Time to crack open a hot one, as THOIA celebrates Easter 2026 in the only infernal way we know how-- with a tribute to Satan! More than anything, I felt like the coloring of this story, with its heavy use of purples and greens, seemed a bit Easter eggy. Though lo and behold of course, illustrator legend, Bernie Krigstein's evil uniqueness shines through! From the December 1950 issue of Marvel Tales #98. And just for the hilarious Hell of it, I've also added a devilishly funny gag by HAM! Have yourselves an especially evil Easter!
6 comments:
This one certainly is a doozy. An odd one too. You'd think Satan would answer Emilio's request by giving him the talent he's always desired as a sculptor, yet instead, his wife gets turned into a black goat, he goes mad and brings destruction upon the earth as the devil literally follows him everywhere he goes. Also, it's bizarre to see the devil, who is usually depicted in red, in the brightest of blues. I don't see the devil at this point, I see Beast from X-men! 🤣🤣I'm curious as to the man in Tibet who seems to know all about Emilio's plight.
I thought it was wishful thinking, but somehow, I thought that the Tibetan character (more than the Indian or Chinese ones) would be a plot point, and he was. But that's the kind of image they have in weird stories.
Maybe it's because I see a lot of Looney Tune documentaries on YouTube, but the moment I read the first line of Maria tearing into Emilio, I heard June Foray talking in her "battleax" wife voice!
Dorothy: "Not yet, mum, but another ten minutes and he'll be there!"
I love Krigstein's wild splash and the general verve of his work here. It's got the loose, ropy feel of sketchbook art drawn straight from the brush. The textures are all snaky, wavy and bold, especially the fire and smoke that look like slivers of stained glass. Also it's got scribbly trees that feel like the opposite of the other elements, and that's neat, too.
But, oof, did Bernie lose the coloring lottery this time out, suffering a one-three punch of flat choices, bad separations, and dismal registration. I am very forgiving of the latter, but looking at these pages--with cyan going the one way and magenta the other--I can see there would be no way to print it correctly, even with high-dollar plates in an ideal press. The specialist who prepared these screens did so with an inattention to fine detail that defeats correction.
But I do love the blue devil, the Jeepers Girl, and the goat. I'm perplexed at the top of page five though. Seems like a missed opportunity to deliver a vast panoramic collage of Satan sowing chaos and calamity in Emilio's wake. Something huge and interpretive, a Faustian colossus drawing his cape across the landscape, the map, the globe. Instead we get a surreal frame with wuthered trees and tumbleweeds(?) and, I don't know, some kind of red lines. It's definitely outré as hell and I'm all for it, but still a little perplexed.
Hope everybody had a HAPPY EASTER!
This was an odd one, odd but enjoyable.
Had Emilio used his head, he would have lived in a desert and sent letters to various kingdoms offering his service as an agent of destruction-to destroy rival kingdoms and bring about the downfall of enemy nations. A quick trip to a rival kingdom bringing doom to an enemy's land just by walking around, completely guaranteed, all for a reasonable fee, of course.
Either that or request tribute, or face the consequences of Emilio vacationing in the land that refused payment.
Page four, upper left panel, maybe its me, but his beard reminds me of Brutus/Bluto for some reason.
Great art, interesting story, another winner for the archives of THOIA.
Krigstein, again, delivers. Often overlooked is how in motion his figures seem, like panels 2 and 3 (the nobles) on page 1. Nothing looks static, they look to be in the act of pointing, not a static version of pointing.
Every bit of smoke, lighting, hanging rocks, everything is just gorgeous and his this fine art feel. The demon, as pointed out might as well be the Beast, is leering and dangerous. Even the goat is fabulous!
I love the story, too, it's very much a kind of morality tale but with a fine ending where talent destroys talent, and we really get the tortured artist vibe in this.
This is a great one. That said, the printing on this is a crime. The registration is all over the place!
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