Thursday, October 15, 2009

The Gypsy Curse + CONTEST!!!

THOIA reader Ian Docherty recommended today's story for us all from Standard Comic's December 1953 issue of Adventures into Darkness #12. He even sent me the scans, but since they originally came from elsewhere I thought I'd just go ahead and re-scan them from my own collection so as to not step on anyone's cursed toes. Says Ian, "Besides having the funniest opening panel ever, it has a pretty good ending too. Don't know who the artist or writer is but between them they created a classic!"








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THOIA DRAW ME CONTEST!
Yes, it's contest time again! We had great fun in our last one, blaspheming Bob Hope in a variety of horrific stylings... and in today's story post (above) you witnessed how someone could take a beautiful young lady and give her "The Gypsy Curse" of ugliness... and thus, now it is your turn! See the vintage ad below? Don't just draw her--- RUIN HER!! Give her the THOIA treatment and make her SCARY. Or make something scary happening to her. It's your choice-- YOU ARE THE ARTIST.
All entries should be emailed to me directly at karswell@hotmail.com no later than Friday October 23rd (one week from today.) All entries will then be posted for judging by YOU the readers sometime the following week... the winner will then be announced on Halloween Night. Prizes include: a THOIA tee-shirt, horror DVDs, leftover Halloween candy and anything else I can scrounge up from a shallow grave. So have some fun with it! Be creative! Be an asshole! Be anything you want to be and--- DRAW!
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13 comments:

  1. Unknown10/16/2009

    Boy that Lou--what a charmer!
    I really liked this one. I'll have to see if I can come up with anything for the picture.

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  2. Kitty LeClaw10/16/2009

    Who would want to ruin a purdy lady like that?

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  3. Anonymous10/16/2009

    THAT IS A LOL OPENING PANEL HAAAAAAA! UMM, YOU LOOK AMAZING DARLING! FUN STORY WITH A REALLY CREEPY YET SAD ENDING.

    LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CONTEST ENTRIES. I WOULD ENTER BUT I CANT EVEN DRAW A STICK FIGURE.

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  4. Anonymous10/16/2009

    i just starting following this blog earlier this week and you have not disappointed

    thx for helping me kill some hours on the job and keep up the good work

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  5. Horror pariah10/16/2009

    This was definitely worth coming back to. I love how it starts out as a crime melodrama before becoming a supernatural horror story then a non-supernatural one. Wonder if this was where Michael Reeves got the inspiration for 'The She Beast', they look alike.

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  6. Tamfos10/16/2009

    Wow! This was so well written. That ending was just perfect. Nothing could be creepier than the reality of madness and despair, especially in the 1950's.

    The art has its flaws, but I really like it. What a miserable world these folks inhabit where not a single human appears happy. Check out the last panel on Page Two. That the waiter should seem bummed is understandable (shitty job), but look at the dude peering with disdain into the bottom of his orange juice glass! Hilarious!

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  7. bzak10/16/2009

    Howdy,

    Artwork looks like it was done by Jack Katz. I always liked his earlier stuff over the "First Kingdom" stuff. Thanks.

    Brian James Riedel

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  8. Mr. Karswell10/16/2009

    Brian is right about Jack Katz, if you want to compare this one to another tale of his from the THOIA Archive then check out "The Groping Ghost" from Adventures into Darkness #6:

    http://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2008/11/groping-ghost.html

    Hope everyone has a great weekend, and I hope to see more Draw Me Contest entries rolling in this time around soon too! Do your worst people and have fun with it!

    UP NEXT: Another eerie variation on the classic Monkey's Paw tale, don't miss it!

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  9. Anonymous10/16/2009

    I agree with Horror Pariah that the old hag looks almost exactly like the She Beast!

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  10. 8thRay10/17/2009

    Oh, that was a good 'un. I loved the line "I am all alone... and very ugly!"

    Toni really transformed from a shallow gold digger into a much more sympathetic figure at the end.

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  11. sfdoomed10/17/2009

    How does Gina suddenly garner the power of a "gypsy curse" just because she becomes deformed? Either way, her revenge is sweet, though Lou would have been better off with the ten story plunge.

    Oh, and one nice thing about Gina is that she let Lou and his new gal pal party and live it up for quite some time before she finally makes her appearance. What a sport!

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  12. Mykal Banta10/18/2009

    Karswell: Very cool story. I love how Lou calmly bends over a dying Gina and describes exactly what he's going to do: "I'm going to write a suicide note . . ."

    I loved the art, and the artists handles action very well. Plus, often the men, like the detective, look like gargoyles as well, which is pretty cool.

    Finally, it has to be said, Lou needs a more sympathetic bedside manner! Crying "Gina! Good Heavens!" and clasping your throat while staring bug-eyed scores pretty low on the comfort-meter. Lou should have focused on the positive, like her great figure!

    Another great story. Thanks for sharing! -- Mykal

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  13. Unknown10/23/2009

    Doh! I just found the Contest. How late are you taking entries on the 23rd?

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