If our previous post didn't make you lose your horrible lil haunted heads, --then today's nightmarish classic absolutely cannot fail! And it's another one by Bob Forgione as well, from the February 1952 debut issue of of The Thing #1. Special note: Bob and Albert Tyler (on pencils) actually created every single piece of art in this entire, stunning issue, Yep, every story, and even that super spooky cover! What a great way to kick off a legendary Golden Age horror series!
I appreciate the stream of consciousness of this story. It really exists for the gore and it delivers, and some good action too. All the characters are distinct, I love the crisscrossing stories and the shadow-y half asleep version of Hiram.
ReplyDeleteThen, in a mere 6 panels, everything goes bonkers. He didn't know he was doing it, and the narrative showed him not doing it. He shrunk the heads -- somehow on the spot to fit in that briefcase. He collected them (in his house) and somehow didn't know. He didn't have a head, yet he had one, and yet he talked from it but then didn't. I can't blame the cops for not wanting to write this one down!
I love the city narration, Hiram's discovery of the body, all great little pieces of horror stuff. Honestly, ending aside this one does deliver the creeps.
ReplyDeleteThis tale unfolded as a crime drama with an unexpected, bizarre ending.
As far as the city as the narrator, this was a missed opportunity to create an anthology series with the city as the haunted host. Each month, the city would tell of vampirism, werewolves, ghosts and the like within the city's limits, a pre X Files within one metropolis. Ah well, what might have been...
It's such a tradition for these stories to have a no-nonsense police captain (or whatever) who tells the person under him to forget all this supernatural / SF nonsense. This one is such a flipside of that - almost immediately he goes to "thing from another world that eats heads"!
ReplyDeleteIf this were to be made today the publishers would ask the writers how high that were when they were writing and drawing it. That at most they were on beer and nicotine makes it all the more bizarre.
ReplyDeleteThat Hiram was the killer was obvious from the beginning, so is not as though it were a detective story. But I want to know what kind of company he bookkept for from 4am to noon. The mob?