Friday, November 13, 2009

The Man in the Graveyard / Gone!

Social outcasts are a major factor in many pre-code stories, and here are two fine examples from the May 1954 issue of Mystery Tales #19 ...and both prove that no matter how down on your luck, or cursed, or just completely pathetic you are, you still can't always get what you want.





PS: The Atlas Tales site says "Shores?" on the art for this one... I seriously hate to think of a talented guy like Syd stooping to major swipage, as it's obvious that a few of the Warner Kremer zombies from the gorgeous cover of the July 1952 issue of Harvey's Black Cat Mystery #37 have shambled their way into "The Man in the Graveyard" story two years later.






12 comments:

Prof. Grewbeard said...

well, that was depressing! great art on that first story, though. as for the second, i think they were just trying to sell newspaper subscriptions. that's the only reason i have cable- in case the world comes to an end, MSNBC can clue me in...

Anonymous said...

Poor George! He just wanted a friend.

Horror Pariah said...

Ahh, that was a real tear-jerker. The poor guy was even rejected by zombies. I'm glad though that they didn't try and make us lose sympathy for George by having him go on a killing spree or somenthing. That would have killed the mood.

I also really liked the art, George is obviously deformed, but probably not someone you would gawk at in disbelief if you saw him in real life.

Horror Pariah said...

For a recluse who never read the papers and only went out once a month, Hans sure knew his neighbors names well and was awfully fashion-conscious! That said, the ending really worked.

Anonymous said...

AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED THE FULL ISSUE OF STRANGE MYSTERIES THIS DOUBLE POST TO ME JUST PROVES HOW MUCH BETTER ATLAS WAS THAN MOST OF ITS COMPETITION.

GOOD EYE TOO ON THE ZOMBIE SWIPES, I LOVE THE COMPARISON IMAGE YOU PUT TOGETHER. THANKS AGAIN!

Tamfos said...

The funny thing is that when I saw the splash I thought to myself "Oh, wow! Kremer! I didn't know he did anything for Atlas." Now I know why I thought it.

But for the record, that is so obviously NOT Syd Shores.

THE APOCOLYTE said...

Fantastic post, Karswell!
It's clear Atlas Tales' were just making their best guess as to the artist, it doesn't feel like Shores to me either. Shores doesn't swipe...Not sure who it is, maybe Anderson, the guy who did that MT cover...

Great catch on those swipes! I love looking for influences in comic artwork, and you don't get more influenced that a complete swipe! Kremer was an amazing artist, and that awesome Black Cat cover is just an example!

Alex. G said...

Another splendid update.

Turok1952 said...

The real message here is that however one may make excuses for one's shortcomings, by choices, ultimately one is in charge of one's own destiny.

George, obviously, never learned that... neither in this mortal vale, nor the next.

sfdoomed said...

Wow, two fantastic Atlas tales with superior artwork, "borrowed" or "influenced" or not (great catch and comparison on that, Karswell).

Both of these stories had classic twist endings and semi moral messages that make pre-codes so special. George had to learn the hard way, that there is no easy way to escape one's social shortcomings; I know people who always want to move to another place, in another state, because they think life will be "better" somewhere else, but they find that their problems only follow them.

And "Gone!" carries a simple atomic age message that although modern society may not be as ideal as one would like, you cannot completely shut yourself out.

Looking forward to the next installment!

Mark B said...

I thought of Al Eadeh when I looked at that first page. Looking at it again, I think he is a contender.
The rest of this issue looks like it might interesting too, Karswell!

Hugomarink said...

Two excellent stories! Fun stuff!