From the April 1953 issue of Forbidden Worlds #16
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Friday, March 13, 2009
The Doll / Doll of Death
Happy Friday the 13th (again) everyone, and to celebrate this unluckiest of days, we’re featuring an Evil Doll Double Header, a theme chosen by my long time friend in horror, Miss Lulu Voodoo, who finally got her own tiny hands on a THOIA tee shirt recently (still available) check her out during the intermission! And stay tuned for more Tiny Terrors all weekend with possessed puppets, macabre mannequins, and diabolical dummies. Thanks Lulu!
From the April 1953 issue of Forbidden Worlds #16
From the April 1953 issue of Forbidden Worlds #16
LuLu, VooDoo look gorgeous in your THOIA tee! Thanks, Karswell, for doubling my Friday the 13th pleasure!
ReplyDeleteLulu, hath stolen my heart..
ReplyDelete(and hath eaten it!)
kudos for givin' her props Karswell.
oh, the pain, the pain...
ReplyDeletethe Psychedelic pain!
both of these entries were awesome, i especially liked the art on Doll Of Death. the first would have made a nice little film, had it been made contemporary to the comic.
She's deadly and lady-like at the same time.
ReplyDeleteThank you for these posts. Love 'em!
Holy wow. I think story one is now my number one favorite pre-code story ever for reading out loud doing funny voices for the characters. The kids' argument in the first panels of page two, dad's armchair research into the ancient books of the occult. Awesome. Even the cover is aces.
ReplyDeleteBut why on why do they keep entrusting that Janie with their secrets? That girl will tell anyone anything.
Then the second story was even better, maybe. I think the first two pages are probably the best examples I've seen here of the "show don't tell" principle of storytelling. That intro in the barber's shop was a witty and effective method of presenting the information we needed. Especially coming right after that beautiful jungle voodoo splash.
Thanks a lot Karswell and thanks to you also, Miss Lulu. Hope you're feeling less blurry again real soon.
Lulu's my FAVE evil doll
ReplyDeleteShe's the dolliest.
And the evilest.
I want MORE!!
Great posts! Happy Friday the 13th!
ReplyDeleteTWO EXCELLENT STORIES KARS! WHAT AN AWESOME WAY TO SPEND FRIDAY THE 13TH WITH THOIA AND EVIL DOLLS!!! YOURE FRIEND LULU LOOKS LIKE A DOLL TOO......... YOU TWO EVEN SHARE THE SAME COLOR LIPSTICK!
ReplyDeleteMan, I loved both of these stories. I was hoping to see more on the exploits of Bojo, but alas he turned into a club swinging zombie wizard instead!
ReplyDeleteThe second story was a thrill ride all the way to its fiery end. Nice knife in the neck scene to start the weekend. Thanks Karswell and Lulu!
Two GREAT stories!! Loved the art (especially the storytelling) in "Doll of Death" -- although I can imagine the penciller wanting to clobber the letterer for his balloon placement in the last panel of Page Three. That splash image almost has a Dick Briefer feel to it. Loose and lively. Beautiful! And the ingenious panel construction on Page Four is to be marveled at. Howcum I never heard of this Harrison Bachs (Bache?) before?
ReplyDeleteAs for "The Doll," more great art, and though I can't imagine most readers care about this point, I have to say that was an excellently drawn mutt. Go take a look at what most funnybook artists try to get away with when it comes to drawing pooches.
Thanks again, Karswell.
Ahh, dolls. A subject near and dear to Emby's heart.
ReplyDeleteEspecially evil dolls.
Especially pre-code evil dolls.
I remember an old movie called Vault of Horror that had a story rather similar to this one, although it involved a painter who could kill people by painting their portrait and then destroying it. There was a scene where he locked his self-portrait in a safe to keep it, well, safe, and nearly died of suffocation, just like our friend Stony.
And no, that particular tale didn't end well either.
By the way, I updated my icon to show my THOIA love. :D
Nothing makes me happier than diabolical dolls.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
I love killer puppets! In Spain, I knew some "Forbidden worlds" comic books in his argentinian edition, "Mundos prohibidos".
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot!
Hey everybody, thanks for stopping by and spending Friday the 13th with THOIA yesterday... I also want to thank Lulu V for suggesting a great theme and for the pix. And before I forget to mention it (again) don't you forget to visit her Etsy shop online for her rebelliously recycled goods, click here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5949830
More Tiny Terrors coming up all weekend, I'll have Saturday's post up in a bit.
So I finally looked at "Beware #10" on GCD (and its absolutely AMAZING cover) and saw that "The Doll of Death" was pencilled by Harry Harrison and inked by Ernie Bache. Now it all makes sense. A frequent collaborator with Roy Krenkel, Harrison went on to leave comics and become a highly successful SF writer. Still as anyone can see here -- and in his other comics and illustration work -- Harrison was a skilled (and even talented) artist. It certainly would have been interesting to see Harrison's work mature in the field of comics, but then we wouldn't have the "Stainless Steel Rat" stories.
ReplyDeletePS: A correction. In illustration, Harry collaborated with Krenkel. In comics, his frequent collaborator was Wally Wood. Quite the talented little circle of friends, no?
ReplyDeleteTwo more excellent posts. The father in the first one was hilarious - if my son brought home a creepy looking doll, my first instinct would definitely be to brush up on my zombie-destroying techniques, yes. And learn to talk -- like this!
ReplyDeleteThe second story ruled too, what with it's already-mentioned excellent art and knife-neck interaction.