Tuesday, April 9, 2019
Satan's Suit
Remember back in February when I posted that wonderfully weird wedding dress story, (the one soaked in embalming fluid and slowly killing a woman --click HERE for it) --well, today I have the perfect pair-up for that tale, a similarly saturated, morbid match made in Hell-- or let's call it "For the Groom", if you will! From the Dec '51 issue of Black Cat Mystery #32.
Obviously lifting from the same urban legend but with a twist, I'm going to assume that the shop keeper is Satan, just for my own amusement. Man does he have a lengthy and convoluted plan for ... what? A soul? The guy wasn't even lying about wealth, he was just wearing the suit to LOOK better instead down and out! He seemed like a nice guy!
ReplyDeleteSatan just sucks, evidently!
Page 3, panel 2, I love the twisted hand and the big toothy death grin in the next panel. The art isn't great but there's some fun panels.
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ReplyDeleteNo one objects if a bad guy or a louse suffers a terrible fate in horror comics, when its just a guy off the street falling victim to evil misfortune it just doesn't sit too well with readers, then or now. Had Pete been a crook or con man or in trouble with the law the ending would have been a well deserved comeuppance, since we have no idea how bad Pete was in life, it just feels wrong. As Brian Barnes said, Satan Sucks!
ReplyDeleteThen again, Pete did have a warning from the tuxedo itself about burial at midnight so he couldn't say he wasn't warned.
A chilling tale, thanks Karswell!
Of all the mad arts and sciences, I'd say "tailor" is generally under recognized. The idea of soaking a monkey suit in leprosy and then handing it out to the first beggar that--hey, wait. You know, back when this was a wedding dress, I was delighted that people were writing cautionary stories about dressing up. I myself never put on a suit if it ain't Halloween. Who knows what the heck might happen if I did? But this seems to be a warning sign about class mobility itself.
ReplyDelete"You tried to clean up, get a better job? Shoulda known better, you hobo."
PS, this is one of my very favorite Black Cat Mystery covers. Does that image go with one of the stories inside? I need to know all about this scimitar-swinging cat-masked wrestling man.
ReplyDelete"Out of the backwash of humanity, a customer appears.."
ReplyDeleteOuch!
Got it: never try to improve oneself.
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ReplyDeleteMestiere:
ReplyDeleteThere's an EC story where creeps at a (skid row) blood bank bleed the bums dry (who're expecting a couple of dollars).
Haha, awesome comments... I love when the comments get weirder than the stories! Keep 'em coming, gang!
ReplyDelete