Sunday, August 13, 2023

The Living Dead

Time to see if they've made any advancements in life extensions with an early Jay Scott Pike entry from the April 1951 issue of Adventures into Terror #3.

4 comments:

Brian Barnes said...

Roger is an ass! That ending: Don't worry your pretty head about missing 2 weeks of time and being carried from a burning building, instead, lets talk about how nice it is to have you in my arms again!

I like the really clean art here. Nothing dripping or gooey, big bold inks, it works great for this tale, especially with the scientific equipment and no big monster to draw. I also like the idea that he just isn't going to get old but he's actually haunted by some really pissed off jealous ghosts, who evidently took his bow tie and shirt with them (yes, had to mention it!)

The opening caption is great, those are an art all of themselves! "Howling, ghoul-ridden darkness of eternity!"

JMR777 said...

A couple of things to discuss concerning this one horror comic story-

From Newsweek- Scientists who dosed old mice with an enzyme from the blood of young mice say it extended their lives by 16 percent, as well as making them look younger.
Treating the older mice with an enzyme from the blood of younger mice appeared to slow processes linked to aging, according to the authors of the study published in the journal Cell Metabolism.

Who knew horror comics possessed the gift of prophecy?

If the scientific medical equipment was vital for keeping Bornich alive, why didn't he hire guards or install a walk in safe to keep it safe? Arrogance on comic book villains, I guess.

Mr. Cavin said...

There's no particular reason that the blood and hormones of young, beautiful women, used as a medicine to prolong the cellular degeneration of aging, should cause much in the way of harm to the donors. We already donate blood for all sorts of things, obviously. I mean, there's a creepy sort of #metoo story happening in this tale--the mesmerism of Lydia through hypno-roofies for one thing--but in a better world, with more competent preventative healthcare, Lydia might have made a bundle per pint for her sweet, sweet fashion model blood.

I appreciate that Lydia is not ultimately punished for her seeming infidelities. That they certainly weren't her fault seems to mean something this time.

Someone should definitely make a collection of these final panels in which traumatized lovebirds smooch, propose, gaslight, or otherwise slap an uplifting, fifties-style ending to these things while still standing right in front of the burning ruins they have just escaped. It's often problematic as hell, but always delights me in an ironical sort of way.

Grant said...



I can add something to Brian Barnes' Roger complaint. Usually some PLOT CONVENIENCE causes the building in this kind of story to catch fire more or less ACCIDENTALLY. Who is Roger to actually set fire to the place? That's a whole lot bigger than the "good guys" burning the mad scientist's papers or something like that at the end of the story!