(Cover art by Al Avison)
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Death Pact
I've been a bit leery about posting Harvey horror stuff anymore since the release of those complete collections, but seriously a week won't go by without someone writing in and asking me to post something by Rudy Palais. So here we go, gettin' some sweat drippin' Death rollin' for November finally... from the August 1952 issue of Tomb of Teror #3.
(Cover art by Al Avison)
(Cover art by Al Avison)
Steamy and atmospheric, but I don't know where they pulled that ending from? What the hell? I wonder if that jade figure is going to sweat buckets like he did in life? Rudy Palais could have drawn a sequel: The Sweating Buddha
ReplyDelete"I've been a bit leery about posting Harvey horror stuff anymore since the release of those complete collections.."
ReplyDeleteWith all due respect, why?
The stuff is Public Domain, so you're free to post them as you wish!
Besides, don't you include some of those tales in Haunted Horror?
The more people who are introduced to this fascinating side of the Harvey Comics line, the better!
As Oliver Twist so eloquently put it..."Please, sir, may I have another?"
That's not my point... I just feel like everybody's probably seen all of this stuff by now, I mean, clearly I'm still posting em and putting them in Haunted Horror, but to be honest, we use Harvey stories mainly when we can't find rarer, more obscure stuff to utilize first. Just trying to keep it fresh!
ReplyDelete"I just feel like everybody's probably seen all of this stuff by now..."
ReplyDeleteYou'd be surprised at what people haven't seen.
Not everyone has access to a comics shop...or can afford to pay for the PS reprints.
(Haunted Horror has a much more consumer-friendly price-point!)
Besides, your commentaries and insight liven up the stories' re-presentation!
Please don't stop.
While most of us may have seen some of these comics before, there is no harm in an encore presentation from time to time. TV viewers watch reruns on TV when a favorite episode comes on, especially when the copy they recorded is either missing or unplayable.
ReplyDeleteI realize you want to keep adding fresh material to this, the world's greatest comics collection, but therein lies the problem: Only post new material and have fewer postings or repost earlier comics and worry about THOIA going 'stale'.
Considering THOIA archives are now ten years old (where did the time go?) an encore presentation of some of the earlier posts won't do any harm.
July 12, 2007, the first post of THOIA, was there a 10th anniversary post or did I miss it? My memory is getting a little rusty in my old age.
It figures after I post an idea pops into my head, if a repost has to be posted, have THOIA followers have some fun with it, ask for suggestions for a brand new title for an old comic post. Make a new funny, horrific or over the top Ed Wood movie title for the comic. It will make an old post fresh for THOIA followers.
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion, I hope you can use it.
Never trust a man who smokes a jade cigar.
ReplyDeleteOh man, only Palais could have nailed that lurid forced-poisoning panel in the middle of page three. That is just a showstopper right there. A career-maker!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this one. I kept feeling like it was going to land with an evil racist thud; but, you know, it could have been a lot worse. I mean, all of Rudy's figures are garish caricatures, and while this story does trade on the exotic patina of orientalist alienation, the mysterious Chinese dude doesn't have a racist pun for a name, doesn't speak in an embarrassing colloquial patois, and isn't even the villain, really. It's kind of a refreshing feeling for precode, frankly. Anyway, there's your dose of unasked for cishet cracker comment-splaining for the day! YMMV.
I do love those Harvey books. But it's nice to see this stuff here too, since I can't actually afford them all.
The scene with the female character surprised me too. It's such a violent answer to that "switching the drinks back and forth" cliche.
ReplyDelete"Stud" Kelton doesn't exactly live up to his name in that scene - he could've just poured out the drink and made the most of that date. ("Off-screen," I mean.)
I enjoy all your posts, even if I've seen them before. That said, Palais saves this one. It's lunacy. What was the deal? What does "repay the debt" mean? What did the "Obese Oriental" get out of this? Why did he bite his fingernails (page 2, panel 1!)
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing the number of people that tried to kill Kelton within a year! Idol or not, that seems like pretty awful luck! I'd rather not be a target than constantly escape by the skin of my teeth!
This is the kind of horror story that jogged a lot of imaginations. It's all questions, no answers, all in a neat, sweaty package.
That's it, I'm legally changing my name to "Stud" Kelton!
ReplyDeleteI understand your worry about posting previous material, but there's still a few newbies (like me) out there who've only recently found deep love for these wonderful, crazy stories.