Moving right along with our look at the 1952
Avon Periodical one-shot
“City of the Living Dead”, today is the first of two very weird and wild
Nodel / Alascia tales from this issue… see the other tomorrow—
if you dare!
TOMORROW: The Tale of a Boy--- and His Pet Rooster!
+++++++++++++++++++++++
Vintage ADs
Nodell certainly has advanced beyond his work on GREEN LANTERN, nothing great, but good serviceable art. Nevertheless,i still wish Kinstler had done it along with the previous one. Weird how this story and the previous one both involve greed specifically. I mean, most comics of the time do anyway as a motive for murder, but it's strange to see two in a row like this. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteAh, the swamp. A classic :-)
ReplyDeleteNice one. Some parts are baffling - she goes with the uncle and at the same attacks our greedy boy, huh? -, but who cares.
"I shall feed on your offerings. Ha ha ha" Indeed. Lucky old bugger :-)
Cadaverous butler provided by Herbert West Reanimated Lackeys Inc.
ReplyDeleteHave to say I'd have loved to see this in the sketchy black-and-white style of Kinstler's intro, Dore plagiarism regardless.
No real surprises here, but some nice moments--the typical refusal of the victim to believe the amorphous blob could be anything other than Hugo in disguise, the SMOKIN' dress the alien is wearing (they obviously study high fashion before coming to earth), and of course the comeuppance ending.
ReplyDeleteI admit to being confused by the Glistening Death's plan, though--she needs someone to bring her meat, despite being quite able to hunt through the swamps on her own...and now that her meat man is gone, she decides to replace him with the nephew, but then says "screw that" and eats him? I guess some girls just can't control their passions...
The real treasure today though is those ads, imo. Once again it makes you wonder who the advertisers imagined were reading the comics. I guess the "How to get along with girls" thing makes sense, and maybe the writing love letters guide (I loved "How to Assure Him or Her of Your Faithfulness"), but that full page perfume ad? With stuff like "MANTRAP PERFUME!" and "DIABLO'S SECRET--Infidelity guaranteed or your money back!" Lots of man-crazy spinsters reading horror comics, I guess? :S
Cool stuff as always, Karswell. Here's to a kickin' pre-code new year!
Just for the record, it's Nodell's frequent collaborator Vince Alascia's inking (finishes?) that often made Nodell's pencils look so much better. Or is it something more than that? After all, why would Martin Nodell spell his own name wrong when signing this? Could it be that this is actually Norman Nodel's work? I don't know that Alascia ever worked with Norman , and it doesn't look like his stuff, but still, something to think about.
ReplyDeleteIf he hadn't gone 'gold-mad' he might have gotten away with it. Good plan, but doomed to failure.
ReplyDeleteTons of wonderful things in this blog! Happy new year Karswell!
ReplyDeleteI NEVER HEARD OF NODEL AND ALASCIA BUT IT'S COOL STUFF, REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING FROM BLACK MAGIC. A REAL GOOD ISSUE SO FAR KARSWELL!
ReplyDeleteAh, the obligation of having to put up your unknown and demanding relative just because he shows up at your front door.
ReplyDelete"I've killed plenty of squares in my time!" Classic.
It does seem like she sort of screws up her scheme at the end by absorbing Warren, but I guess she still has good ol' Hugo to give her the meat!
at least she doesn't want him for her money...(?)
ReplyDelete"What a weird smelly place"
ReplyDeleteExactly the same thing most people say when they visit my art studio at home!
Fun story today- hope you are enjoying the new year Karswell!!
That last panel is a pip, a real pip.
ReplyDeletei wondered if i had seen yesterday's city of the living dead before....then seeing the splash page today had me checking the gcd ..... yes i recognise that cover/that iw reprint/fantastic tales #1....the narratives never retained yet the splashes remain.....circa 1960 uk
ReplyDelete.....thanks karswell
As usual, a fascinating batch of incredible comments, speculations, and goofballisms! My commentors RULE! Go Team THOIA! haha
ReplyDeleteI hope everyone is having a splendid New Year so far, (mine got off to an unusually bullshit riddled bore) but stick around peeps, there's lots more terror and fun to come...
pretty neat post today but the last ad is the best part
ReplyDeleteexotic fury perfume commands and makes men kill? wha?????
hahhh
If I'm not mistaken, Wertham mentioned the first of those ads in Seduction of the Innocent.
ReplyDeleteJust browsing when I came across this. Boy did it take me back to Summer 1960 in a big way! My Mom brought this comic home from my older cousin. However, it was in its Trojan Horse guise, the 1958 Fantastic Tales. The cover was innocuous. A man in super-hero garb descending from a spaceship in a beam of light. No warnings or ads regarding the content. I don't think my Mom had looked inside before handing it to me at 9 years of age. When I opened it - Whoa! A mixture of shock and curiosity. I wanted to know what was on the next page but, I was scared of what might be on the next page! Squinting as I turned each leaf I have no recollection of COTLD, but Death Has Many Tongues was a sure cure for constipation! Horrifying. Conversely The Witches Come At Midnight ended very satisfactorily, with Peter the Rooster putting the forces of darkness to flight with his clarion call (wonder if they'd fall for it a second time?!) However, for some unaccountable reason, the one which gave me 3 nights of insomnia was The Glistening Death. Whether it was beacuse it was a beautiful girl or her final chilling "You shall become a part of me." I don't know. My volum8nous, puffy eiderdown being the same colour as the vile beast may also have had something to do with it. I just recall huddling beneath the sheets, trembling. Listening for the sound of the malevolent entity slithering around my bed and praying for daylight. I never opened the comic again. About a month later my Mom was cleaning my room and asked if I had finished reading it. With as much nonchalance as I could muster I said she could guve it to someone else, and its unnerving influence passed out of my life. Until that is, I read your blog. A-a-a-r-r-rgh!
ReplyDelete