More Powell tomorrow too as we kick off a full week of Valentine’s love… XOXO
Sunday, February 8, 2009
The Invasion
One last, bleak story from the October 1953 issue of Witches Tales #21, this one from THOIA fave Bob Powell... and need I mention here the obvious influence of Orson Welles or his infamous War of the Worlds radio broadcast from 1938? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
More Powell tomorrow too as we kick off a full week of Valentine’s love… XOXO
More Powell tomorrow too as we kick off a full week of Valentine’s love… XOXO
After the funeral, I overheard a friend of the family say, "Poor ol' Bill was a pessimistic kinda fella. Never at a loss for something to complain about. And such a pretty, chipper wife. She didn't seem to have a name, but that was all right. She was always smiling, always ready with a cuppa joe and a box of Bits. Loved them Bits. Still, pessimistic or not, ol' Bill was mighty dang quick to cash out at the first whiff of an alien invasion. And I still can't understand why he shot himself in the CHIN!"
ReplyDelete>And I still can't understand why he shot himself in the CHIN!". CHINS:IT'S JUST NOT SUICIDE IF THE AREA OF YOUR JAW IS NOT A GAPING GORE HOLE WITH EXPLODED BITS OF FLESH, BLOOD AND BONE AFTER YOU'VE PULLED THE TRIGGER. I have to admit i laughed out loud at the final panel even though anyone with even a halflings knowledge of horror could see it coming. Considering the crappy comedies that come out today; ie."spoof" movies that never spoof anything(or if they do it's not their intended targets)it would be a great concept for a comedy film in the future to show '38 audience's overreactions to the WOTW broadcast. Perhaps that Blamire fellow would be appropriate...
ReplyDeleteI love it when the wife screams "pie"--in twelve letters--at the bottom of page three. She sees saucers on the screen, and she screams "pie." That's pretty damn American right there.
ReplyDeleteSure is too bad there were no Darwin Awards back then.
ReplyDeleteOn the bright side, who needs Darwin Awards when you have Bits?
I like the way his hair stands on end when he whoots himself -- it's more gruesome than a spaltter of gore would have been.
ReplyDeletePEOPLE THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE KILLED THEMSELVES AND EACH OTHER OVER STUPIDER REASONS THAN SAUCER PIE FROM THE SKY. AND THAT IS THE CREEPEIST CRAZIEST ALIEN I'VE EVER SEEN, AND IT WAS JUST A TV HOAX!!
ReplyDeleteFUN STUFF.......... LOOKING FORWARD TO VALENTINES WEEK TOO.
She's not screaming. That "Piiiieeeeeeee!" is the sound the saucers make -- see the panel above it. Why? I guess cause they're pie shaped?
ReplyDeleteAnd Hitler makes a good TV anchor -- or actor portraying a TV anchor -- or drummer. Hard to be sure which. Guess he had to use his bangs for "comb-over" purposes. Getting old sucks.
Good idea Todd, I may have to arrange a "Darwin Award Week" of ill fated posts coming up sometime soon, thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteAnother one from Powell tomorrow, and possibly a third tale on Tues if you want, let me know. Plus the start of a new week long theme in the morn... hugs 'n kisses friends, thanks for stopping by this weekend.
I would hate to have to break ties for pre-code Darwin Awards. Anyway, happy to help!
ReplyDeletethis Powell fella is amazing!
ReplyDeleteThere is a 'censored' version that Harvey comics published a few years later around 1958. Rather than ending with a murder-suicide, the couple flees the house and head for the mountains. It lacks the dramatic punch of this ending, but I do feel it's more believable. I wonder if this story would work better if the husband was already going mad or intending to murder his wife, and the wife's reaction to the broadcast simply pushes him over the edge.
ReplyDelete