Man Who Sold His Soul to the Devil

It's Walpurgisnacht, and time for the final 13th post of April 2024! This date also means we are halfway to Halloween Eve, so be sure to click the image at the end of this post for more festive, bitchin' witchery over at AEET HERE! And since we missed Hero Horror Monday yesterday, let's set it all ablaze one more time with our final defender of evil-- the great Ibis the Invincible! It's a scorcher of a tale from the June 1943 issue of Whiz Comics #43, and one loosely based on the literary classic, "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet. Hope everyone enjoyed the themes featured here this month, I have a few ideas for May, so stay tombed for tons more, --now, light the midnight fires this evening!

The Man Who Beat the Devil

Walpurgisnacht is just a few days away, and as we descend into the final, sizzlin' stretch, it's suddenly time to beat the Devil! Okay, is this really a thing that's possible to accomplish? Read along, ya crazy know-it-alls cuz you may be surprised, although this is a pre-code horror story, so I'm fairly certain you already have the correct answer. Horns for Andru and Esposito though, and the December 1954 issue of Mysterious Adventures #23 ...some of you Haunted Horror Heads might remember this from the April 2013 issue of HH#4 too!

The Wail of the Werewolf

"The Wail of the Werewolf" from the May 1952 issue of Adventures into the Unknown #31, is one whale of a weird tail, er-- tale, for our latest installment of Werewolf Wednesday. It's fast-paced and fun, and totally unlike any other lycanthropy story you've ever read-- guaranteed! Art Gates delivers some decent art, though his bear-werewolf is more silly than frightening looking, and clearly Betty is drawn quite a few times from probable Hollywood starlet photo reference. But it's the sudden, added mix of dueling supernatural entities in the climax that really makes this one of the more original ACG horror adventures in my book...

Three Wishes From Dr. Devil

Horror Hero Monday once again, and this time it's a trio of 'em all coming together into one big Prize (Comics) fight to the finish: Dr. Devil, Bulldog Denny Dunsan, and Dick Briefer's immortally iconic, Frankenstein! This post also fulfills Todd's request for "more Briefer", which always sounds good in my book! This is a mega fun monster mash throw-down though, and a gruesome great glimpse into how Briefer could illustrate. I especially love all of the dynamic drawings of Frankie's big 'ol horrific hands... from the July 1942 issue of Prize Comics #22. Things are sure getting hotter 'round here as we approach Walpurgisnacht, eh!

Flames of Hate

The Horrors of it All turns up the heat once more, as well as the hate, for a creepy-crispy, executioner tale of eerie evil from the October 1954 issue of Dark Mysteries #20. "When you're hot, you're hot," or so they say...

Haircut!

Got myself a terrifying trim the other day, which reminded me of this hair-raising little story from the July 1953 issue of Chamber of Chills #18. Super duper, Jack Davis-esque art by Howard Nostrand as usual, and a truly creepy cover by lurid 'ol Lee Elias... yep, you've definitely come to the right place this eerie evening for a grave and a scare-cut!

The Spider Widow vs. The Headhunter!

Hero Monday already again? Yep, and this time it's Frank Borth's lovely Diane Grayton donning the hideous witch mask and turning into her horrific alter hag persona, --The Spider Widow! Definitely an odd change-up from the usual comic book plain Jane who transforms herself into a gorgeous goddess to fight evil, and here The Spider Widow battles a vicious head chopper / shrinker in what would turn out to unfortunately be her final comic book appearance ever. A real shame because a creepy cutie like this (and illustrated by Rudy Palais, no less!) would've really slayed the masses in the pre-code horror boom creeping closer and closer less than a mere decade away. From the October 1943 issue of Feature Comics #72, and be sure to get your socks knocked off again as SW battles the yellow menace in a bondage bonanza, leg show-a-rama over at AEET HERE! That's right, --double feature Spider Widow!