Tuesday, December 18, 2018
The Thing That Killed!
Three's a charm, as we take a look at one more woppin' Doll Man and Doll Girl monster mash, this time from the December 1952 issue of Doll Man #43, and illustrated by Art Gates. It's a musky (haha) tale of science gone horribly wrong, and one highlighted by a terrifically disgusting looking creature! And oh my stars, Doll Girl really turns up the fists in this one-- I seriously love that the sound effect of a hat being pulled down over someone's eyes is "WHAP!" Hmmm, I wonder who chose the color scheme of the Doll Plane though?
1952, deep in the horror comics age, but still handled like a superhero story (which is good, there's no reason to have everything be a horror story.)
ReplyDeleteI like the monster design, but can't shake the feeling I've seen it, or at least parts of it slapped together, from somewhere else, but it's still very cool. I love it's black eyes and the extra parts and goo and whatnot coming off it's tentacles.
A fun early 50s superhero tale, some good action and dynamic art.
I enjoyed your "Dollman" run not having read many of his stories outside of his 70's appearances. They were a fun trio of tales. Todays effort had me saying "ohhh, yuhh, ghaa, eeeaaa, eeeee, eeeeee, owooo, ooof, yiiii, and yiiii". Not to mention bang, krunk, krak, pow, bawam, zoom (or was that wooz), bang, klung, plock (personal favorite plock!) whoosh, krash, bam, and wop. There should have been a "krack!" above the pool table just for TV "Batman" perfection. Thank you Mr.K! "Applause!"
ReplyDeleteDidn't think things could get any better, then..the Doll-Plane!
ReplyDeleteI like the l'il couple's philosophy: Punch first - ask questions later.
I love how after Musk shoots Johann Durfo, one of his henchmen announces to him that he's dead.
ReplyDeleteA few points to consider-
ReplyDeleteIf I didn't know better, I could have sworn H P Lovecraft was moonlighting as a monster artist, Cthulu junior.
"If man can create living protoplasm, he can create life itself."
Artificial cells predicted in a 50's comic.
https://www.popsci.com/researchers-make-artificial-cells-that-can-replicate-themselves
"We can replace outworn human tissue with new materials, made in a scientist's laboratory!"
Again, stem cells or nanobots predicted by a 50's comic.
Was the comic's author Nostradamus?
DM: "That will start a pretty violent conflagration! Better call the fire department, Doll Girl!"
ReplyDeleteReally wanted to see DG use the phone!
'Fire johnnies' - never heard that expression before.
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ReplyDelete'He could have chosen to just stomp on them, rather than tie them up'
ReplyDeleteGood catch, Mestiere! How hard would that have been to tie their little hands together?
That page seven is one of the best octopus battles I've seen. Pretty exciting stuff. I sometimes get a little thrill from the overuse of "science has trod where man was never meant to go" Luddism central to much atomic-age horror, and I've never seen it boiled down quite so succinctly as it is at the top page two. That panel's a keeper.
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