The contents page tagline for
"The Mark of Satan's Claw" from the January 1972 issue of
Creepy #43 warns,
"Be wary of who you place your trust in." Very good advice if you too are someday planning a trip to Llangwell. (FYI: Leave the children at home!)
It has some of the plot of "Horror Hotel," but with a different twist ending.
ReplyDeleteSome great moody art in this one, from the graveyard to the crumbling church, but the artist had a real problem with action scenes, the two devil attacks were very static looking.
ReplyDeleteLast panel that classic bit Warren mags included a lot, the "person watching the transformation" bit. Always loved those!
For a small town in the middle of nowhere, there seem a surplus of children available to be dispatched.
ReplyDeleteThe police with the poles remind me of the line in the Beatles 'A Day in the Life': "4,000 holes in Blackburn Lancashire"... holes dug in he mid-1960s to find the heat from dead victims rising in the cold air of the Moors...
I got that Horror Hotel vibe from this as well, it definitely captured the ominous atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for explaining the Beatles lyrics, Keir, I never knew what that meant!
Thanks for the comments... is everyone enjoying the Creepy Fest, or should we get back to the precode?
Wait. the Beatles lyric is taken from a Daily Mail article printed on January the 17th, 1967 (and included in a song about reading a newspaper). The story was about potholes in the road: "There are 4000 holes in the road in Blackburn Lancashire, one twenty-sixth of a hole per person, according to a council survey. If Blackburn is typical then there are over two million holes in Britain's roads and 300 000 in London." Or at least this is the story I've been led to believe.
ReplyDeleteAs for Today's story, well, for one thing, that cute Spanish town is totally stuck in the seventies. Also, honestly, that lady was showing off her claw from the get-go.
Thanks Mr C, I think Keir's version fits THOIA better but it's still good to learn something new (twice) everyday! :)
ReplyDeleteThe art has kind of a Nestor Redondo feel, which is a good thing!
ReplyDeleteKeep it up with the "Creepy"s. Wouldn't mind a few "Cousin Eerie"s either. Any from the earliest issues?
I'll have a few more Creepy tales and maybe something else from the b/w mag catagory to finish out the month... we'll see how it goes for April. Thanks again for the comments!
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