Tuesday, August 2, 2016
Round-Trip Ticket!
Sticking with the precode crime comic theme (see our last post too), here we have the gruesomely infamous "tongues" tale from the March 1953 issue of Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #11. Scans are provided by my awesome friend and HAUNTED HORROR contributor, Tommy Stanziola, who warned me ahead of time that his copy of this issue was badly stapled and the color printing slightly off register... but despite some blurry dialog sliding into the gutter, and cherry Kool-Aid mustaches on the ladies, I believe you guys are really going to enjoy this one-- just keep your hand clamped over your mouth near the final pages! Another gem from Tommy coming up next too!
Page 7, well, panel whatever (not sure how to count it) is very risqué for 53.
ReplyDeleteThis one revolves around lots of "ironic" deaths, barrels along at a pretty nice pace and gives us a "happy" ending (using lots of quotes today!) The artist wasn't the greatest with facial expressions and tended to exaggerate them to achieve whatever emotion they were showing, which shows some pretty wild panels, especially the last one which less shock and more chocking on a ham bone!
Thanks, Tommy, for the scans!
Awesome! Man, the inside and the outside of that little shack don't really seem to match up much. I guess when you have a two-story palace with a curved staircase and a fireplace larger than my dining room, it's a pretty good anti-theft idea to dress the exterior up as a wee little hillbilly cabin--there's nothing to see here, you cat burglars. In a similar vein, I'm charmed by any diner that situates its cozy little rear booth right in the middle of the dining area, close the glass doors. All the convenience of getting a little out-of-the way solitude while you're still charmingly close to the service counter.
ReplyDeleteIt's strange how the red pass is off but the registration on all the rest of that skin is nearly perfect. Somebody was really paying attention!
Excellent story, Mr. Stanziola! Thanks!
I kept picturing the creepy host in the old house talking like the Crypt Keeper for some odd reason. Of course this is kind of a "What the heck actually happened here?" kind of tale. The only explanation is that it was quite possibly a "dream"--yet the only innocent character's voice has somehow returned, and that the missing bus driver was actually the devil.
ReplyDeleteI too am amused by the house being described as run down--yet the inside looks nice and cozy. Also the nagging wife was hilarious.
Brian Barnes is very right about Page 7.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to less obvious kinds of titillation, the host's body is given almost a sort of "beefcake" look, that clashes with his scary face.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete