Sunday, March 18, 2018
Acid Test / Grounds For Murder!
WARNING: If you've just eaten, you may want to wait awhile before reading any of these stories-- because dear god *choke* *gag* --the theme for this post is: "Flesh Removal!" And all selections come from the insanely horrific November 1953 issue of the rather not so horrifically titled, Lawbreakers Suspense Stories #15, (this series was apparently Charlton's response to EC's Crime Suspenstories), and to say that these seemingly harmless good guy / bad guy tales of burning acid and insatiable insects are gruelingly mean spirited, ugly, and just downright revoltingly repulsive, is putting it ever so mildly. Yes friends, you can almost hear Dick Giordano and John Befli cackling maniacally as they crank-up the ick factor 10-fold here-- so hold on to your noses and as well as any other dangling exposed bits, because seriously, some of you may not survive this triple header of twisted terror...
Is there a word better than awesome? I'd like to use that right now!
ReplyDeleteI like the two quickies, sometimes the pace of 5-7 page stories is to slow for tales like this. Acid Test is the better of the two (though I don't see how his plan is going to succeed, I mean, he's going to have to explain how her jaw melted off!)
The real winner is grounds for murder. It really *is* a horrible story, just imagining what happened in that grave. I liked it so much I'm not going to complain about how the ant artwork. :) And, of course, a convenient but entertaining end for our bad guy.
Great stuff!
"YAAHHH! My fingers have DISSOLVED!". Does life get any better?
ReplyDeleteI love the kinda-Craig-sorta-Davis cover.
These were so good. I love the ending of the final story!
ReplyDeleteThe Horror of a perfect crime going all wrong, thanks for these crime themed horror posts!
ReplyDeleteThe second and third stories strike me as would-be potential Night Gallery entries, albeit probably too nasty for early 70s TV.
ReplyDeleteLoved the last panel on page three of the last story where he's clutching at the bag of sugar like some kind of fiend. It's a really interesting panel with its symbolism for the story on multiple levels.
ReplyDeleteAlright -- back to my breakfast!
I like how the murderer just snaps by the end of the first story. He isn't covering his tracks or trying to outsmart anyone any more, he's just gotta murder that woman mouth first. That's all. Pillow over her face just won't hit the spot.
ReplyDeleteAnd that third story is totally feverish. I mean, I love that linoleum block looking outsider artwork. I love how the frames are full of nutty horror details, skulls and bats laying around everywhere. I love whatever that hairy thing is behind the coffin in the splash. But mostly I love the top row of page four, which is like some weird delirious Lynchian night terror, like Crispin Glover with ants in his clothes singing a song to the ground about murder. Brrr.
More More More...Please!
ReplyDelete'The second and third stories strike me as would-be potential Night Gallery entries, albeit probably too nasty for early 70s TV.'
ReplyDeleteSome might recall, anthrax2525, the hilarious '70's TV movie 'Ants!', featuring Suzanne Somers.
I like it, as it's an early entry in the many bad films shot here in Beautiful British Columbia.
Apologies, my computer bombed out the day after this last post and it's being worked on as I type this by an Apple Genius. Posts will resume as soon as I get it back-- which will hopefully be in the next day or so. M
ReplyDeleteThank you for your patience.
--Mr. K
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ReplyDelete"That's some real horror right there! That there's people who have never seen an ant!"
ReplyDeleteTrue that, Mestiere, but living in a ground floor apartment I can attest to, though they're slow, some horrific encounters with slugs.