The Devil Bat

It's Madcap Monster Matinee time again, and we're sailin' along in full-on 40's fear mode with yet another Golden oldie from Orbit's occasionally weird, Wanted crime series. Now the more observant of you might recognize the goofy looking "bat" character in the splash below. This is because he made a brief cameo in the splash of our previous post HERE! That's right, 'ol Bat Flab appeared 4 issues prior to this one as a sort of "Wanted" visual teaser, I suppose, which was, not surprisingly, also illustrated by Maurice Del Bourgo. And okay, not to be confused with the 1940 Bela Lugosi PRC film of the same name (watch it HERE!), but our "Devil Bat" is still actually very similar to it, (as well as most cheapo poverty row film classics and afternoon serials of the era), --because it's just as entertainingly cartoonish and clunky as you can get! From the January 1949 issue of Wanted #17... and saaaay, am I crazy or does it feel like we're flappin' freakishly fast 'n furious through December?! Ahhh well, and Happy Friday the 13th too!

The Salem Terror

Our previous Wanted post reminded me of this true story filler entry from the May 1948 issue of Wanted Comics #13, and concerns the late 1600's Salem Witch Trials. I meant to post it around the end of October a few months ago, but as is the case around Karswell Manor, sometimes things get lost in the spooky shuffle. But hey, there's nothing wrong with a little hellish US history lesson in the darkening days of December now either, is there? This one is nicely illustrated by Maurice Del Bourgo, and actually sticks pretty close to the facts too, though if you want to read more about it all you can always hit the 'ol inter-webs and get all the info you could ever possibly hope to find-- or just CLICK HERE after today's post.

Lucifer's Lush

An insane back-up horror tale found, oddly enough, at the end of the December 1946 - January 1947 issue of Black Cat #3. Yes, once you've finished allowing lovely Linda Turner, (alias The Black Cat) to whoop your sorry ass, you could then take an additional beating from some good 'ol black magic...