Vampirella of Draculon Mountain

Last year I had a few requests for more wicked Warren posts, and since nothing specific was mentioned title-wise, I guess that leaves it up to old Mr. Karswell to continue with my-- errr, his own choice process of creepy curation! And okay, since half of the country is currently chilled to the bone under mountains of snow and extremely frigid, icy temps, let's see what happens to one lovely young lady in a similar, shivery predicament-- only trapped with a rather unpleasant fellow, to boot! Beautiful, sketch-style artwork from "Jay Taycee", aka legendary Johnny Craig who also wrote the script, from the April 1966 issue of Creepy #8, and highlighted with a terrific Gray Marrow vampire cover painting! But first up, and since we're stalkin' / talkin' vampires, let's see where it all began with one bloodthirsty lil babe from Planet Draculon-- va-va-va-voom it's awesome Vampirella in her September 1966 debut collector's edition issue appearance via Vampirella #1! Forrest J. Ackerman script. Tom Sutton story art. And freakin' Frank Frazetta cover and ad art, all adding up to one helluva great origin issue, as well as THOIA double fear-ture post! Sink in...

Other Monsters That Fished for Men!

I hope everyone brought their water wings, because things are gonna get seriously wet 'n wild today! And FYI, this double creature feature concept post all started when Mr. Cavin mentioned that back in November of last year his hometown comic book illustrator / hero legend, Murphy Anderson, was being honored with a plaque installed at the Greensboro Cultural Arts Center in North Carolina. You can read more about it HERE! And to celebrate 'ol Murph (RIP), THOIA is also honored to present one of his more dynamite DC monster doozies (story and cover art) from the June 1952 issue of Strange Adventures #21. (NOTE: We'll be taking an additional look at Murphy Anderson over at AEET later this month as well, so don' miss it!) But first up, we're staying in the Silver Age for another scaly screamer from the deep, via Charlton and the June 1962 issue of Mysteries of Unexplored Worlds #30. Highlighted by a lagoonie-esque cover Creech monster by Nicholas and Alascia, though Bill Molno's interpretation for the story itself is quite different. And if that ain't enough "wet ' wild" for ya today, head over to AEET HERE for the absolute cutest sea monster ya ever did see...

Skulls! Skulls!! Skulls!!!

The second half of the 28 Years Later film saga, The Bone Temple, opened in theaters this weekend, and we're going to see it this Tuesday night, in fact. Now, not to get "a-head" of ourselves here for anyone else who hasn't seen it yet, (though I'm sure the posters, trailers, and scenes from the first half of the previous movie hath etched the towers of chilling skull totems into everyone's gasping eyeballs already anyway), but that brings me to this: I've been hanging onto Werner Roth's rather savage, "The Grinning Skulls!" from the January 1953 issue of Strange Tales #14 for about a year now, patiently waiting for just the right occasion to post it, and now you will see EXACTLY why. And not to be outdone by one juicy jolt of jungle jitters, but I also have a god-damned (get it?)  Stan Lee / John Romita decap classic via the January 1953 issue of Mystery Tales #7 that will really flip your lid! If that ain't enough, I've also included an old WW2 photo with a back story that's even more macabre than either of today's Atlas Tales combined. Click HERE for it if you dare... ugh!

No Place to Hide Under the Earth!

Werewolf Wednesday is extra weird this week! And it's so weird in fact, that today's second story in our ongoing Double Feature series this month isn't even about werewolves! And you'll have to dig deeply into it to see just how exactly weird it really is, as Chuck Winter assumes nobody has ever seen a mole before! But worry not, cuz it's still a wild one, via the March 1954 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #25! But first up, Ed Robbins gives his wack-a-doodle wolfman the hideous head of a bat --yep, it's a terror tale that's just as beastly bonkers as it is totally batty! From the October 1954 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #31. And if that isn't hairy-scary enough for ya, be sure to head over to AEET and check-out another weird werewolf mash-up HERE!