Another mean-spirited Atlas tale on deck today, this time from the awesome April 1952 issue of Marvel Tales #106. If you've ever wanted to see a nice time-lapse of a corpse being entombed behind a wall, well, you've absolutely come to the right place! For some reason the Atlas Tales website notes: "Buried Alive" even though our victim is clearly seen being choked to death on the previous page-- did I miss something?
I wonder where page 2, panel 7 originated? It's something you see in a lot of murder stories, comics, movies, tv shows, etc, the dead hand, and in this case, with a marriage ring. It's a real go-to image for these kind of stories.
ReplyDeleteI will say that I would have revised the ending a bit. I don't necessarily think we need the final panel where you hear the ghost talking to one another (after George is dead.). It's OK to leave it a little mysterious, you don't need to spell it out.
Man, what was up with Atlas and some of these? George literally doesn't have a single thought that isn't about killing Ellen!
Tee hee, it's like the Marvel Tales website went out of their way to get it wrong. Or maybe you can't really be killed by ghost stranglers, so "buried alive" describes what somebody thinks is going to happen to George Banner in the sequel. I mean, maybe nobody can tell he's breathing in the very same way that nobody could tell he was alone.
ReplyDeleteI really love that fifth panel on page two. Hitchcock's style by way of Dick Briefer's look. So moody and loose. I love that Ellen is sitting under a huge framed picture of herself. It's possible there might be hidden depths to George's pique that we are not clued into.
It's a neat four-panel progression here, too--really interesting that Bellman did away with the panel gutters for it. Feels brisk. I've really come to love ol' Allen's illustration style. Today it reminds me of Liquid Television cartoons. It sure gets a cool boost in otherworldliness by most of the yellow screen having faded out over time. So pink and purple; just like a nineties new waver. I dig that look a lot.