Well, I was shooting for 13 terrifyin' tales this month, but only had time for a traumatizin' 12! It's still not a bad way to end October, even if the scans are a bit on the meh side of things... but still, I promised to deliver haunted house howlers full of fun dialogue and art (by juicy Jill Elgin today no less!), and this classic from the May 1943 issue of All-New Stories #3 is the very definition of that promise. Hope everyone has a spooky great holiday tonight-- HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I love Tom! Sure, he might get startled, but after that, his immediate reaction is to punch a skeleton right in the face!
ReplyDeleteCar wreck? Eh, whatever, here's a quip!
Cloaked figure? Chase it!
Skeleton? Punch it!
Ghost? Tackle it!
Your father almost died today: I know, time to pop the question! Who can resist me? I'm action Dr. Tom!
And then Nazis??? 1940 comics are awesome, and I'm not being snarky. Sometimes, they make no sense, but they are always wildly nuts and just bounce around from one thing to another.
The art is pretty good for the 40s adventure art; a lot of times it feels very static but this is lively and has good motion to it.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Happy Halloween Karswell! Thank you for so many years of spooky fare. Your efforts are appreciated very much. Today's tale was a very fun fast ride.
ReplyDeleteDang, If I'd seen this before I went trick-or-treating earlier, I would've definitely dressed up as a two-fisted surgeon tonight. And I would have soo much more candy to show for it.
ReplyDeleteI love the last panel on page three. And the blithe way Dr. Thomas invades this place, sets up house, starts a fire, threatens to punch the people who actually live there in the schnoz over their taste in clothing. If that guy came to my house, I'd give him all the candy I could to get him out of there.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
It's weird how blase they are about having a wreck because Dorothy can't wait till they stop the car to get romantic. (Especially since I've seen stories with moments like that that ended in tragedy instead.)
ReplyDeleteSince I hate thunderstorms, I like Tom's attitude - that even if Dorothy's right, he'll take an actual haunted house over staying outside in that weather.
I agree with Brian Barnes about how it throws in the kitchen sink, but I could kind of do without the big reveal. As it is, I get hit with Nazis more than twice a week in CURRENT entertainment, so I don't need them in a horror comic!
Hope everyone enjoyed the October posts and also had a great Halloween! More on the way in November, and after taking off a few days to get my dog and pony show together here a bit we return with a warlock! Up next, stay tombed...
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian. Action Dr Tom is great. Goes into a haunted house and immediately starts throwing fists like he's Mike Tyson. He needed his own series. Maybe marvel can make a movie about him. Their phase 4 needs all the help it can get
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