Have we had enough stories this month already about haunted houses? Oh, I assure, we most definitely have not-- and especially when we haven't entered one so superbly illustrated as by the masterfully cinematic hand of Karswell favorite, King Ward. Now, how this terrific tale from the Fall 1948 debut issue of Adventures into the Unknown #1 is only just now finally getting posted here at THOIA is an even bigger mystery! From a script by Weird Tales pulp pro legend, Frank Belknap Long --and what a great Ed Moritz cover design too!
These old dark house tales, like the vanishing hitchhiker tales, have so many variations that each tale feels just different enough to be interesting.
ReplyDeleteEach version of old dark house is like a recipe, add or subtract this ingredient or that, and you end up with a unique but flavorful treat for horror fans.
I am glad you added the number of followers of THOIA.
ReplyDeleteOver 1100 followers but so few viewers, I guess they are so terrified of the stories they are too scared to post.
At least there are many fans of THOIA, even if they are a quiet bunch.
Standard old dark house tale but what makes them good is the execution, and the script here is tight and moves along very fast, they are at the house on page 2 using the first page to setup the scooby doo part of the mystery. You can tell the writer is a pro -- this is 1948 and the script is like a little clockwork -- everything in it's place and easy to read and follow, so Bravo #1. Horror comics of this period tend to wander and go down weird paths and be hard to follow.
ReplyDeleteBravo #2 is the art. Again, '48, even EC comics that were coming up look ancient compared to this. This looks super modern. It's kinetic, it's full of really interesting angles (Page 4, panel 5 is awesome), it flows, it's a masterful job. Also -- nice job with the shadows in this, it's one of the things lesser artist tend to get wrong.
Middle of page 5 should be hanging in a museum.
This is crazy good for the time period.
Ugh, the new comment entry format is god awful. Only six lines at a time? It's like I'm using an old word processor. Am I the only one seeing this? Sorry to be off-topic.
ReplyDeleteObviously the art on this goes like gangbusters. Full-tilt, high energy stuff in the manner of Eisner and Powell (not to say this is some kind of crib, I just mean the three artists share this attribute). It's got sharp, self assured character work and it's rich in wonderful, claustrophobic details, all sorted by a really excellent color job. It's everything I love about pre-code horror.
Love the house in every frame it appears, especially at the top of page two, with its Halloweeny blue / orange juxtaposition and the angle making it look like some kind of gnarly shipwreck. I love the spider-webby interiors on page three and four, too.
The plot's a little iffy, and it leaves me with plenty of questions. The most important being how these lawyers thought they could possibly get away with dictating new provisions in a will they were the beneficiaries of. I mean, I guess the original heir was kind of a dupe, sure, but once she was safely "scared to death" by a stunt of the next heir's own invention, it seems like everything would immediately come to light.
Anyway, sorry if this is more than usually riddled with my typos. I can't see but six lines at a time so editing is a real pain in the tuchus.
I'm not seeing any comment format problems, sorry!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think we'll take another look at this issue of Adventures into the Unknown, so hang in there and hopefully any other formatting issues will be fixed by the next time you guys comment. And as usual, thanks for those too!
Yes, you could see the end a mile off but it still was an enjoyable view. Thank you Karswell.
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