I don't really post a whole lot of Gold Key stuff here at THOIA. I mean, aside from some gorgeously painted cover art, the interior content might also look nice 'n clean, but alas, the storytelling is usually a bit on the weak side. Trial by Water is no different, it's questionably paced, and our two heroes just keep bumbling around lookin' for fun despite the multiple supernatural attempts on their dim-witted lives. But this story also contains an interesting plot element that I'm not sure I've ever seen in another horror comic tale, the art of gravestone rubbing, (which is why I've included it here this month, as this fascinating hobby seems to me to be particularly Octoberish.) And for those of you that like to take a single panel out of context, might I suggest panel one on page four, as you wander out to the cemetery with your girl to get some good rubbings, haha... from the Aug '75 issue of Grimm's Ghost Stories #25.
It's nice when you can get rid of pesky ghosts with a little tombstone editing.
ReplyDeleteThis is the reason I will never visit Europe, just my luck there is an ancient family curse patiently waiting for me. If so, I will let that family curse keep on waiting while I avoid tempting fate. Let the skeletons lie, whether in the closet or in their final resting place.
ReplyDelete(I don't know if there really is a family curse waiting for me, but why tempt fate?)
How nonchalant can you get?
ReplyDeleteGhost screaming VENGEANCE chase you car. Eh, whatever. Funny thing, that, ghosts! Then they try to shove somebody off the balcony, "hey, let's go screw around in the graveyard!" I wanted to kill the couple, myself, they kind of deserved it!
So many horror tales work on the "sins of the father" biblical plot lines but ... why? I mean, our hero is certainly guilty of being a complete idiot, but there really is no vengeance here, the ghosts are just going to kill an innocent man and clean up the gene pool a little. It is kind of a buy-in for horror tales, but always strikes me as easy short hand.
I like the art but it's one of those really "static" artists where the action scenes seem frozen in time. Really good with the gothic stuff, though.
What a sweet ending. The art and the color on page five is really attention-getting. I sort of wish the sound effect wasn't obstructing the illustration of those false witch ghosts busting through the tombstone. It's a really cool visual.
ReplyDeleteI remember doing some really cool grave rubbings on school trips back in the day. I don't think they let you do them much anymore. Especially not at the oldest, most interesting cemeteries, with the coolest, creepiest stones. Certainly not at the Congressional Cemetery, just six or so blocks from where I'm sitting. Certainly not right now, at midnight.
Pretty rare in a horror comic for simple acknowledgment of the ancestral crime to be enough to pacify its ghostly victims. Kind of refreshing, actually.
ReplyDeleteIt has a real Charlton feeling, not just the art but the story.
ReplyDeleteI can almost see hot "Winnie the Witch" popping up all through the story, not just the beginning and end.
I agree with Brian Barnes about "sins of the fathers" stories, in or out of the Bible. They're nice and dramatic, but they leave a funny taste in the mouth.
I think we'll do one more Grimm's Ghost Story and then get back to the precode classics... thanks for all the great comments and see ya'll in the haunted house in a just a few!
ReplyDeleteEven two ghosts trying to kill him didn't stop him from rubbing
ReplyDelete