Collector's Item!

I swear I've posted this superb Atlas classic here before... but searching the archive under keywords (I even searched under Zorna), as well as the Marvel Tales and John Forte tags, still nothing comes up. Oh well, if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will correct me. And if I am making an oversight, it's still a goddamn great story from the December 1953 issue of Marvel Tales #119, and very worthy of a repeat posting. John Forte continually proves he can draw a really gorgeous gal, --even if she's the most horrendously horrible female on Earth!

On With the Dance!

If you've been a member of any type of social media platform for the last few decades, ie Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, etc., then you know at this point that "doom scrolling" for some eye pleasingly quick entertainment imagery is pretty much the norm in this age of increasingly shorter attention spans. The smaller anthology horror tale, as the kind featured regularly here at THOIA, play out well to this kind of audience, and even better (unfortunately) when someone takes a single panel out of context from one of these stories and posts it all over the internet for an even quicker laugh. And that's all fine I guess, but it kind of sucks that most people will never bother to dig a little deeper for the rest of a truly great Stan Lee / Russ Heath tale, like this one for example from the April 1953 issue of Menace #2. These isolated panels (first image below) have been floating around the web for years-- but now you finally get to know the full story!

The Spider Waits!

Time now to step into THOIA's parlor for another gruesome Golden Age tale of terror-- one from the February 1952 issue of Marvel Tales #105 to be exact! Fred Kida turns over a few stones to reveal the creepy-crawly underbelly of eight-legged evil, while Russ Heath traps you, and wraps you up tight with another terrifyingly brilliant Atlas cover image. 

The Torture Master!

The November 1953 issue of Men's Adventures #24 contains this grueling Russ Heath illustrated concentration camp terror tale about nazi experiment atrocities and torture, proving once again that historical based facts can most certainly be much more horrific than fiction.

Z-Z-Z-P!

A fast 'n fun Atlas weirdie for ya today, one that goes hand in boney hand with the man who lost his honkin' head via voodoo schmoodoo from last week, with great art from good 'ol Russ Heath, and from the October 1952 issue of Spellbound #8.

Dance of Death

You know you've found the perfect summertime screamer when the off-register coloring actually adds a bit to the visuals for a minor plot point moment, haha. Top notch work from Russ Heath of course, and despite the rather predictable conclusion you'll see flapping its way towards you from page 3, this tale also provides a few moments of very lovely good girl art, dance action, and atmosphere. From the September 1951 issue of Suspense #10, --and get a load of that weirdly masterful Joe Maneely cover! But FYI: I also included a creepy Carl Burgos cover, courtesy of the March 1953 issue of Adventure into Weird Worlds #16 at the very end of this post too because it seems to fit that final story panel pretty nicely-- now don't peek until you've read it to the end though!

Don't Turn Around!

Surprised this eerie Bill Everett heart-pounder hasn't found it's way into the THOIA Archive by now! It's a short but shivery one, and sure to FILL YOU with an AWFUL FEELING of, umm, dread. From the awesome April 1952 issue of Marvel Tales #106 --and a truly classic cover by rockin' Russ Heath too!)

The Corpse

Similar to last weeks post about the island, today's somber little tale of luridly living on, from the August 1953 issue of Menace #6, is as morbid as it is terrifyingly touching. It's a spooky Stan Lee and Russ Heath team-up, packing four pages of putrid punch to tug at the noose-shaped heartstrings you feel slowly winding around your throat...









Who else could you get to stay with a ghost, you ask? How about the woman that recently died in the house?! Anyone hear a knock at the door?

The End!

We ended June on an evil Atlas note, and now we kick things off in July just the same, with one helluva Russ Heath horror tale from the April 1952 issue of Spellbound #2. And while it may say "The End!" there in that mind-blowing splash panel below, Mr. Karswell would like to let everyone know that this is actually... only... the... beginning...