The Kukulkaton

Tom Sutton was another in the long line of awesome, later era artists to really blow my gradeschooler mind in the 70's. That organically loose, mutated style of his lended just as much to the creepy, high level concepts and monster designs, as to his doomed human characters fighting to stay alive with those beady little petrified pupil'd eyes poppin' outta their freaky faces! So now, enter The Kukulkaton (not to be confused with Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.) You get a murky glimpse of it on the cover of Monster Hunters #2 (Oct. '75), but to see it fully unleashed on the last page in all of its throbbing, Lovecraftian weirdness, well... I guess we all gasp 'n gooseflesh it with the tiny pupils once in a while, as well...

The Wakely Monster

As long as we're digging around in the creepy Charlton creature feature back issues, how about another wild one from the December 1975 issue of Monster Hunters #3, with cover and story art by terrifyin' Tom Sutton! The color register goes a little wild in a few places here too, but it's an interesting Swamp Thing / Man-Thing style tale of mad science gone viciously veggie-- not to mention we have a rockin' redhead caught up in the middle of it all too! Also have to admit, as much as I love that eerie Sutton cover painting, I kind of like Gredown's early 80's one-shot re-issue (and uncredited) re-do cover of Monstrosities just a bit better. So let's lead off this post with that one instead... oh hey, your shoe!!

The Convert

I typically like to deliver a little Shaitanic evil during December, aka the holiest of months. So let's kick it off with a devilishly diabolical entry from the October 1978 issue of Charlton's Monster Hunters #16. Interestingly loose illustrations and lay-outs from Enrique Puchades (making his THOIA debut), an artist who felt the need to sign his name on nearly every page --and sometimes even more than once on a single page too?! I also get the feeling we're seeing quite a number of Vampirella swipes every time demonic dame Regina pops into a panel. Okay, initially I thought this was cantankerous old monster huntin' horror host, Colonel Whiteshroud's first appearance on the blog too, but he actually told us a macabre little mermaid tale back in 2014 HERE! Lots more monsters, mummies, maniacs, and merry holiday spirits on the way all this month-- so staay tommbed!

Snake Charmer

Speakin' of snakes, let's take a slithery stroll down the circus scare-way, errrr, fairway, for some frighteningly fangy, sideshow fun, --all wonderfully wrapped in a skimpy, scaled bikini no less! Yes ladies and gentlemen, Madam Zhora definitely knows how to charm a snake or two, as well as put an end to any 'ol plumbin' problem you may be experiencin'! From the March 1978 issue of Monster Hunters #12.

Hoax / The Sea - Its Givings... and Takings!

I had a creepy chap write-in looking for a 70's comic he remembers as a lad but he couldn't recall any details other than it featured "a sea monster made out of barrels", and another story about a "hot mermaid." Pretty sure he's looking for the August 1975 issue of Monster Hunters #1, --and if this ain't the one I'll eat a hot mermaid! And fyi: the art on the hot mermaid tale is by Pete Morisi, many of you THOIA followers may be familiar with his awesome precode horror and crime work, so check the archives for more-- in fact, check out his Sewer Monsters tale HERE!