Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Operation Horror!
As Ted Cruz announces he's running for president, THOIA launches a more sensible, though no less equally neanderthal-headed operation of horror, --it's the final freak-out from the Feb-March 1952 issue of Eerie #5! This entire issue is now posted here, check the archives for "Master of the Cats", The Knife of Jack the Ripper", and our last post "I Painted Only Terror."
Let me be the first end to make the obvious joke: comparing Cruz to a murderous, lumbering cave-man isn't fair to the cave-man!
ReplyDeleteThough maybe Cruz has a point, he doesn't trust science, and why not, look at what it does! :)
I love the crappy edit on the last speech balloon on page 2. Good art, silly story, terrible ending. Of course, the scientist just doesn't put 2+2 together after, what, 3 to 4 nights of drinking the potion?
BTW, this thing reminds me of WWBN in the fact that he has ripped, green pants, and has the same kind of facial transformation scene you'd see in WWBN (more than likely lifted from Universal's use of it.)
It's a predictable story, though maybe in '52 still had some sense. We are facing the umpteenth version of Jekyll, plus the old literary prejudice that evolution (or regression) is an individual process and can be stimulated by some medical treatment or something. Edmond Hamilton used it in "The Man who evolved" (1931), Jack Arnold used it in "Monster of the Campus" (1958), and Jack Kirby kept on using it in the 70's in a nice way to improve (at least temporarily) the insufferable twit Jimmy Olsen. Unfortunately (?) evolution is in the species, not in the individual. Lovecraft knew better, as many of his "transformations" are related to "atavism" or inter-species relations. Not much of a prehistoric man in this story, looks more like a cousin of mine than a Neanderthalian. I think there's nothing wrong in having a Neanderthalian for President by the way. Minorities deserve their chance.
ReplyDeleteThat is the kind of story that someone comes up with at the last moment to fill in some spare pages. Just about the most half-assed effort I have seen.
ReplyDeleteWell I've said it before, and I'm sure I'll say it many many more times here, they can't all be winners... cuz they aren't!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to point out specifically that when some of us poke fun at one of these stories, at least talking for myself -- I still love reading them. We are just adding to the fun of commenting, and every story you publish, rather it's a gem or, well, this story, I love it, and I suspect so does everybody.
ReplyDeleteExcept that Atlas ass. :)
Any snark we might poor out does mean we don't love these any less (again, talking for me.) We all appreciate the time you put into this!
I agree with Brian. I love'em just the way they are, all of them. Though I prefer little bouncing/floating heads. And female vampires.
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ReplyDeleteWell this is exactly my kind of story! If I a going to read a half-whatever knee-whatever space filler, I want it to be a werewolf story like this one, where the mad science is a hoot ("Every time I do the exact same thing, the exact same thing happens!") and the resulting creature fights an ape ("Don't be a fool, Diane--'survival of the fittest' means they'll eventually kill one another!"). Marvelous!
ReplyDeleteTo some of us, the greatest story of this general kind is the Outer Limits episode THE SIXTH FINGER (which is mainly about a character evolving FORWARD, but it also has a quick moment of this kind). But any story of this general kind interests me, like THE ANCESTOR by August Derleth. Like this story, that one has a scientist "devolving" over and over, and a narrator staying at his home who takes the whole story to realize it.
ReplyDeleteAlong with everything else, this story has the cherished horror film cliché of the cute couple in a car being terrorized by the creature. All that's missing is actually seeing them on Lovers' Lane.
ReplyDeleteMy dude has more wardrobe continuity issues than Bruce Banner.
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