Someone wrote in asking about this one after seeing a random panel floating around Tumblr... and no, this story isn't about Mayberry's most deadly deputy either! Monstery fun art by Golden Age legend, Jack Sparling, who was of course still doing some great work well into the Silver Age. From the August 1970 issue of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #31.
Nerodart says .....
ReplyDeleteNeat; milquetoast s revengee is always amusing neat
That's some peak Sparling art. Both the monster and the milquetoast are pretty intense and radiating with character. The bullying boss isn't bad, either, though the other two are the stars.
ReplyDeleteIts always great seeing Sparling's art in those Gold Key mystery books. He really stands out as having his own way, much like fellow Jack Kamen's art stood out in the EC books.
An excellent choice.
I rather like this monster. Does no real harm and gets his creator a sinecure. Good boy!
ReplyDeleteYeah, the art is great in this one. BTW, I'm going to assume the monster is meant to look like a monstrous version of Fife; it has the same general face structure, at least to me.
ReplyDeleteAll the characters in this are very distinct and read as architypes easily, and the monster has great fluid motion as it wizzes around the panel.
Fife's sly smile at the end is great! This one is another real winner!
I like to think that the monster basically came to life to teach Fife's overbearing boss a lesson. Afterwards, no more dangerous sketches being sent in to the editor. Also, that is such a great monster, it's very Jim Henson's Muppet-esque.
ReplyDeleteThe wobbly panel borders on page two really stand out here amid the conservative structure of the other pages. I wonder if it's supposed to be kind of a red herring, setting up an assumption that perhaps Fife is dreaming.
ReplyDeleteShould I assume the cover painting is a 'roided-out men's mag reimagining of the story here--or is it just some coincidence?
I said this very recently, but the horror story about horror writers themselves is a gimmick that somehow never wears thin for me. Especially when it's horror comic or magazine writers, even more than novelists.
ReplyDelete