Sunday, June 9, 2019

The Phantom of Lonesome Swamp!

As I've been mentioning all this month, our new Classic Monsters of Pre-Code Horror Comics collection, SWAMP MONSTERS, is finally surfacing in just a few days, and aside from all of the great tales we have included from: Basil Wolverton, Jack Katz, Lin Streeter, Harry Harrison, Ken Landau and lots more-- you're also going to love Stephen Bissette's incredible introduction! And today's full story preview is one that is indeed included in the collection, and is one of three Lou Cameron swamp creatures to be featured! I posted this one here way back in 2010 as well, so long-time THOIA followers consider this an encore presentation! And be sure to pick-up / order SWAMP MONSTERS --COMING JUNE 12th everywhere that great books are sold! More info *HERE!















6 comments:

Mestiere said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brian Barnes said...

Old Reb is really underestimating what it'll take to make "the south fights again!"

Lots of great art in this one, though the paneling is a bit too tight in places, this could have used an extra page and expanded paneling.

The splash is awesome, page 5/panel 6 is even better.

I like the class of horror stories where a character finally figures out the trick (the ghost can't hurt him, only scaring him into killing himself) only to be done in by a technicality (Reb the Mud Zombie, who is physical.)

I wonder how many stories -- horror or otherwise -- are tied around old confederate money? I remember a bunch of them off hand, and a number of detective mysteries.

Guy Callaway said...

That splash is for the ages!

Mr. Cavin said...

I love page five. I like how the sky and the land and the water and the skeleton are all the very same shade of yellow. Obviously, the process on that surprise ghost panel is totally amazing--it looks for all the world like a charcoal gravestone rubbing. I don't know if the association was intended, but it really recalls field trips to the old downtown historical museum when I was a kid. It has a pretty little walled graveyard in the back, with thin old headstones tilted over by the roots of an ancient holly tree. We'd make rubbings on butcher's paper, scraping our numbed fingers on the rough stone because we had to take off our mittens in the cold to peel the crayons.

In the gift shop I remember buying packs of assorted confederate money for a buck or so. I have always loved the look and design of money. This stuff was often printed in red of greenish ink on vellum, which is why it lasted I guess. I ended up with a bunch of it because the school took us to that damn museum every year like clockwork. Somehow, even though it's been less than forty years, I still lost track of that treasure somewhere. I guess I should have made a map, huh?

Grant said...

The idea of a treasure that turns out to be Confederate money shows up in a few comedies too. Coincidentally, I saw that joke just yesterday in a ROCKY AND BULLWINKLE episode!

Bill the Butcher said...

By now, I suppose, Confederate money would be worth a fair amount to collectors.

So Reb lives right next to a quicksand pool without ever falling into it? And without knowing that if you fall into quicksand it'll just buoy you up and float you to the surface,as long as you don't struggle? That's about the level of intelligence displayed by Reb throughout the story.