Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The Strange Circus of Dr. Namirha
Here's the last of the bat shit crazy tales from the August 1952 issue of Forbidden Worlds #8 --and yikes, what an issue! Also, check the last 3 story posts, as well as King Ward's awesome "The Eyes of Death" in the 2008 archive too. Okay, so today's carnival of creeps was originally intended for a larger project I'm currently working on (details coming soon), but it didn't quite make the final cut, mostly because of the unfortunately sloppy coloring / print job. Anyway, it's still certainly a fun entry in the circus "freaks" scream of things, though I sure would love to have seen more of the Seal Girl at the bottom of page 2! Roughly squeaking, if you're like me, and a fan of 40's Warner Brothers cartoons, then you might just leave this one with the memorable "You're a gazelle..." line stuck in your horny little head. PLUS! An Oliver Cromwell bonus for you history buffs.
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ReplyDeleteThis is one of those horror stories that is really an adventure story, probably by an author who never really got out of his earlier adventure story days.
ReplyDeleteWe have our gun-swinging hero, we have our magic enemy and his victims, and we have what happens a lot in these stories -- the out-of-the-blue rule explanation.
BTW, for the son of Satan, Dr. Namirha has some of the worst satanic powers. Sure, transmogrification is fine, and scare you to death is OK, but he can steal your soul without being able to determine if you are dead or not? Yeesh!
If there is a war between good and evil, good always wins because it's obviously writing the bizarre rule set evil has to labor under!
You're right, seal girl is a really winner, and, extra bonus, can balance things on her nose! :)
I'm not so impressed by the art. Some good panels (the panther, Ahriman jumping on the girl), but what really struck me is the silliness of the plot.
ReplyDeleteI mean, the fiend doesn't just prowls the alleys in search of victims, no, he looks for patients with heart problems and SCARES them to death... "I'm the terrible Ahriman...BOO!" You have to read to believe it.
Can't the powerful Ahriman just SLAY people, plain and simple?
I bet this is the same writer of the last one story. Dr. Namirha, Dr. Esproc... and I still think he might be Ed "Dr. Acula" Wood, as he clearly doesn't realize how ridiculous is the stuff he's writing.
Loved the poor drunk, a classic in many films and comics (well, not so many Horror comics).
Dr. Ymodos sounds really scary!
This reminded me of the 1979 "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" where a dog has a human head. I saw it when I was 11 and have had nightmares ever since! This story should finally wipe that movie from my mind!
ReplyDeletesee also The Mephisto Waltz ('71)
DeleteMestiere and Brian Barnes' comments include one of the first things I found surprising, a gun-toting insurance agent. Although the idea of an insurance INVESTIGATOR (which I guess isn't the same thing) who leads a dangerous life actually IS a category of adventure story (like the show BANACEK).
ReplyDeleteHe also reminds me of that monster movie cliché of the scientist who's able to order around every kind of person who would NORMALLY be the authority figure, in this case the second hospital administrator -
"I don't know whether to cancel the performance or put you in a strait-jacket."
"You'll do neither."
Man, this was awesome. I can really relate to this insurance guy, who threatens to shoot his way into a carnival wagon in one panel only to remember his gun's locked in the car by the next. Oops. With me it's usually my phone, but still.
ReplyDeleteI love the art here, especially all the wild Fletcher Hanksian people-headed monster and released specter panels. You will die by your own evil creation, indeed!
More Seal Girl!
ReplyDeleteYou just like Seal Girl because she can balance a ball on her nose. I've been with a few girls who could tie a cherry stem with their tongue (in the bar), and later learned (in more private quarters) it was trick! Don't fall for the ball on the nose trick, Karswell!
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