Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Fountain of Fear
It's almost Thanksgiving, and here's a supernatural appetizer (with an Native American twist!) to whet your whistle from the Jan. '54 issue of Out of the Shadows #11. Looks like this one got the Eerie Pub redraw / retitle treatment in the 70's, becoming "Spirits of Doom" for Witches Tales (twice reprinted), original 50's art by George Roussos and later reworked by Walter Casadei. This issue of Out of the Shadows also features one of my favorite Standard Comics covers, (I don't know who's face is more horrific) ...GCD says it could be a Peppe / Sekowsky team-up. Have a great holiday everyone, we'll be back this weekend with more stomach churnin' catastrophe's for you to choke on!
That is a great cover, and it's got the right mixture of comic/horror. It's the "what now!" version of a living corpse!
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those stories where the evil guy would have been better off just being semi-evil. If he would have threatened the medicine man without actually killing anybody, he would have probably still found the fountain of youth. Sue, take a hostage, but be clear that's just for security; everyone would have been more cooperative! So, a richly deserved fate.
Note: If this happens to you, order the spirits on some side mission before jumping in. It took them a minute to get the alligator, that's about all you'd need. If they don't go, you know they aren't under your control anymore and you might want to start running.
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ReplyDeleteMan I love comics about escaped inmates! I guess I just like my pre-code to be all stripey. Pretty sure I mention this every time you post something by Fred Guardineer, too. I do feel like this guy ran out of steam by the end, though. Must have been up against a premature deadline, or stayed up too late, or something, because the difference between that awesome page one and those weak yellow youthening panels on page six is really obvious. I'd love to think it was some kind of meta commentary on the part of the artist, the illustrations growing more immature in sympathy with the journey of the POV character; but that's probably just making excuses. Always produce your comics from back to front, kids. Better to have a sloppy, hurried-looking page two than to sap the wow factor from your ending.
ReplyDeleteNo criticisms outta me.....I liked the story!.....If anything, it Illustrates what I have adopted a while back....Treat evryone the way you wanna be treated, as actions speak louder than any Religion.....Have a great Thanksgiving, n' thanks for your friendship, as well as your Library-like knowledge of this amazing genre.....I might not say it many times, but I appreciate the time ( way more important than money) you take, to post all these great near-forgotten tales of Horror, mystery, n' Imagination....
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly! Very much appreciate the comments and kind words! Lots more coming from THOIA in December, as well as the New Year, --nothing's gonna stop Mr. Karswell from deliverin the goods!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks to you, Mr. K! Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you managed to eat even more than you cooked!
ReplyDeleteI wondered the same thing as Mestiere. I know this question has become a big cliché, but it's a little like the famous "What would you do if you found Hitler as a baby?" question.
ReplyDeleteEerie, fun story! WOW! Super-creepy art!
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