a warped realm of death that not even Dali could have imagined!

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NEXT UP: The Perfectly Perverted Theme That YOU Asked For!
Also in June: Jack Cole, Ogden Whitney, and Alex Toth Tributes!

Dark and Stormy Night (NEWS)

This just in! More awesome breaking news directly from Larry “Lost Skeleton of Cadavra” Blamire himself about their next film! Hold onto your hats gang! Here's the scoop:

Hey Steve, Hope all is well down at ol 'blog. Been crazy busy. Some news...

This is just a quick note but it's also like a press release sort of but it's also like me just talking okay?

DARK AND STORMY NIGHT, our 1930s old dark house murder mystery spoof, is going before the cameras June 9th (with lens caps off and everything...and real film in the camera--only it isn't, it's HD). Now one of the things I'm most excited about here is that the amazing Bob Burns (yes BOB BURNS) is dusting off the old gorilla suit to do a cameo. How excited am I about that? Have you seen the Ghost Busters TV show? Do you marvel at how dang outright hilarious anyone can be under all that hair and suit and hair? And what's cool is, Bob's just as excited as we are. He told me one thing he always wanted to do was play the gorilla in an old dark house movie. Well, doesn't this work out nicely. I am most happy about this.

Bob's rounding out a great cast--many of them the usual suspects. There always seemed to be four main categories in these victims-gathered-on-a-nasty-night scenarios. First, nosy protagonists like Danny Roebuck and Jen "Animala" Blaire who play competing reporters, with Dan Conroy as the hapless cabby in tow who brought them out to the gloomy Cavinder estate. You've of course got the greedy gathered heirs drooling over the will, like Brian Howe, Fay Masterson, James Karen, Andy Parks, Jim Beaver and Christine Romeo. Then there's the my-car-broke-down-can-I-stay-the-night kind of saps--in this case medium Alison Martin, idiot me, and racketeer Kevin Quinn. Then there's the lurking help as I like to call it; cockney maid Trish Geiger, suspicious butler Bruce French, and deeply disturbed cook Bob Deveau.

And there are cameos by lovely Betty Garrett, alternate cop/heavy character actor Tom Reese and the most excellently funny Marvin Kaplan. And of course we have to have an unctuous lawyer, played here by actor-writer-director Mark Redfield, which just gives me a chance to use the word unctuous. H.M. Wynant shows up looking for an escaped mental patient. Susan McConnell's in this too, but she's in her own category that I can't divulge under pain of death (or death of pain--something like that).

The set by production designer Tony Tremblay (check the imdb) is a knockout--this is a complete soundstage mansion I tell you--it's like a freakin' maze in there. Costumes by Kristin Burke and Kristina West are authentic and real and vintage and wonderfully good in ways that are positive. Music by Christopher Caliendo who knows more notes than practically anyone I know. Producer Sara Van der Voort is producing in ways that haven't been produced before. And to top it off, ace DP A.J. Rickert-Epstein is shooting on one of the original HD cameras from the 1930s--think of it! And you know how big those suckers were.

Add thunder and lightning, a hooded phantom, sliding panels, secret passageways, a missing letter, lots of murders and what do you have? Why, the movie we're making of course. What a coincidence! Should be ripping good fun what? And I swear I am not biased in any way as writer-director and have absolutely no vested interest in saying this. It'll be great. Really.

Larry Blamire
Fri 5/30/08 10:51 PM

So who will survive… and who will not survive quite as well? For more info on Dark and Stormy Night and all of the other great Bantam Street Productions click HERE!

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And while you’re at it why not join The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra yahoo news group by clicking HERE! Find out all the latest news on The Lost Skeleton Returns Again sequel which finished shooting in March and is in post production now! Get all the extras that your dirty, foul friends are totally missing out on!

Twanng!

Someone over at the Atlas Tales site thinks the art here is by Larry Woromay, can anyone confirm this? My friend Jason thinks this style is better suited to “funny books” instead of horror but I totally disagree. To me, this is some super slick stylized art that exudes loads of manic fun, intensity, and energy. Sure it’s a bit cartoony, but that’s the point. Enjoy!

From the Oct '52 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #11

Screaming Mimis!

Saturday night, May 31st, TCM has a suspense filled line-up of classic thrillers on hand, featuring Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (’60), Screaming Mimi (’58 starring luscious Anita Ekberg!), Val Lewton’s The Seventh Victim (’43), Hammer’s Hysteria (’65), the Raymond Chandler classic Lady in the Lake (’46) …plus the great Val Lewton documentary The Man in the Shadows.

Check TCM for more info and show times in your area.

Monstrous Weekend 2008 (NEWS)

For those of you in or around Karswell’s hometown of St Louis MO, this October 24th-26th, at the Airport Marriott comes the inaugural Kitbuilders Monstrous Weekend 2008! And what better way to start out than by celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the classic movie "Night of the Living Dead"? Guests already booked include George Romero, Tom Savini, Judith O’Day (and most of the NOTLD cast) plus more guests TBA. Also: live music, contests, seminars, exhibitions, dealer’s rooms, etc… a horror con of the highest order! Mark your calenders, and I'll see ya there!

For more info click HERE!

Thanks to Todd Franklin for the heads up!

Fiend of the Undead

Like yesterday’s post, today’s story also comes from the Dec-Jan ‘52/53 issue of Out of the Night #6. It’s a particularly good issue with lots of spook factor and great art… I’ve praised John Blummer many times in the past and his work here, (especially the superbly atmospheric splash), speaks for itself.

The Ghoul’s Revenge

Well, it’s getting closer to the end of the month which means I have to start thinking about how to kick off next month. I was going to make a habit of posting full issues at the start of each new month, and I actually delivered a few times, but as I’ve also mentioned before “a good full issue is a rarity.” So tell me what you want to see come June 1st, an entire issue, or maybe an artist or publisher spotlight, or maybe a theme like “killer plants,” "hot vampires," “shrunken heads” …whatever yooz want, let’s vote. In the meantime it’s--- The Ghoul’s Revenge!!

From the Dec-Jan ‘52/53 issue of Out of the Night #6

Lost Meets Mystery Tales #40

Yesterday, Xande pointed out an interesting blog called Mystery Tales 40, created by a group of dudes obsessed with the LOST tv series and how they are currently attempting to decode the puzzle behind the Atlas Mystery Tales #40 issue that one of the characters apparently showed to another character in a recent episode. They believe that the cover shows, to quote: “…so many similarities with Lost's story's possible future for us to think it may contain key details on the show's plot.”



They could be on the right track, they could be wronger than the new Indiana Jones movie; whatever the case they were willing to pool together $400 to win an issue of MT40 on ebay to find out more. I don’t watch LOST so what do I know... does anyone else have anything to add?

Shadows on the Tomb

We wind-up our 4 day Harvey fest today with a real spine chiller from the April 1952 issue of Black Cat Mystery #34, and like The Collector story post from the other day, this one also features pencils by Joe Certa. Next month I’ll try my damnedest to work in more Harvey horror for you too, until then...

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And while you’re celebrating Vincent Price and Chris Lee’s birthday’s today, here are a couple of Harvey bonus one-pagers featuring subject matter that both legends are undoubtedly very familiar with…

Monsters from the Vault #25

Sporting a howlingly awesome werewolf cover, the new issue of Monsters from the Vault is set to attack, including features on Curse of the Cat People, The Lost World, stage and screen legend Henry Hull, and more!

Click HERE for more info and to pre-order your June '08 copy now!

Amnesia

Warren Kremer is another one of those underrated Harvey greats that I’d put in the same league as Nostrand, Elias, and Powell… possessing a rich, organic line style full of dynamic, moody, atmospheric detail, and characters perfectly straddling the lines of realism and cartoony in design... in affect, the perfect type of illustrator for comics.

From the May 1953 issue of Chamber of Chills #17

I especially love Kremer’s work over at Ace Magazines on the Super-Mystery Comics covers too. Check these out!

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And here's your BONUS Harvey filler for dessert!

Unholy Trinity

Today, May 26th is Peter Cushing’s birthday. I’ll save my breath on a bio introduction because the man simply does not need one. I’ll hold my breath a little longer and kill a couple more birds with one post, because not only is tomorrow (the 27th) also Christopher’s Lee birthday, but he shares this most awesome event with the ever magnificent Vincent Price!

Good god, if you ever needed a reason to break your damn diet and eat some cake and ice scream, today and tomorrow are THE days to praise three of the greatest actors of all time!

The Collector

If you read alot of pre-code horror then you probably already know how a typical story about a mean spirited, ruthless big game hunter usually ends (seems they all wind up with a similar-ish fate in the end.) But in typical Harvey fashion, I guarantee you’ve never seen a jungle scenario played out quite like this.

From the May 1953 issue of Chamber of Chills #17

Nursery Crimes

For you other types of collectors, here’s a generous sampling of silly “Mother Mongoose’s Nursery Crimes” …more spoof proof of Harvey’s humorous horror attempts to take on EC at their own MAD game. Nostrand’s art is definitely on par, the writing almost.

From Witches Tales #22, 24, 25, and 26.

Sex, Drugs and Violence in the Comics (BOOK NEWS)

Gun molls, dopers, vipers and pushers abound in this new collection of classic exploitation comic stories! The dangers and dramas of alcohol, marijuana, wacky dust and heroin are laid bare as teen after teen succumbs to temptation, often with disastrous results. Stories from the 1940s to the 1970s are culled by comic’s authority Greg Theakston.



This just released TPB from Pure Imagination features selections from some of the most shocking pre-code material in horror and crime comics’ history: True Crime Comics, Justice Traps the Guilty, Reform School Girls, Young Romance, Wanted Comics, Headline Comics, Captain Science, Crime Detector, Menace Comics, Fight Against Crime, Frankenstein Comics, and more!

Click HERE for more info and to order yours now!

Hive!

I was looking back through my archive and semi-shocked to discover that I haven’t posted a full Harvey horror story is over two months! So starting today we’ll have ourselves a fest with stories, one-page fillers, funny strips, ads, and of course whatever else floats to the surface over the next three or four days. And what better way to kick it all off than with this ironic, bloodcurdling bug bonanza from the great Lee Elias!

From the March 1953 issue of Tomb of Terror #8

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PLUS! A trio of great Harvey Ads from the 50's!

The Wasp Woman (TRAILER)

Six years after Hive hit comic book stands, Roger Corman released this b-movie classic to theatres, starring gorgeous Susan Cabot as a cosmetics expert who develops a youth serum from a jelly extract found in queen wasps. After testing it on herself… well… you can guess the rest. Bzzzzzzzzzz!

The Haunted House

I recently stumbled upon something called The Barker’s Blog containing a wealth of fascinating info about circus freaks, related art, pop culture stories, old comics, that sort of thing. The blog doesn’t appear to be active anymore though; the last entry was posted back in November of last year and was dedicated to the life of this awesome fellow:



But of interest to the THOIA gang is this: around Halloween ’07 The Barker posted 6 great pre-code horror stories, one of which I present to you here today (yes I swiped his scans, but I’m hoping he sees this and starts his great blog back in action!) It’s a really spooky Pete Tumilson ghost story from Atlas, so if you like what you see then please visit The Barker’s Blog and check out the other various comic scans he posted, a few you’ve probably already seen here but also a few others you probably haven’t.

From the April 1954 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #26

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“NAME THAT FILM” CONTEST WINNER: Doug Bentin of Bethany, Oklahoma. Congrats Doug! You win the Eerie #12 comic book. There are plenty more contests coming up this summer people, so hang in there!

ANSWER:

Seven Keys to Baldpate (1917)

Thanks again to everyone who entered! Special Mention “No Prizes” goes to all the other fine film freaks who also guessed correctly: Michael Specht of Suffern NY, Brian Riedel of Hollywood CA, and John Hegenberger.

Answer to clue #4: Remade many times in film, the latest re-titled adaptation being the "House of Long Shadows" (1983) starring Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, John Carradine, and Peter Cushing (as pictured on the right hand side of this blog in the “Recommended Movie” section--- and staring you right in the face!)

Answer to Clue #5: Hedda Hopper.

Stonehenge (NEWS)

I saw an interesting Yahoo news story this morning (click HERE) and couldn't help thinking that the Silver Shamrock scenario from Halloween 3 might actually become a reality this October...


"Halloween... the festival of Samhain. The last great one took place three thousand years ago, when the hills ran red with the blood of animals and children..."
---Conal Cochran

It Waits in the Box

Erupting from my ancient files haphazardly labeled “What’izzit?!” and “Who’drooit?!” comes this smashing monster classic from the October 1952 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #13. For the artist credit the Atlas site says “Stallman?” with a big question mark… anybody know for sure?

To see a sci-fi Stallman collaboration (this time from Harvey Comics) head back in time to Pappy’s post from yesterday!

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CONTEST CLUES!

In case you’ve missed the helpful contest clues I’ve supplied in the last few comments sections of this week's posts here they are in one easy breezy list... plus one last final clue that will probably not help anyone in the least bit. Contest ends tonight at midnight! Let the reckless, no holds barred guessing commence!

1. It's a SILENT era movie.

2. This film has been re-made over a half dozen times, once for televison even.

3. It's not the Clara Bow sex tape.

4. If you're on “The Horrors of it All” blog then the answer (or one of them) is staring you right in the face.

5. One of the film’s stars later became a famous Hollywood gossip columnist.

Good luck everyone!

Black From the Dead + Raw Meat

FYI: There’s an awesome double feature on TCM Friday night, May 23rd. When gangsters kill her boyfriend, a woman enlists a Voodoo queen to raise an army of the dead. Yep, it’s Sugar Hill (’74), followed by Death Line (aka Raw Meat ’72); half human carnivores pick-off lone passengers in an Underground station while a London police detective investigates the mysterious disappearances. Donald Pleasance and Christopher Lee star.

Both films are highly recommended 70’s viewing, so check TCM for more info and show times in your area!*

The Vultures of Doom

As we lower the long box coffin lid on Dark Mysteries for a spell, we slither over to the equally repulsive pages of Mysterious Adventures. Today’s tale has some truly jarring moments, and would make a nice ‘n evil companion piece to the City of the Dead story that I posted back in March. I guess if you learn anything from this one it's "Be careful what you wish for..."

From the January 1953 issue of Mysterious Adventures #12

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And here's another cheery one-page history lesson of things you never learned in school (excluding VBS), courtesy of Harvey Comics.

Best Seller!

Because you demanded it--- it's more Dark Mysteries! And half of you may agree that this is the most shocking crime you’ve ever seen!

From the June 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #12

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Name That Film (CONTEST)
Can you name the film you see in the spooky picture below? Send your name, address, and answer/s to karswell@hotmail.com, and be sure to put NAME THAT FILM CONTEST in the subject line. Everyone who answers correctly will be thrown into a fishbowl and one name drawn wins a G-VG copy of Super Comics Eerie Tales #12 (which is actually a color reprint issue of pre-code stories from Avon’s Eerie #1 from 1951), with great stories about werewolves, the living dead, subway horrors and more! The contest ends on Friday May 23rd, enter now, and as many times as you’d like. And remember, guessing never hurts either!

Voices of the Dead

Today’s “grawesome” tale comes from the June 1953 issue of Dark Mysteries #12 with super spooky (and super sexy) artwork by Hy Fleishman. Googlin’ around online for personal info about him I really only found one interesting link, and of course it originated from an old post of Pappy’s commenting on how Hy’s “near cartoony style” possibly influenced the underground comics of the 60’s. You may be right Paps!

And thanks to Jeffos for "grawesome!"

Night of the Living Dead (DVD NEWS)

While I patiently await year after year for Burn Witch Burn (’62) to someday ever make it’s goddamn debut to DVD, here we go again with tomorrow’s release of yet another “Anniversary Edition” of Romero’s 1968 landmark zombie film, Night of the Living Dead.

But the big difference this time is, to quote: “Authorized by George Romero” himself, “Remastered”, and as usual “Loaded with All-New Special Features.” No public domain crap here folks. Here’s the rundown:

-Original screenplay DVD room only.

-Still gallery

-Original theatrical trailer (for this edition)

-Speak of the dead: interview with George A. Romero

-Last interview with Dwane Jones: Ben speaks.

-Documentary: One for the fire.

-Audio commentary: George Romero, Karl Hartman, Marilyn Eastman, John Russo.

-Audio commentary: Judith O'Dea, Russell Streiner, Vince Zurinsky, Bill Hinzman, Kyra Schon, Keith Wayne.

-English 2.0 mono original soundtrack (not confirmed)

-English 5.1 remastered Dolby soundtrack

-English and Spanish subtitles.

So should anyone really bother with this one if you already have the 30th anniversary edition? Or the 20th? NOTLD is without question one of the greatest films of all time… but maybe read the Amazon reviews for some additional insight by clicking HERE first. And will MGM please release Burn Witch Burn on DVD someday already?!!

Born in the Grave

For many of you long time THOIA regulars, all I have to do here is say the words “Brian Hirsch Submission” and you already know you’re in for a super demented, horrific pre-code post. I’m digging through my own Dark Mysteries tonight and seeing if maybe I can come up with a few days worth of other DM terrors, so this may actually be the start of a fest. Say your prayers now…

From the August 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #19

The Tell-Tale Heart

As previously mentioned, I’ll be posting a sampling of Edgar Allan Poe stories throughout the month of May… last week we saw The Pit and the Pendulum, today it’s The Tell-Tale Heart! This is probably the longest story (page-wise) that I’ve ever posted in a single day, but it’s a great adaptation and despite the length it’s still a taut, exciting read. Enjoy!

From the June 1951 issue of Classics Illustrated #84

Thanks again to Todd Hunter for the scans. And for more info on comic book adaptations of Poe’s work, check out The House of Usher site by clicking HERE!

The Tell-Tale Heart (VIDEO)

This stylish and faithful adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story is one of the most discussed and imaginative Oscar-nominated cartoons of any era. Superbly narrated in first-person by James Mason, it’s a truly haunting masterpiece of paranoia and horror, as well as a timeless milestone in 50’s animation.

Will Elder (R.I.P.)

More sad news, Will Elder (1921 - 2008) is gone from this world today too. One of the original artists of Harvey Kurtzman's 'Mad' from its first issue, he later went on to work for Playboy with Little Annie Fanny, also illustrated book covers, movie posters, advertisements for television programs in TV Guide, and more.



For more info click HERE.

She Shrieked With Horror

Ripped from the pages of Totally Fake Film History* comes--- She Shrieked with Horror! Starring Tom Tryon as Talbot Stewart, Gloria Talbott as Ghrislaine Eyre, and Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom as Emeil.

*Actually from the 1954 issue of Web of Mystery #24

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EXTRA! Overdose on vampire horror today by heading over to Pappy’s for another creepy yarn… also see Chuck’s Comic Book Catacombs for a morbid 70’s Flashback!

Then later tonight tune into TCM for Robert Quarry in Count Yorga, Vampire (’70), followed by Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie in The Hunger (’83.) Two very different types of bloody good vampire delights!

As usual, check TCM for more info and show times in your area.

John Philip Law (R.I.P.)

John Philip Law, star of some of the greatest genre films ever of the 60’s and 70’s, including Danger: Diabolik, Barbarella, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and more, has passed away of undisclosed causes.

For more information click HERE.

Kudos to The Eye for scooping this crummy news to me first.

Fury of the Macabre Mannequins

Got another bizarre ACE classic for you today, complete with disturbing panels of gruesome deeds and putrid rotting flesh, a truly tender study in how to take things a little bit too far.

From the April 1952 issue of Web of Mystery #8

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On a more personal note, as a child I had reoccurring nightmares of headless mannequins coming to life and stalking me inside a dark and deserted department store after hours (sounds like The After Hours episode from Twilight Zone, doesn’t it?) I’m not exactly sure what they wanted from me, but being evil and headless I suppose one could make an educated guess...

Does anyone else have any good ‘n macabre mannequin memories they’d like to share?

Werewolf Blood on My Hands

Werewolf Wednesdays are back--- AHHH-OOOOOO!!! Today’s tale is ever so slightly bent, with a great "become a werewolf to hunt a werewolf" premise, but totally set up by a kookball concept, (which of course in no way detracts from the fun.)

From the July 1953 issue of The Beyond #21

And for another ACE werewolf tale click ‘n run (don’t walk) on over to Pappy’s blog sometime today--- before the full moon rises!

And for a 70's Flashback bio on Man-Wolf head over to Chuck's Comic Book Catacombs today too!

Frankenstein on Old Time Radio

Dim the lights and gather the kids around the haunting buzz of your computer speakers--- it’s Frankenstein! For those who enjoy old time radio shows, the OTR Network Library has all 13 parts from the great 1938 version of Frankenstein, starring George Edwards.

Click HERE to listen now!


And many thanks to Tim Tylor from the Science Fiction Blog for pointing me towards the OTR site!

Ken Shannon vs. The Venusians

We’ve seen Ken Shannon tackle supernatural spooks in a couple of escapades so far, but nothing from our neighboring planets has yet to ruffle his bow tie--- until now! I will admit up front that there’s not much in the way of “horror” with today’s story, but the writing here is so hysterically excellent you probably won't even care about the lack of goose bumps.

From the April 1953 issue of Ken Shannon #10

Also, this one goes out to my pal Chuck over at the The Comic Book Catacombs, and everyone else who has commented or emailed me begging for more Ken Shannon. Hmmm, maybe I should just start a crime comic blog someday too?

Grim Grins & Weird Watson

For those of you who enjoyed the Chilly Chuckles from the other day here’s some more silly “betweener” material from Standard Comics. And just like Chilly Chuckles, Grim Grins was a very funny, one-panel grab-bag quad of 3rd grader style Halloween jokes (just the way I like’em!) that fit a half page perfectly.

From the April 1954 issue of The Unseen #14.



Even better are the wacky 4 panel Weird Watson strips, (maybe Ger knows who illustrated these?) I especially love how sick boy Watson knows where to find the really fat worms for his fishing trip! Ewww…

From Adventures into Darkness #14 and Out of the Shadows #10.

The Eyes of Death

I’ve been holding out from sharing this King Ward classic because I’ve been hoping to upgrade this issue with a better copy, though of course not having much luck. Anyway, enjoy this atmosphere-soaked story... the scans are a bit rough but it’s still a very spooky one!

From the August 1952 issue of Forbidden Worlds #8

Mother’s Day Horror

Performing a quick IMDb search for “Mother’s Day” unearthed over two dozen different film entries all bearing this title, many of them are comedic film shorts... of course the most famous “Mother’s Day” of them all is the disturbing, exploitive, slasher classic from 1980.

But just as I was wrapping up my research on this “holiday”, I noticed a film entry called Happy Mother’s Day, Love George (‘73.) Apparently, Darren “Kolchak” McGavin directed two feature films in his career and this was the first. Also known as Run, Stranger Run, this PG rated “psycho-murder” flick has a wild all-star line-up, check it: Patricia Neal, Cloris Leachman, Bobby Darin, Simon Oakland, Gale Garnett, and Ron Howard! Synopsis: A series of gruesome murders shakes a small New England fishing village as an adopted teen searches for his biological parents.

Has anyone ever even heard of this film or have a copy I could borrow? Man, just when I thought I’d seen them all…

The Cannibal!

While you’re celebrating today over a nice hot meal with the lovely, controlling ladies in your life, here’s a tale about a stubborn little lady with another type of bone to pick! Bon appétit!

From the May 1954 issue of Out of the Shadows #13

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And how about some “Chilly Chuckles” to round out your weekend? Somebody really needs to collect all of these into a cool little funny book for kids.

The Man Who Laughs

For those of you in or around Los Angeles you can see the classic 1928 German expressionist horror film The Man Who Laughs (w/live film score) at The Cinefamily at The Silent Movie Theatre on N. Fairfax in West Hollywood tomorrow night, May 11th.

Click HERE for more info!

The Thing from the Sea

Ever have one of those days where you’re on a boat and you suddenly get thrown overboard in the middle of nowhere and then you sink to the bottom of the ocean, only to wake up dead with fish nibbling on your flesh and then you have to take a long, lonely stroll underwater back to shore just to get some simple revenge? Sucks.

From the June/July 1954 issue of Eerie #16

The Pit and the Pendulum

Scattered throughout the month of May I’ll be posting Edgar Allan Poe stories as I’ve recently acquired some very cool pre-code submissions. Do I really need to include a Poe bio here for the uninitiated? Not bloody likely… so without further ado, here is your first trip into the haunted, subterranean nightmare regions of a truly disturbed mind, and one of Poe’s darkest, eeriest tales…

From the June 1952 issue of Beware #10

Look for another Poe terror tale coming next weekend!

The Pit And The Pendulum (TRAILER)

Trailer for Roger Corman’s excellent 1961 film adaptation of Poe’s original story, and based on Richard Matheson’s superb screenplay… starring Vincent Price, Barbara Steele, Luana Anders, and John Kerr.

The Graves That Moved

We’ve all heard tales of vengeance FROM the grave, but what about vengeance OF the grave? Or more precisely, vengeance of the GRAVES? This is one of the weirdest ideas for a revenge story ever written but it totally works… and who’s the artist?

Originally presented in the Aug '54 issue of Marvel Tales #126

Happy Birthday Kolchak!

Seasoned actor of stage, screen and television, Happy Birthday Darren McGavin (aka Carl Kolchak), born this day in San Joaquin CA in 1922. R.I.P.

Vengeance!!!

Some of you will surely groan about today’s superhero post as we wrap up my week-long Bill Everett Tribute, but truth be told I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for Everett’s greatest creation--- Prince Namor: The Sub-Mariner! Add the fact that my all-time favorite Universal horror is an obvious influence in this selection makes it all the more essential here. An interesting side note, this story came out a mere 5 months after The Creature from the Black Lagoon movie hit the silver screen in the same year of 1954.

From the August 1954 issue of Sub-Mariner #35

Thanks again to John for the scans! And sorry it took me so damn long to finally post them!

Creature from the Black Lagoon (NEWS)

And speaking of The Gill Man, click HERE for some news on the long awaited (and possibly feared) modern remake of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Artwork above by Rockin’ Rob Kelly… and thanks to Brian Solomon from The Vault of Horror for originally finding this Creech news scoop over at STYD!

A Playmate for Susan

Bill Everett Tribute: Day Six! Today’s post would make a good companion piece to Charles Beaumont’s incredibly frightening Twilight Zone episode “Living Doll” starring Telly Savalas.

From the April 1952 issue of Astonishing #12

Orson Welles

Happy Birthday Orson Welles, legendary actor, genius film-maker, and real life mad magician. He masterfully scared the living shit out of most of America into thinking Mars was invading Earth on Oct 30th 1938, as he directed the Mercury Theatre On the Air radio dramatization of H.G. Wells' novel "War of the Worlds.” Born this day in Kenosha, Wisconsin in 1915.

The Car (DVD NEWS)

Fasten your seatbelts for a terrifying thrill ride as The Car ‘77 returns to DVD (again) tomorrow with a brand spankin' new digitally remastered picture! I don't care what anybody says, this is the best killer car movie of all time in my opinion...

Click HERE for more info!

Mark of the Witch

Bill Everett Tribute: Day Five! This is one of my favorite Everett tales, featuring a fantastically illustrated witch and a neat time-travel twist. Two more days of Everett tales to go!

From the June 1952 issue of Men’s Adventures #22

All the Shapes of Fear

To mix things up a bit around here I thought I’d give you a dream team example of Bill Everett inks on a Silver Age collaboration with Don Heck working the pencils. It's a really great story showcasing two golden era legends still going strong in the 70's. This issue of Chamber of Chills is actually one of the very first horror comic books I ever bought with my own money as a kid, so it holds an extra special place in my little black heart.

From the March 1973 issue of Chamber of Chills #3

Rondo (NEWS)

To my fellow horror bloggers out there who were nominated (or ignored) this year for the “prestigious” Rondo Award and didn’t win, now you can own something even cooler come this June.

Click HERE for more...

Werewolf!

Bill Everett Tribute: Day Three continues with another Stan Lee scripted story for the extremely short lived but generally excellent Menace series. I wish my scans were from the original comic but instead you’ll have to make do with the July 1974 reprint version from Chamber of Chills #11.

Originally presented in the May 1953 issue of Menace #3

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (VIDEO)

Nope, it’s not the trailer for the Michael Landon monster movie classic from ‘57; it’s a rare music video clip from 1980 of one of my all-time favorite psycho-rock horror bands THE CRAMPS performing live! If you dig what you see you can find out more about this legendary band here: www.thecramps.com

Strangeways: Murder Moon

Need another werewolf fix? Looking for something different? How about a werewolf western! Welcome to Strangeways: Murder Moon, written by Matthew Maxwell (Highway 62, EATERS) and illustrated by Luis Guaragña... Matt kindly sent me a copy and for fear of giving away too much I’ll simply say if you want some seriously ferocious wild west werewolf action with terrifyingly stark black and white artwork, then Murder Moon is not to be missed!

For more info (including a video preview) click HERE!

Blackout At Midnight!

Bill Everett Tribute: Day Two rolls on with another horrific Atlas weirdie… appropriately titled too, because when you get to the last page and see the head on this monster you might just black-out from laughing so hard. Too cool.

(Also, make sure you head over to Pappy's today for TWO more great Everett tales! Click HERE!)

From the July 1952 issue of Spellbound #5







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Yesterday we looked at a sexy negligee ad scanned from a 50’s comic; now let’s jump forward 20 years to 1973 with a fondly remembered t-shirt ad that was featured in nearly every comic book on the shelf at the time. I’ll say the superhero and hot rod images were much more appropriate in a comic ad than say, silky sheer sex panties, but the inclusion of Bud Man and Panama Red (takin’ a toke on the smoke bloke) might be pushin’ it. Does anyone know what ever become of Roach Studios in Ohio?

Blacula Double Feature

Midnight is going to get even blacker when TCM airs Blacula and Scream Blacula Scream back to back tonight. Not your typical “blaxploitation” fare, and despite their silly sounding titles both are actually very decent vampire movies; if you’ve never seen either give ‘em a shot, you may be surprised.

Click HERE for more info and show times in your area.

“Rising From the Echoing Corridors of Hell, An Awesome Being of the Supernatural - With Satanic Power of Sheer Dread. Chained Forever to a Slavery More Vile Than Any Before Endured... And His Bite is Out of Sight!

The Madman

I’ll save the space and spare you the Bill Everett bio introduction--- for he needs none! Quite simply (and repeatedly), he’s my favorite comic book artist ever, and that includes ANY comic era he’s worked in. He really had a fantastic grip on the horror genre as you will see over the next 7 days, and there’s tons more of his pre-code stuff backlogged in my archives too, you’ll just have to dig around since I’m too lazy to tag anything.

From the June 1953 issue of Menace #4

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QUESTION: If comics were just for kids in the early 50’s then how come many of them contained these bewitching adult ads for women’s negligee? Huh, Wertham? Huh?!! I suppose if you had some spare change left over after sending away for x-ray spex or exploding gum you could order something for your mom… and heck, dad might like the idea so much he may even buy you a few more copies of Menace, or Super Duck.

Happy Birthday (To Me)

May Day! May Day! Karswell reaches another milestone today, the BIG 4-0… can you believe it? And is it any wonder I arrived on Walpurgis Day? Anyway, as mentioned we’ll be spending some time this week showcasing the art of my all-time fave--- Bill Everett! It’s my party and I’ll Everett if I want too.


Also this month you can look forward to an Ace monster fest, some Edgar Allan Poe posts, lots more horror movie related stuff, maybe more Ken Shannon, more blog cross-over promotions with Pappy, and lots more things that go blog in the night than any other blog in the blogosphere! The fun begins as soon as someone gets that spicy shish-kabob out of my face…