Cry from the Coffin

If the cry from under the carpet in our previous post wasn't eerie enough for ya, how about one now from the coffin? Okay, this has got to be one of the most depressing precode horror stories ever published, with a day that starts off in a completely pleasant manner, quickly turning into a terrifying trip to the morgue for an autopsy, --and don’t be late for your own funeral! Better bring the tissues, this poor sap has a super sad tale to tell, and one that he'll be telling forever, and ever, and ever. From the Oct. 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #8.

Love Trap

My buddy Richard sent over this fun Iger Shop illustrated tale from the June 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #6.  He also profusely apologizes for the blurriness on page 4! No worries though, this scary space story is still a blast, and somehow fits nicely within our month of posts-- I mean, it certainly feels like Farrell trying their hand at an Atlas style sci-fi horror 5-pager, doesn't it? Annnnd if anybody is singing "Love Trap" to the tune of "Love Shack", I beg you stop it now. I mean it...

Forever Dead

It's Zombie Sunday Funday, and time for another variable spin on the 'ol monkey's paw-esque creeping dead classic, via the Sept. - October 1954 issue of Voodoo #17! Yes, sometimes paying a gruesome price to get your loved one back actually (sort of) pays off. I'd say "Be careful what you wish for!" --but in the end, it's not so judassy after all, --eh, Dr. Judas? 

Going - Going - Real Gone!

Okay now, we've been doing "April Fools" around here since 2007, so at this point in the blahhguh game there's really no point anymore in me, errrr, I mean Mr. Karswell, trying to pull a fast one over you guys! Instead, we'll just take a look at another fun MAD magazine wannabe yarn featuring some silly supernatural spirits (including a funky Frankenstein's Monster, boney 'ol Death, a headless Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Horseman, and a super stoned Casper clone midget), doing their absolute worst at scarin' a buncha haunted house invadin', hip cat college kids and their fast yappin', jump ' n jive nonsense. It's kooks 'n spooks a'plenty, and it's from the Fall 1954 issue of Madhouse #4, with art likely by those krazy be-boppin' Iger Shop kool kats. Ya dig?

The Dancing Ghost

The putrid past collides with a perplexed present in this oddball tango with terror in a haunted house, via the December 1952 issue of Strange Fantasy #3. Being a Farrell story, the art feels distinctly non-Iger Shopish in a few places, (and GCD lists no credit), so this may have actually been illustrated by a combination of artists. Now the wonderfully clunky story telling / unintentional humor on the other hand...

Portrait of Doom

Here's another whack-a-doodle story from the December 1953 issue of Strange Fantasy #9 (see previous post), concerning a very mad artist who-- to be honest-- doesn't seem that much different than most of the actual mad artists that I know in real life! As noted in the comments of the last post, every tale from this issue was reprinted, and a few even reworked a few decades later for the Eerie Pubs... I'll try to dig those out and we'll take a look at them sometime in the coming new year. Also of note: before becoming a doomed studio model for Tony in today's yarn, beautiful blonde Susan also appeared in various advertisements featured in Golden Age comics. I've included a few below after the story...

Creatures from the Deep

Here's a fun, and oddly to the point, 5-page Farrell tale from the Sept. - October 1954 issue of Voodoo #17 (with art that looks like some of it was done by Iger Shop, while the other half by someone with a completely different style), concerning ancient, massacred spirits returning for a successfully swift, boggy vengeance. Hey, where'd that wacky witch go?!!

One Very Wide Coffin

Okay, hands up who ate too much pecan pie on Thanksgiving the other day, like me? Yeah, it's all about pacing, I guess. Now, might I suggest a "sure-fire" way of losing a few pounds then, via the February - March 1954 issue of Strange Fantasy #10 way? Seriously, it's so easy, even an imbecile can do it...