TOMORROW: DiPreta!
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Vintage Ad (have I posted this before?)
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Behind Locked Doors
Story #3 this week from the February 1953 issue of Mystic #17, featuring typically terrific art from Vic Carrabotta. And FYI: I received another update from Pappy yesterday and it sounds like he’s finally recovering slowly but surely after his surgery a few weeks ago. Our sincerest get well wishes from everyone at THOIA to The Man who originated QUALITY Golden Age comic book scan blogging! I dedicate this week of Mystic tales to you, Paps!
"That wine you are drinking has unusual color..." Nah, never saw THAT one coming.
ReplyDeleteWell, looks like I missed quite the discussion about these ol' funny books yesterday. And all because of a slapdash four-pager somebody dreamed up while sleeping off a vodka binge.
Hell, yes, analyze the shit out of 'em. So what, they're fifty years old? So what, they're lowbrow entertainment? Like the Stooges, maybe.
Like Shakespeare, for all we know.
And ta'en all in all, ye funny bookes doth "show... the very age and body of the time his form and pressure."
Something to do, neh, toddling betwixt the cradle and the grave.
Suck my grits, Werther.
And by the way, I note that Kars is coming up on his 200th follower. That calls for a DRINK.
BOTTOMS UP.
Junior sure does spill an awful lot of his beverage--all down the sides of the glass, all over the table. If that's what passes for table manners among noblemen, then maybe I've got a shot after all.
ReplyDeleteAt least our snotty psychiatrist had his priorities straight - better to be a drunk and whiny aristo than a dirty peasant *g
ReplyDeleteOkay, this one was a bit obvious, but for a kid in 1953 I guess it was a good punchline. I liked the art, very suited for a story basically consisting of talking heads.
Is it just me, or seem the storys of Mystic rather muted and tame compared to other stuff?
Loved the ad. Not as hilarious as the other one these days with the health-insurance, which had the memorable line "ask your lawyer or your spiritual adviser", but I guess Hypnotism was always a good seller. At least is wasn´t cold-water bath and electroshocks *g
Saw the train coming a mile away. Enjoyed it anyway. Wish the good doctor had had the chance to spit out the "wine" and figure out a thing or two for himself. Then he could have had some sense of accomplishment, just like his last patient.
ReplyDeleteI can almost hear Carrabotta thinking out loud. "How do I make this guy look like an aristocrat....? I know! A monocle!"
ReplyDeleteNow, on the more analytical side, as predictable as this story was, I want to point out out how Vic really gave it his all; specifically, the way he tries to build suspense into a tale that pretty much lacks any. On Page Three, he uses those three panels across the middle of the page to heighten Drac Jr.'s sense of frustration, but also to pique our interests as to the exact nature of his problem. Then on Page Four, same trick (with four panels this time) across the middle of the page during the Hypnotism session. This intensifies the feeling of the session, as well as giving the reader a build-up towards the big resolution (ie: Vlad the Younger's cure). Finally, he uses it one more time on the last page. We see Denby run the gamut of emotions (including his reaction to sour lemonade) as all is finally revealed to him and the reader. Seems to me this woulda worked fairly well on 11 year olds -- especially of that time.
Not a bad effort on Vic's part if you ask me, though obviously a tool used to better effect by the likes of Krigstein.
I like that splash panel—it gives the impression that the snooty guy is spotlit on a stage at a dinner club, while the bony audience approves his act by hoisting their drinks.
ReplyDeleteTO ME CAROBATTO IS ONE OF THE TOP ATLAS ARTISTS FOR SURE, AWESOME STYLE AND I TOO LOVE THE MULTIPLE PANELS SOMEONE ELSE MENTIONED THAT PROGRESS THE ACTION.
ReplyDeleteI ALSO APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I SEEM TO HAVE STARTED YESTERDAY, ALTHOUGH I'M SURE KARSWELL APPRECIATED ALL THE COMMENTS. I DID NOT MEAN ANY DISRESPECT TO ANYONE, I WAS JUST STATING THAT EVERYONE SEEMED TO BE OVERTHINKING WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY JUST FUN KIDS STORIES.......... NO MATTER HOW PROFESSIONALLY ILLUSTRATED OR WHATEVR.
CONGRATS ON THE 200TH FOLLOWER TOO KARS!
You can never over-think a comics story on this site because no matter how much you analyze it here in the few minutes you take to comment, you'll never put even half as much thought into it as the creative team did putting it together...
ReplyDeletewell, excepting yesterday's story.
Oooooh, BOOYAH!! Got one more dig in!
"I ALSO APOLOGIZE FOR WHAT I SEEM TO HAVE STARTED YESTERDAY..."
ReplyDeleteAll Caps: Please don't apologize for a conversation we all enjoyed taking part in, okay? Having conversations makes us a community.
Well, jeez, thanks for the dedication. I've appreciated the kind words I've gotten, and yes, one of these days I will be better. Not soon enough for me, though. I am an impatient patient.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading comments--and so well thought out, too--on these stories, I also appreciate how smart and analytical some comic book blog readers are. Wish I could think like that, but most times my brain feels more like the Flaming Carrot, who read 5000 comic books in one sitting.
This has definitely been one of the more interesting weeks for comments (and it's not even half over yet!), thanks again everyone. And thanks to Thee Goblin for marking another milestone as THOIA's 200th 100% Pre-Code Follower today! I am seriously blown away by these numbers...
ReplyDeleteA couple more stories from this issue to go, plus lotsa of weirdness lined up for the weekend and all next week.
Got a suggestion? Drop me a line.
Funniest psychiatrist death I've seen since ABOMINBALE DR. PHIBES. Definitely a more entertaining post than yesterday's even if it is predictable. I like how, if you eliminated the reference to being the "son" of Dracula, and explained away the "Denby" name as an alias, this could totally be seen as a story about a vampirized Frank Drake from Marvel's TOMB OF DRACULA series.
ReplyDeleteyou really have an interesting blog. i always check it out. take care...
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