Friday, August 30, 2019

I Can't Stop Running!

Time has officially run out for our August 2019 Atlas Fest, as we nail the creepy coffin shut with one final terror tale, also from the May 1953 issue of Mystery Tales #11 (see our last lurid post too.) I hope everyone enjoyed the selection of yarns presented, and we'll definitely take a look at more Atlas in the mix before 2019 winds down in the coming months. For now, Sam Kweskin does a nice, moody job here with a simple, spooky story-- I just hope that some of you don't miss the point! *wink! See ya next month, fiends...









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7 comments:

  1. Brian Barnes8/30/2019

    Ha! That's a fun one. That said, Old Jasper must be something more than human, I suspect all the people that came to find the diamond tortured him and then met the same fate, so he's either got a healing ability or he's a ghost! Why was there any reason he went through the torture when he could have just said "it's upstairs?" How did he survive the strangulation? And after that climb the stairs? He's a ghost, I tell you!

    Let's give a little bit of love to Atlas and it's horror fonts. There were a couple different ones and I think you hit most of them in your last couple posts ... the one in this tale is my favorite. Always bold and black, they really jump up and serve the same place a host would usually go.

    Thanks for Atlas month! Always a treat.

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  2. Mestiere8/30/2019

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. Glowworm8/30/2019

    You just got to love that ending! At first, I thought that the stairs would never end--but a treadmill of doom is awesome.
    I agree with Brian on Jasper being a ghost of sorts--it would certainly make sense as to how he managed to lock the door on Martin afterwards.

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  4. JMR7778/30/2019

    I had expected something supernatural to cause Marty Sneed to keep running, such as the black diamond taking over his body and force him to run or a demon would pop out of the diamond and chase Sneed in a race for his life.

    Then again, maybe the black diamond has granted Jasper Kane immortality, but only long life, not eternal youth.

    It was a fun tale to read. Thanks!

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  5. JBM8/31/2019

    Enjoyed this a lot. The wonderfully gritty art, the fullness of the panels, the stuttering build up of tension, and the left field ending all combine for a great tale. Thank you Mr.K.

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  6. Mr. Cavin9/01/2019

    I like the naturalistic, documentary feel to the editing in this one--especially during the middle, when Marty is interviewing the townsfolk. The very lifelike character art in this makes me think a lot was drawn from life (or photos), and I got a little distracted trying to keep up with all the celebrities I thought Sneed looked like from panel to panel.

    Atlas month has rocked! What'll you cook up next?

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  7. Grant9/01/2019

    Mestiere's "Mr. Paige" story is pretty fascinating. I know Budd Hopkins from interviews and articles and the book MISSING TIME, but that story is very new to me. It's nice to see "Fortean" things here once in a while.

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