From an age when brains looked more like armadillos, it's yet another revolting scientific development (aka
FULL FREE PREVIEW) from
HAUNTED HORROR #16! Originally presented in the May 1953 issue of
Mysteries #1 --the artist is also an (
Iger Shop) mystery.
The mysterious artist is OK, really. He happens to be a firm believer in the fact that big fat men have big fat brains, that's all. Bigger than their skulls, actually.
ReplyDeleteBut I like his art. For no reason at all I have a feeling that Doctor is graphically based on a REAL person. A famous "someone" or just someone he knew, maybe.
I also think the doctor's depiction is strongly "ethnic".
I don't want to be unpleasant, but it reminds me of some old German caricatures of the Jews.
As for the story... Schlocky, I think that's the word. Couldn't the doctor just ABDUCT Fatty and threaten him with just the same cleaver? And what's with the spooky hand?.
Oh wait: Fatty was a harsh businessman, so it's OK... "Those grabbing hands / Grab all they can".
By the way, page 2 makes me think that the mysterious artist might be the same one who drew "Corpses... Coast to Coast!" (1954), another "schlocky" story.
ReplyDeleteYes, also Iger Shop (assembly line artists)
Deleteha, ha... I see we were a pill popping society even back in the '50s.
ReplyDeleteFunny how 50+ years later this story still holds up... except that brains don't look like armadillos anymore.
That's a damn big brain, alright. Like something from a giant dinosaur instead of a regular-sized person. This story was feverish and maniacal and defies all the usual airtight logic that goes into these stories.And the art suits it perfectly.
ReplyDeleteThe concept and story aren't awful but the execution is baffling. The graveyard hand ... subplot?? ... is just so inessential to the plot one wonders why it's there.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if two separate artists worked on the faces and the rest of the pages. It's doubtful, but you never know with the production line shops. Sometimes they seem odd.
One thing I like about this tale is that nobody is likable. Not the stock guy, not the doctor. You just hope everybody gets it, which they do. There isn't a lot of deck stacking in this one.
In a funny way it's DONAVAN'S BRAIN with a dark comedy ending.
ReplyDeletethanks for the comments, you brainiacs! One more tale coming up from the new issue of HAUNTED HORROR --yep, you are witnessing a HH / THOIA first-- #16 presented here in its entirety!
ReplyDeleteStay tombed...