We now conclude our Bernie Krigstein Fest with a black magically macabre entry from the February 1953 issue of Strange Tales #15. Lots of great panels here, and yeah, the ending will leave you with a lot of big buts, BUT it's still a ton of fun anyway. Hope everyone enjoyed this extended look into one of the more unique and original Atlas masters. And if you missed our magically moronic Dumminger post over at AEET, grab a tube of lipstick and CLICK HERE when you're all finished up with Bernie today. Stay tombed for lots rots more Atlas classics coming up next, as well as all month-- I've got a full line-up of the biggest, baddest hitters on deck!
9 comments:
Concerning this great story, the only questions I have are the following-
If Carl can create diamonds out of thin air, why didn't he create a couple million dollars in diamonds and buy up the whole town?
Again, with magical wealth, why not acquire a few million and hire armed guards to protect his mother?
Maybe Carl's mother planned to get rid of Mary and the townsfolk at the same time- Maybe Hanna Butler put the idea in Mary's head to look like Hanna, have the townsfolk do away with Mary, then have the Massachusetts State Police arrest everyone involved for conspiracy to commit murder and murder one. There are state laws in Massachusetts against murder (at least I would think so.)
With the townsfolk in jail and the threat of a massive lawsuit against the town ("The whole town was in on the conspiracy against this harmless, innocent old woman" Hanna's lawyer would tell the judge and jury in a Massachusetts state court), it would be easy for Hanna and Carl to buy up the town and evict everyone.
Hanna Butler doesn't come across as the typical, easily tricked comic book witch, she is probably two steps ahead of anyone who is a threat.
Thanks for the A plus Atlas tale, Karswell!
What I love best about this story is that this is one of the few times the gold digger DOESN'T succeed at all. She doesn't end up marrying Carl because she is unsuccessful at getting his mother's blessing (or is it curse, due to her being a witch?). She never finds out the source of their magic either. I will admit, Carl's way of winning over Mary by making real diamond jewelry appear on her was smooth. Panel 4 of page 3 with the reveal of Carl's mother is awesome. She's the perfect looking witch! I also love that Carl's mother knows what Mary's actually after. I bet she's had to deal with a lot of Carl's so-called "true loves" for quite some time. Honestly, I like the woman. She's just looking after her son. Panel 4 of page four of the mother gloating that Mary will never learn her secret is awesome. Carl deserved so much better anyway. How are Hanna's neighbors going to react when she comes back from her trip safely though?
I'm always picking on the bearded witch tradition, but here it's a little plot hole. After all, it looks like one thing that Mary doesn't take into account with her makeup!
Speaking of "Why didn't she / Why didn't he," it's funny that for every scary looking every witch or warlock who conjures up an attractive appearance, there are so many who don't bother.
But, it's a tradition.
I'm with Glowworm. This one's awesome because Mary's the real witch, and Carl's mother knows what's up.
That's okay, I like big buts.
And I cannot lie: art-wise, I think you saved the best Krigstein till the end here. The tops of page four and five are just amazing. While I typically do not like floating hatch marks used to fill up blank space, well, rules are made to be broken: I think that splash is solid gold. And I think the last panel on page one is even better.
The colorist (Goldberg, I guess?) really nailed this one too, so far as I'm concerned.
Horror-wise, I'd love to see the next page of this scenario. As the townsfolk watch the makeup boil off Mary's young face and realize they are all guilty of murder. And they better hope the state cops are quick about it, because they're sitting ducks for Carl Jr.s revenge, too.
And that’s EXACTLY the big but/s I was talking about, Mr. C! haha
While it's very easy to imagine Carl's mother planned this all out; it's a nearly perfect plan, but the question is: Was Carl in on? I would tend to think so.
He picks out an actress/make-up artist, charms her with wealth, and then cons her back to the ol' witch house. And then, nobody has to do anything. Nobody even has to cast a spell, you just have to let Mary hoist herself up on her own petard, and let the town people take the fallout.
I love Carl's mother. She never, ever stops being in control. She's always just seconds away from crackling like a demon, and everybody just dances to her tune.
Thanks for Krigstein fest, it's always nice to see a talented artist get spotlighted here!
My biggest of many big buts: what was Carl doing during this home invasion and murder? Did he sleep through it all?
Come to think of it, Carl's mother is much like Livia from I, Claudius. She is not just the power behind the throne, but the master manipulator or grandmaster chess player, knowing what her opponents next couple of moves will be.
Age and treachery always outmaneuver youth and skill.
Post a Comment