Though I helped a bit on the Bob Powell's Terror collection, ZOMBIES was actually the very first book I personally assembled for Yoe / IDW back in 2012 (still available HERE!) Those of you who own the book may even remember we featured the complete, original, and incredibly terrifying Al Eadeh inked art pages for today's story within said tome, (courtesy of the collection of Bill Leach.) Well, recently, THOIA friend and follower, Kimberly D (a new fan of the Zombies book too) wrote in asking to see the printed color version from the December 1952 issue of Black Cat #41, and I am of course more than happy to oblige! Here ya go, Kim-- and thanks again to Bryan for the scans-- as this is from the one issue of BC that has still continued to haunt 'n elude me!
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ReplyDeleteVery nice, compact story. No real EC ending but just a creepy little yarn.
ReplyDeleteAl gives each zombie a clean and different look, and the splash has a fun camera angle. I love the work given to each time we see a group of zombies (OK, ghosts, that was always mixed up in pre-code work!) The little parade on page 4 is another great image, and the same for page 5, panel 1.
BTW, page 5, panel 1 is a good class in how to build an interesting panel. The fence on the left and the zombie close-up on the right frame the panel, with the moon in the center and the coffin below it.
The colorist forgot the pajama color between page 5 and 6, though (or maybe some kind of printing issue I don't know about.)
Really a great story.
I love the art in this one too. I like the somewhat ornate zombie caricatures of the town folk here: Their procession is a lovingly crafted danse macabre, and puts me in mind of satirical memento mori like José Guadalupe Posada woodcuts or George Romero shoppers. I like how the lovingly contorted forms of the dead people are mirrored in Elias' own tortured postures, bedridden in those swirling sheets as he watches them set his coffin up for him.
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