Secret In the Wall

Who would've guessed that one of the simplest, most eerie precode horror stories of all time could come from a crime comic book? Yep, buried within the pages of the February 1955 issue of Crime and Punishment #71 (to be exact), lurks this crumblin' corpse classic of isolation and insanity. Ya know, sometimes less is more as Big Bad Bill Walton slugs every perfectly efficient panel right outta the park with just 4 suspense-packed pages, in a way that would typically take EC comics nearly twice as many words and pages to do...

Shweck's Bad Boy / The Night Caller

Getting back to the spellbinding spookery of 50's Atlas era horror with a deadly double header as we draw ever nearer to Halloween! Our first tale is from the June 1954 issue of Spellbound #23, it's a Chuck Winter classic with some really great moments-- followed by an eerie Bill Walton weirdie, from the April 1954 issue of Spellbound #21.

Emily / The Unwanted!

Two sci-fi themed Atlas stories for you today, the first (by request) from the Nov. '54 issue of Marvel Tales #128, art by Pete Tumlinson, (apologies to those hoping for the foxy Emily as featured on the cover of this issue!) --and the second tale by Bill Walton from the July '54 issue of Marvel Tales #125.

The Man in the Graveyard / Gone!

Social outcasts are a major factor in many pre-code stories, and here are two fine examples from the May 1954 issue of Mystery Tales #19 ...and both prove that no matter how down on your luck, or cursed, or just completely pathetic you are, you still can't always get what you want.

PS: The Atlas Tales site says "Shores?" on the art for this one... I seriously hate to think of a talented guy like Syd stooping to major swipage, as it's obvious that a few of the Warner Kremer zombies from the gorgeous cover of the July 1952 issue of Harvey's Black Cat Mystery #37 have shambled their way into "The Man in the Graveyard" story two years later.

The Night Crawlers / The Worm Turns

TGIF (thank gosh its frightening!) and today we have a serious double dose of the squirms for you! Our first wormy tale comes from the March 1954 issue of Menace #10, with art by Tony DiPreta… and stick around for the second story as Bill Walton returns to THOIA with yet another creepy Atlas classic!

NEXT: More Menace!

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The Worms Turns
Starring Norman Fell and Audra Lindley...

From the June ‘54 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #30

Witch Girl!

Continuing along with our look at Prize Publications Black Magic series, we begin today with one of my favorite witchcraft tales from the July 1952 issue of Black Magic Vol. 2 #8. Featuring crisp art from the unique and underrated hand of Bill Walton. [Sadly, "Birth After Death" had to be removed over an IP dispute. -- Nequam]

NEXT: A Face from the Future

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