Death from the Sea

Another Toby tale shambles forth from the ominous ocean, via the January 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #4. Pro team pals, Ben Brown and David Gantz amp up the atmospherics, with supernatural scare settings on SUPER SOAKER, as a cute blonde reporter on vacation finds herself in the middle of some rather sinister, seaside shenanigans! Also of interest: this tale was reworked for Road to Disaster (1982), one of the many wild Gredown horror reprint one-shot mags from Australia, and retitled, "The Slimy Haunt." As much as I'd love to see that, I'm actually much more curious about the cover story, "Supper in the Graveyard" (aka, "Michael's Last Supper"), you must see the last scan below-- I love that crazy cover!

 

Demons Below Us!

I think we'll stick with these golden age Toby stories for a few more posts, and this time it's another one from good 'ol Myron Fass again, and from the June 1952 debut issue of Tales of Horror #1. This entry also contains an unnamed, high-collared horror host (resembling Ditko's "Mysterious Traveler" just a bit) who is possibly making his debut here at THOIA, --does anyone know for sure? So okay, with rats inheriting the Earth in our previous post (HERE!), it's now time to find out what happens when demons blow us! Wait, that's not right... 

"Who Shall Inherit the Earth?"

When dirty rats rise to power, it's time to fight the dirty rats with everything you have. Don't let the dirty rats win! From the January 1953 issue of Tales of Horror #4, and reprinted a couple times in the Eerie Pubs, as well as Haunted Horror #6. Make the dirty rats pay. Are you hearing me? Do you fully understand what I mean? Fight a dirty rat-- today!

The Serpent Strikes

While most of us weren't familiar with the magical exploits of Yarko in our previous post (HERE), I do believe a few of you are quite aware of the macabre, mystical powers of Dr. Jonathan Weir, aka The Purple Claw! We've hosted a clawful of PC horror adventures here over the years, so if you're unfamiliar somehow, just check the THOIA Archive for more! And what'a ya know, this story also sneakily qualifies as a Werewolf Wednesday post too! And no, I don't mean a Dr. Weir-wolf tale, just read 'em and were-weep, fiends, all will be made clear to you very soon. From the March 1953 issue of The Purple Claw #2.

The Web of Horror

We haven't seen a silly Purple Claw horror adventure around here in quite a while, so here's a good one from the March 1953 issue of Purple Claw #2. Boy oh boy, Brown and Gantz sure could draw a sexy lady... I do wonder if they've ever seen an actual spider in real life though? Hmmm...

The Ripper's Return

One more from the Sept '52 issue of Tales of Horror #2 (see previous post for another), and it's a short, but oddly entertaining mix of Jack the Ripper and muddled, mad science. And despite the usual kooky perspective issues, the Hollingsworth art is actually pretty solid here for once too.









"All hear my warning, never turn your back on--
THE RIPPER!"

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.