A recent Art Deco era discovery just added to The Karswell Kollection, reminded me of a crucial detail found in this beautifully illustrated Lin Streeter bloodsucker classic from the September 1950 issue of Challenge of the Unknown #6. Be sure to click the image at the end of the post for more...
4 comments:
Hiding in the statue -- that's really clever, good job Di Pini!
I like the vampire -- I like his thin, ballet type look and his cape like wings. I like that the title font reflects the vampire's hands, and that's a very 40s vampire film type image. Lots of excellent art throughout this. I also enjoy how kind of goofy the vampire looks when attacking, with his tongue hanging out.
The reflection scaring him off is the weird rule added in this one, though I bet it came from somewhere I'm forgetting.
OK let's talk about the mother-in-law ... I'm pretty sure the author of this was having some problem with his mother-in-law because the script on this just screams ulterior motives!
The vampire peeking through the window on page 3 is one of the best panels ever!
I didn't even catch the vampire peeking through the window on page three, Brian! Good catch! I love the design of the vampire. The gaunt yet graceful figure, the pointed ears and black eyes. Yet my favorite part is the bat ring, which you'd think would be an after thought when the vampire is killed, but the ring is first seen on page 3 in the forth panel. At first I thought I was seeing things because I have a strong case of pareidolia (seeing images in vague patterns) and just thought the vampire was wearing a bat ring (it does look like a simple bat shaped squiggle in that panel). But no, when the vampire comes out of his hiding place (brilliant hiding place, I might add) on panel 2 of page 5 (which is an amazing image, BTW, probably my favorite in this story) You clearly see the bat ring. I just thought it was a throwaway detail, yet it's clearly noticed by Robert after disposing of the vampire. Also, let's be honest here, the nastiest character in this story isn't the vampire. It's Elinor's mother, who's also a complete idiot. When people warn you that the house up for sale has a vampire in it, I'd say either don't buy it or try to remove the vampire first!
Holy accessorizing bat ring!
Man I love the juxtaposition of panel five, page three and panel three, page four. "What are you scared of you foolish coward, some hoot owls?"--record scratch and crash cut to: "Welp, looks like some kind of wild animals savaged this foolhardy dude." That MIL was such a pill. I wish her death scene had been longer.
I love every bit of this art--I've mentioned before that Streeter's a fave--what with its angular, futurist contrasts and big bold shapes (get a load of the suits on page two, panel five--that's 1920's Russian cubism right there; cf. Rayonism). But my favorite bit is definitely that two-panel vamp attack in the middle of page six. That's some boss level precode horror cartooning right there. The perfect gradation from teal to orange across the page is a feather in the colorist's cap, too.
I wonder if Lin Streeter was going for the Nosferatu look, or a part bat part man interpretation. Being dressed all in black, he might have been going for an umpire vampire look.
This comic had its own set of rules concerning vampirism, feeding only once every 25 years, its reflection drives it away and not needing a coffin during the daylight hours.
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