And yeah I know, I also said no more full issue presentations this month too, didn’t I? I’m a liar!!
Plus, the insanely spooky cover of this issue featuring a very bloody beheading!
TOMORROW: Bugs. Monsters. And a Tigerman.
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Hand of Fate
And here's the second story from Weird Mysteries #3--- and WOW, check out that splash! Does it look familiar? If you recognized it as a swipe from the cover of the September 1951 issue of Mister Mystery #1 then you are definitely a true blue, 100% Pre-Coder!
(For the uninitiated, check the very bottom of today’s post for the Mister Mystery #1 cover and compare.)
FYI: if you want to read the “Hand” story from that issue of Mister Mystery #1 (chock full of an astounding amount of swiped panels too!) then check the THOIA Archives HERE!
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The September 1951 issue of Mister Mystery #1
It's like two ripoffs for the price of one!
ReplyDeletehttp://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2007/07/hand.html
http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2008/04/flayed-hand.html
I love a good disembodied hand before bed.
I'm particularly fond of the narrative flourishes in both of today's stories. The moon-steeple-spades aside at the top of the first story's fourth page was really very whimsical, as was the Hitchcockian open window establishment on the first page of the second tale.
ReplyDeleteBut the most poetic thing in either was the page three panel (number four) of the gifted surgeon's hands as he ties his shoes. I wonder whether I should credit this brilliant and moody aside to the artist or the writer.* It's a totally unnecessary visual nudge that exists there, I assume, for the sheer love of telling a story well.
*Actually, I guess I have to credit the collagist. I wrote the note above before double-checking the Mister Mystery #1 link. Wow. I'm sort of impressed they managed to use so many of the original panels from HAND in a way so divorced from their original order. Score one for sampling creativity then: the second story is special for the shoe-tying frame; and it uses that borrowed panel, in my opinion, to a more interesting effect than the 1951 story originally did.
What Mr. Cavin said, very good storytelling. In both of them. Alone the three panel shot of poor Mr. Jeremiah climbing the stairs, looking deranged. Marvelous.
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for the next three panels which show unrelated stuff while the murder occurs. One could argue that this is lame, naturally you want to see such a thing. But somehow it makes the punchline more effective. Which btw was quite unexpected. Not that the shrew was the new dummy, but that Mr. Mouse displayed her for everyone to see :-)
Very good artwork. It is the little things that count and can change a mediocre plot into something beautiful.
Great stuff in this issue, Karswell. Im really looking forward to my co-hosting duties on the morrow.
ReplyDeleteAgreed with the previous posters on the excellence of today's offering! The 3-panel aside everyone's mad about *is* very effective (though I'm sure I'm not the only one whose brain goes directly to Motörhead--I know what *I'll* be humming all day ;) ). I also love how Kind Old Jeremiah turns murderously mean, pretty much on a dime!
ReplyDeleteYet another domineering, argumentative old bat gets hacked apart by her henpecked husband. Man, as I've said beore: these comics guys had more issues than the ones in the long-boxes!
The second story doesn't make much sense (due to the "sampling," I'm sure) but that eye-popping final panel makes up for it. Excellent!
TWO SUPER STORIES! WE TALKED BEFORE ABOUT FINAL PANELS BEING OBVIOUS FROM WHATEVER POINT IN A STORY BY THE CONSTANT REPEAT OF AN IRONIC LINE THROUGHOUT A TALE, BUT IN THIS CASE WE JUST WANT TO SEE WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN ACTUALLY JUST HAPPEN AND THAT'S WHY I ENJOY THESE STORIES SO MUCH. NO SURPRISES REALLY I JUST WANT EXACTLY WHAT I KNOW IS GONNA BE DLIEVERED.
ReplyDeleteTHE SECOND STORY FEELS MORE LIKE A COMPLETE AND UTTER THEFT THAN A SWIPE BUT I DO AGREE ITS A VERY CLEVER USE OF ART RECYCLING. THE ORIGINAL STORY WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITES TOO BACK WHEN YOU FIRST POSTED IT. THANKS!
So the dead man's hand is sixes and sevens? Okay.
ReplyDeleteI can remember seeing a black-and-white version of "While the Iron was Hot" in an issue of Terror Tales (or similar Eerie Publication)... one of those overdone redrawn jobs with even more gore!
ReplyDeleteThat "Mister Mystery" Hand story's pretty close to one of Fritz Leiber's short stories, but I don't know which came first.
ReplyDeleteThis isn't the only time Gillmor created a story by rearranging the panels of another story and changing the dialog. They actually did it quite a bit. Some of the instances are noted in GCD (i.e. Wolverton's Robot Woman was "cut and paste"d to produced Beauty and the Beast).
ReplyDeleteThe reason is that publisher Stanley Morse was a legendary cheapskate. He would also pay artists for a story and then go down the street to anther publisher and sell it for a profit.
While the Iron Was Hot was reworked by Eerie Pubs in Witches Tales v1n9 as Over Her Dead Body with art (I believe) by Larry Woromay. It was also reprinted in Terror Tales v2n6, Weird v6n3, and Tales of Voodoo v7n1.
-Anti-Atlas Guy
on the other hand...
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the reprint info and great comments today. I hope you guys are enjoying this full issue preentation. I sure paid enough money for it!
ReplyDeleteMore on Thursday, and I'm also including the 2 page text story for you completists. See ya then!
what was the point of the iron in the title of the first story? he's got it in his hand but did he iron her to death? looks like he decapitated her. . with the iron? what?
ReplyDeleteI think he was the iron in Monopoly, and that part got left out. He decapitated her with the thimble.
ReplyDelete