Saturday, March 16, 2019
Mask of the Murderer
Like our last post, todays story is also illustrated by the eerily under appreciated, Al Eadeh, and contains a favorite subject of mine-- MASKS! So if you're planning on killing some time, put the mask on NOW and enjoy this crazy classic from the February 1953 issue of Black Cat #42.
It's an ending we've seen a lot but a great journey!
ReplyDeleteOne interesting thing about the story is the "alive" part of the plastic was obviously meant to be part of what distorted his face, but at the same time, the ending only mentions the transformation in an abstract good and evil way. There might have been a little mix up in the scripting there, but it's a minor quibble.
The splash is great, and page 4 is another one of those "if I had to own one piece of pre-code artwork" things. Two murders! 3 floating victims! Great framing with the hands! A super piece of work.
The mask (and how it's oversized) is a great visual.
Any chance Rod Serling was inspired by this story when he wrote THE TWILIGHT ZONE episode "The Masks"?
ReplyDeleteAw, man! I love mad science and I love Harvey horror titles! The colors on these Black Cat comics are always so great--one foot in the tutti-fruity style I like, but without the sense of laziness that can come with the flat abstraction. I mean, these are emotionally-driven, unrealistic hues for sure, but nothing about them looks at all half-baked. This was not the easy way out.
ReplyDeleteAnd frankly, Eadeh probably needs his very own hardcover collection. That guy was the cat's pajamas. He never disappointed.
Nice art and story here. 2 months? or so, hope all is improving physical wise. Thank you for Mr. K. for providing diversion.
ReplyDeleteThe ending is a fairly common one where the wearer of the mask's face becomes the mask itself. However, this one is a bit unusual as the mask itself isn't bought from a mysterious little shop around the corner that wasn't there yesterday morning, or a cursed object. It's made from a new type of plastic meant to do good for the world. There's nothing supernatural about the mask. What makes the mask evil is the wearer itself who is using the plastic for evil purposes. Perhaps that's why it ends with Archer's face becoming that of the mask.
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ReplyDeleteIn a way, stories like this one can make you wonder how far back the "promiscuous girl getting murdered" cliche goes. Sure, the couple aren't actually doing anything, but it could still put them very loosely into that category.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments on this one you guys-- thanks again to everyone that continues to stop by and actually leave some words! This blog continues on because of YOU!
ReplyDeleteI'm slowly improving bit by bit, JBM, thanks so much for asking! :)
I think you guys might like the next post-- and it's a double header too! Stay tombed...