It's probably no real stretch to assume that if you're a fan of horror comics, then you're also likely a fan of horror movies. But how hardcore are you, really? If you're anything like the nutters in this sci-fi creature feature from the Oct '74 issue of Haunted #18-- then you are indeed a FILM FREAK!
I feel personally attacked by a story of somebody loving sci-fi and monsters (and, of course, my college football career :) ) deserving to get killed!
ReplyDeleteI like the rendering of the space monster better on the cover then in the story, but both have their charms. There's a lot of fun art here -- I like the elongated space helmet bubbles, I like some of the interesting camera angles (page 2, panel 3, for instance), and I like how the panels are rounded when in the movie.
So Fiona invented something incredible, something that can turn movies into real objects, because she hated her slob of a husband? If that worked in real life we'd be living in a tier 0 civilization by now!
I love the concept that you can order an edit of a movie -- in 1974 -- that somehow completely removed an actor and changed the ending!
Gosh, Joe Staton was one of Charlton's finest artists. He could do anything with the goofy scripts they gave him
ReplyDeleteand elevate the story to a classic!
The "special print" was the thing I zeroed in on too.
ReplyDeleteI like Fiona's throwback look.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate all of Staton's design work and cartooning style here, but for me the art is ultimately over-detailed for sequential storytelling. I often feel this way about Sutton too. Honestly, lots of seventies guys. Man, they are all such great illustrators, each frame gorgeous, but they are clearly operating at the panel level, lovingly rendering image details instead of improving the flow and the tone of the full page.
To be fair, some of my reaction may come from the fact that many of these technical pen, fine-detail illustrators ended up at Charlton, producing work too intricate for those presses to accurately duplicate. I'll bet the art boards are glorious.
Fiona, Fiona, Fiona.
ReplyDeleteYou could have just patented your machine and a Nobel Prize would have been yours for the asking. You could have literally bought a divorce. But no, you had to get too clever by half.
But what a dreadfully dull sci-fi horror tale that would make, Bill.
ReplyDelete"I like Fiona's throwback look."
ReplyDeleteShe's the "hot female scientist" cliche (in a good way).
Maybe it shows a one-track mind, but at the bottom of Page 1, that includes looking pretty "top-heavy."
Great blog
ReplyDeleteThank you Kars. I enjoyed this one very much. I am a huge fan of Staton's style. Loved E-man for the fun side of comics.
ReplyDelete