We haven't seen a silly Purple Claw horror adventure around here in quite a while, so here's a good one from the March 1953 issue of Purple Claw #2. Boy oh boy, Brown and Gantz sure could draw a sexy lady... I do wonder if they've ever seen an actual spider in real life though? Hmmm...
Ah, spiders and ants, the nemesis of many a pre-code artist!
ReplyDeleteThe purple claw, like a lot of pre-code heroes, is certainly a dope! First off, he walks right into a super obvious web even though he knows that's the danger of the pass, and then somebody just lifts the purple claw from him? I'd never take that off if I had it! Heck I'd wish it to bond to me! Only the silver age Green Lantern lost his weapon more!
The art is a lot of fun. Of course there's the good (evil) girl art, who can't wait to embrace our hero (that'll get the young male readers hearts pumping!). I love page 8, panel 4, even though it's more muppet than spider I really feel sorry the poor sap!
The purple claw is a bit of a god in the machine device, as a lot of 40s-50s heroes power items were, so the story has to spend time getting it away from him. Fun read! I like the horror/super-hero mixes we got with the horror comics in that age.
From the narrator's descriptive prose to the comments of the driver who spoke what a real person would say (not 'Gosh! What an amazing glove!' but "Are there other such gloves like that?") this was a well written tale. The only weak area were the comments of the Baron and the Countess, a bit of subtlety on their parts would have improved the story, but back then baddies had to be obvious for the readers to recognize.
ReplyDeleteAs always, Karsewll, thanks for the post
These monsters look like UFOs with legs. Kinda feel like a Wolvertoon aliens. I got no problem with them, but it is curious that anyone would call them spiders. I mean, I don't mean to gate-keep an entire order of Arthropoda, but along with everything else, the artists definitely hash up those eight very things everybody else knows makes a spider a spider. Fur? Check. Lots and lots of eyes? Check. Legs? You know, several.
ReplyDeleteBut that's just charm. The absurdity that really turns my head is this idea of a airtight web. I mean, literal word-definition-wise, these are pretty much polar opposites. A web is a net, a sheet consisting of knotted-together ropes. A net's every use is to act as a barrier while allowing air or water to flow through it.
Art wise, I think this is great work. I especially like all those groovy rock textures (look no further than the splash). I think the first three and a half pages are great, but would be spectacular without the people at all: Just crazy net monsters bopping around on weird rocks.
I don't mind completely weird, off model, artistic renditions of things in stories either, it makes things more fun actually... and ok, now there totally needs to be a Spider UFO movie or something --I don't even care if it's made by the people who make those Sharknado movies!
ReplyDeleteA trip to the outer limits up next!
The splash panel promised me a half woman half spider!
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