Saturday, July 11, 2020
The Island
If the summer heat has got you down, why not take a blood curdling dip into the high seas of screams with this Cal Massey "Marvel Masterpiece" from the August 1951 issue of Marvel Tales #102. Boy, there are some really chilling faces in this one, so chilling in fact, that you might not even need to take that doomed dip cuz your blood is probably already freezing over just looking at that shivery splash...
Well now that's a horrible and depressing ending!
ReplyDeleteI have to say Marta is a pretty sexy corpse, not the worst way to spend eternity!
This one is pretty washed out, not sure if it's the original printing or it's age, but there's some really striking panels in it. Page 2, panel 6 sticks right out with the heavy reds and yellow.
All the corpses are great. They all have a unique look and are more scary than your normal horror mag eye-hanging out corpses. Not Ghastly good corpses but then what is?
I really like this one, the ending caught me. I was expecting him to show up again at the island and "the end" but the "endlessly wandering" ending is a real gut punch.
This one is sad. I mean, I know it's understandable to deny it, as Bob did manage to wash ashore on an island, but how does one not even notice that they're dead to begin with? I also question how long he was on that island because he looks normal (alive) when he's there but once he leaves for home, he looks exactly like the others from the island. How fast does it really take for a body to decay? Or maybe,once he stepped foot on the island, it was proof that he was actually dead and that's why he appeared to be a living corpse when he returned back home.
ReplyDeleteAt least the undead on the island are friendly although it's the first time I've seen the undead actually eat real food--not brains or flesh.
The undead look pretty awesome too, Mara isn't so bad looking. At least she's kind.
I feel sorry for Bob. It wasn't his fault for leaving the island, he didn't know he had died. Sometimes the human mind can play tricks on you. Yet I really hope he finds the island again. The poor guy's lonely.
I like the way the island is imagined as a dense thicket of gnarled trees on a thin strip of sandy beach. The people were spooky, but so was the setting. It's very atmospheric. I can't decide if this afterlife for drowned sailors is being gently ironic or not. Do avalanche victims bundle up in some eternal Alpine chalet? Do faulty skydivers forever wander unfinished basement crawlspaces? Are we doomed to wile away our reward gazing out upon the very element that snuffed us? "Don't leave the island, Bob Archer. Because a little boat is an even wittier punchline than Gilligan's Island, here." At least on the island he could hide from the water in those trees.
ReplyDeleteI've always wanted to see this kind of set-up a movie. The protagonist is surrounded by the perfectly friendly dead--but they are so gross and upsetting that he can't really handle it. Sort of a reverse Weekend at Bernie's where the title character is alive, and all the fun-loving party goers are Griffin Dunne from An American Werewolf in London.
I don't care if this makes me weird, I also felt this way a few days ago with another story about the dead coming back -- if the man I loved was lost at sea (or anywhere, for that matter) and then miraculously came back to me? Even if he looked like death warmed over, I don't think I could reject him. I'd still want to be with him no matter what he looked like. I'd never try to send him away!
ReplyDeleteThis is a highly effective,if somewhat oft told, story. Shades, no pun intended, of a Grimm Brothers story and the Flying Dutchman. The decision to not colour everything was inspired. The washed out effect adds to the atmosphere. Excellent.
ReplyDeleteMr. Cavin's question reminds me of a short story I've only read twice (I can't even think of the author's name) called "One Man's Harp." It's one of those stories where one character accidentally gets another character's afterlife.
ReplyDeleteThanks Grant! I did a little digging, and it looks like it was written by author/publisher/women's health activist Babette Rosmond (who is a very interesting person). I can't find a copy online yet, but I'll certainly keep my eyes peeled, as they say.
ReplyDeleteI don't have much to add here, but all the above comments are stellar, and I want to thank the people who posted them. I like them as much as the story!
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