Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Faceless Ones / "Going...Down!" / The Strange Shop!

3's a charm as we plunge deeper down, down, down into the nether regions of satanic horror this Devilcember! Three Atlas tales for you: The Faceless Ones (from the March 1954 issue of Adventures into Terror #29), "Going...Down!" (from the December 1951 issue of Adventures into Terror #7), and finally The Strange Shop! (from the April 1954 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #28.) Sit back and let Myron Fass, Joe Maneely, and Ed Moline lead you along the THOIA Highway to Hell today.






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A few more Atlas Tales on the way this week too from Colan, Ayers, Tuska and more! Say your prayers now...

13 comments:

Trevor M said...

My two thumbs (and a devil tail) up for these fun ones. Three trap doors to hell in one post. Well done, Karswell.

Hmm -- Sunday morning. Time to wander down to the church down the hill before it's too late for my soul. I hope I don't burst into flames as I walk in the door.

Pappy said...

Aw, nuts. I guess "Going Down" had a different meaning then than it does now. My devil's trident was all a'quiver in anticipation.

sfdoomed said...

LOL at the posts above!

Three Atlas tales and a cup o' joe is a heck of a way to start the morning.

"The Faceless Ones" had a great ending as writhing bodies plunge into the depths of Hell, but the first half of the story was pretty lame. How could the devils not recognize human features like eyes and mouths when they've been torturing damned souls for millennia?

"Going Down" was a good morality tale, but the writer needs to make up his mind whether Harry works at the Royal Crest or the Hobbs. This story makes Hell out to be an orgy of stabbing and shooting, which Harry gets exposed to just for THINKING about a crime! Talk about "crimethink"!

"The Strange Shop" is probably the best written of the three. Those cops are a-holes tearing up the shop like that and shoving him in the face. I have a feeling he'll get even with them some day.

Anonymous said...

GREAT ART ON THEM ALL! A NICE SHOWCASE OF STORIES WITH VERY SIMILAR PLOTLINES YET ALL VERY MUCH DIFFERENT THAN THE ONE BEFORE IT. THANKS KARS!

Anonymous said...

more of this type of story plz. let's shiver n shake and quiver n quake before the holidays get us all! santa's little elf

Mr. Karswell said...

More Atlas on the way this week. There's so many goddamn pre-code stories about The Devil though, the real challenge is finding ones that don't use the same "selling of the soul" plotline, but alas you are undoubtably going to get a few of those in the coming weeks as well anyway... plusa few other surprises, including some Flash Forward posts among other thingies.

Thanks everyone! Hail you-know-who!

Cindy M said...

Purple robes and green heads. Who's the fashion-challenged artist again??

I like the artwork on "The Strange Shop."

Won't ask a personal question, but I've been occasionally curious as to how much these comics cost. I'd like to purchase some "Dark Shadows" originals, but one I found for sale online is $75; no way. Paid enough for the DVDs; one comic is actually more $ than a 40-episode DVD! I'll pass.

Anonymous said...

Some really good posts so far this month Karswell, and I am very glad to see you completing ignoring the holiday spirit :)

THE APOCOLYTE said...

Three good ones -- love that face in the last panel!

Prof. Grewbeard said...

Planet Hell, i like it!

Horror pariah said...

I agree, great writing on all three. I wonder if the first inspired the TWILIGHT ZONE episode DEATH SHIP? 'Going Down' really worked as the splash implied Harry was the villain(never trust a blond guy with a black mustache) and that Macaw was some greedy miser who was going to get what was coming to him, but it turned out quite the opposite.

I wonder if the third story inspired Amicus's film FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE? 'Naughty, shouldn't have done that'...

Sonicsticky said...

I thought the first one was just too predictable, but it was interesting just how villainous they made the old man.
The Faceless Ones was my favourite, even if as someone pointed out they should have recognized humans- a bit of poetic license I guess! The ending was so unexpected that I forgive it.
Going Down was good as well, a taut morality tale.
The last one left out a bit of surprise. He just looked a little too satanic. But I loved the first page artwork and the into text (Broods like a motionless vulture...). Very nice.

Bill the Butcher said...

Mr Young Hoodlum looks about 60.

He's probably young compared to ol' Lucifer, though.