Sunday, September 17, 2017
Return of the Corpse
We had another corpse return in the grimy, poorly printed pages of a Superior Publishing comic way back in 2008 (HERE), and though that one looks like a million bucks compared to today's putrid post, everything else from the art to the writing is just as wonderfully ugly and gruesome, and as gloriously bottom barrel batshit as the other. I mean seriously, how loathsome can you go? From the July 1953 issue of Journey into Fear #14.
I had to re-read a part of it as I missed part of the plot. I can't get over how the corpse looks a lot like Norman Osborne at the end!
ReplyDeleteThis is really a good example of the kind of more lurid and simple corpse revenge stories that filled a lot of competitors. Quick, a little confusing, sloppy art and sloppy printing. Still, I love it. It's just ... simple and grisly.
There's definitely a wood-cut styling to the artwork that I'm digging here, even in its more immature aspects (like human anatomy, for an ironic example). I really like the way this guy renders faces, too. They were obviously trying to save money on the blue ink pass in this issue--there's some, but only in tiny spots and 25% screens--which is a shame, because I think the whole thing would have looked nicer skewed more blue and less yellow. Stories like this look all brown to me, like a paneled hunting lodge or a leather pioneer getup.
ReplyDeleteI liked the Morgue Keeper's character. I was unsure if he was showing a really black humour or if he really was that cold, but I got a few smiles out of him. I thought the art really suited the story well and had a disturbing feel to it. Almost like old broadsheets from centuries ago.
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