Demon Lover

Girls! Do you have what it takes to reform the greatest sinner of all time? If you think you do-- think again! Of all the cockamamie love stories I've ever posted here at THOIA, this is surely one of the cockamamiest! From the Sept '54 issue of Horrific #13, art by Max Elkin and cover by Don Heck.

It Walked By Night

"It is said that the ghost of a man long dead paces the house-- paces in silent fury-- while the wind howls dismally..." is not only some of my favorite precode horror comic narrative ever scripted (thanks again to fab Frank Belknap Long), but it also accompanies one the absolute best ever Max Elkan panel illustrations of the 1950's (see bottom of page 4.) And that's why we're treading more Adventures into the Unknown waters, because not only do we have a familiarly fantastic, centuries spanning murder curse mystery scenario here, but also some of Elkan's finest shadow and silhouette work, plus dripping, seaweed covered undead shambling up the shore, --and don't forget a healthy, delicious dose of gorgeous good girl art too! Top notch ACG entry right here...

Love from a Plant

THOIA follower, Otto, emailed me looking for some answers to a comic cover he remembered seeing at a grocery store over half a century ago, and I believe this Ross Andru / Mike Esposito pair-up from Mystery Tales #16 (1964) fits the bill. Now if you clicked the GCD link in the previous sentence, you undoubtably noticed that the story itself actually originated in the Sept '52 issue of Tales of Horror #2, that's because Mystery Tales #16 is simply a complete reprint of that entire issue, just with brand spankin' new cover art. This story also found its way into Haunted Horror #4 in 2013.

Death Wins the Fall / The Devil's Chamber

My new DEVIL TALES collection from IDW / Yoe Books was originally supposed to be in stores last week, but the date has been pushed back a bit to February 16th now. To celebrate the release, I had a smoldering pile of left-over devil stories (tales NOT featured in the collection) ready to help hellishly hype it all this month-- and obviously we're still going with that plan because today I have a few more! If anyone has a problem with this theme, you can take it up with 'Ol Beelzebub himself! :) "Death Wins the Fall" is from the March 1954 issue of Horrific #10, art by Max Elkin, and "The Devil's Chamber" is a one-page filler tale from the August 1952 issue of Adventures into the Unknown #34, art by Milk Knopf.

And please click HERE to pre-order DEVIL TALES now!

DRACULA: The Vampire's Curse (Part Two)

And now the fairly exciting, and somewhat sort of climatic finale to the Oct - Dec 1962 Dell version of Dracula, (aka "The Vampire's Curse"), from Movie Classic #231. I have a sneaky suspicion that Dell possibly intended to keep their re-invented Dracula saga going with more issues, hence the rather abrupt, open ending here. Anyone know for certain? And does anyone feel gypped by the lacula? FYI: "Lacula" is a new word I invented to define a Dracula story that lacks some Dracula. Now you know.

Interested in seeing more Dell Horror classics? Let us know!

DRACULA: The Vampire's Curse (Part One)

Back in January I posted the Dell Movie Classic version of The Creature from the Black Lagoon (click HERE.) Today we resurrect the October - December 1962 Dell version of Dracula, (aka "The Vampire's Curse"), from Movie Classic #231. This is a very different, almost complete re-vamping of the classic Stoker story that we all know, but it's still a decently told, atmospheric tale with unusually moody and occasionally gorgeous artwork from Max Elkan. Come back this weekend for part two!

To be continued...