Dream of Horror

The big 13th post, THOIA finale of 2024 is a deliriously gory decapitation nightmare presentation from the December 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #9! And what a way to end out the fear, err, year-- and hello, this entire issue is now finally archived here btw, just check the two previous posts, as well as "Hair Yee-Eeee" originally posted way back in April 2012! Hope everyone enjoyed the last 12 months of curated horror comic fun-- and my plan for 2025 is to take a few new twists 'n turns to really spice things up! So as usual (or unusual!) --stay tombed for tons more-- and HAPPY NEW YEAR, 'natch!

Portrait of Doom

Here's another whack-a-doodle story from the December 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #9 (see previous post), concerning a very mad artist who-- to be honest-- doesn't seem that much different than most of the actual mad artists that I know in real life! As noted in the comments of the last post, every tale from this issue was reprinted, and a few even reworked a few decades later for the Eerie Pubs... I'll try to dig those out and we'll take a look at them sometime in the coming new year. Also of note: before becoming a doomed studio model for Tony in today's yarn, beautiful blonde Susan also appeared in various advertisements featured in Golden Age comics. I've included a few below after the story...

Mirror of Death

The ability to see into the future seems like a good idea to some people, but they have clearly never read Stephen King's "The Dead Zone", or another example is this story from the Dec. 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy 9. Another word to the wise: never take presents from strangers, --no matter what!

Human Cross

I can't really think of many examples with religion, or religious overtones, playing a key role in a 50's precode horror comic tale. I mean, yeah, crosses and holy water are used on vampires, and Satan is a big bad bible villain, but in the case of today's dramatic Don Heck story... well... howz'about you just read it and let us all know what you think in the comments. If anything, it's a unique take for sure. Now some of you may have already seen this story when we first reprinted it in our Horror By Heck hardcover collection back in 2015, but this also seemed like a good xmas post since it's never made an appearance here at THOIA. So, happy holiday eve everyone-- I hope you all get what you wanted. From the December 1954 one-shot issue of Comic Media's Terrific #1, (which would have actually been Horrific #14 except for all of the SOTI baloney killing off Golden Age horror comics!)

Double Danse Macabre

Zero, Ghost Detective was another in a long line of fun supernatural back-up filler crime horror heroes, this time found in the pages of Quality's Feature Comics (home to Doll Man, among others.) Though Zero lacked any real magical abilities, his extensive knowledge of the occult helped him put an end to the terrifyin' evil shenanigans plaguing mankind, as you'll see in today's Saturday Matinee Double Feature Dance Macabre, where cult creeps in graveyards can be one hellva nuisance! The first story comes from the January 1943 issue of Feature Comics #64 and is illustrated by wild man Witmer Williams who really knew his way around a grinning skull, --not to mention a fine form fitting cloak on a female figure! Followed by the somewhat similar second tale going back a few years to the earlier days of Zero, all the way in fact to the August 1940 issue of Feature Comics #35, and this time colorfully brought to life by Dan Zolnerowich. Don't be surprised to see more Zero in the coming New Year as well...

Secret In the Wall

Who would've guessed that one of the simplest, most eerie precode horror stories of all time could come from a crime comic book? Yep, buried within the pages of the February 1955 issue of Crime and Punishment #71 (to be exact), lurks this crumblin' corpse classic of isolation and insanity. Ya know, sometimes less is more as Big Bad Bill Walton slugs every perfectly efficient panel right outta the park with just 4 suspense-packed pages, in a way that would typically take EC comics nearly twice as many words and pages to do...

Cult of Killers!

Who's ready for a heapin' fistful of more crime horror? This time our "Monday Murdering" comes via the Feb. '53 issue of Wanted Comics #52, and Bill Woolfolk delivers yet another whip-smart crackin' script for Harry Anderson to beautifully load-up with cloaked cult kooks, smokey opium dens, swirling dancers, and dead duck dames; in particular, one truly disturbing hanging aftermath panel. So grab your black bandit masks, it's time to stop a couple'a cold-blooded, crazed killers on the loose! PLUS, another juicy John Buscema cover too!