Double Danse Macabre

Zero, Ghost Detective was another in a long line of fun supernatural back-up filler crime horror heroes, this time found in the pages of Quality's Feature Comics (home to Doll Man, among others.) Though Zero lacked any real magical abilities, his extensive knowledge of the occult helped him put an end to the terrifyin' evil shenanigans plaguing mankind, as you'll see in today's Saturday Matinee Double Feature Dance Macabre, where cult creeps in graveyards can be one hellva nuisance! The first story comes from the January 1943 issue of Feature Comics #64 and is illustrated by wild man Witmer Williams who really knew his way around a grinning skull, --not to mention a fine form fitting cloak on a female figure! Followed by the somewhat similar second tale going back a few years to the earlier days of Zero, all the way in fact to the August 1940 issue of Feature Comics #35, and this time colorfully brought to life by Dan Zolnerowich. Don't be surprised to see more Zero in the coming New Year as well...

Cult of Killers!

Who's ready for a heapin' fistful of more crime horror? This time our "Monday Murdering" comes via the Feb. '53 issue of Wanted Comics #52, and Bill Woolfolk delivers yet another whip-smart crackin' script for Harry Anderson to beautifully load-up with cloaked cult kooks, smokey opium dens, swirling dancers, and dead duck dames; in particular, one truly disturbing hanging aftermath panel. So grab your black bandit masks, it's time to stop a couple'a cold-blooded, crazed killers on the loose! PLUS, another juicy John Buscema cover too!

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!

Sacrifice!

Let's close out a rather macabre May 2024 with a proper offering to the ancient elder comic book gods of horror, from the April 1953 issue of Chilling Tales #15, and featuring art by Vince Napoli. Tomb in all next month for lots more terrifyin' treats, and we here at The Horrors of it All hope that everyone enjoyed the selection of posts this month...

"You Don't Dare Dig the Gruesome Groupies!"

Satanic Saturdays are back, and we're re-sellin' our souls for rock 'n roll with this darlin' lil ditty about makin' it big in the 'ol music biz! DC never stopped trying to make the most out of popular pop culture trends by putting spooky twists on everything the kids were currently into back then... and I guess things haven't really changed much with the rather out of touch way that things actually work / don't work in the industry. Still makes for 100% pure entertainment! From the December 1971 issue of The Unexpected #130.

Sinister Snake Cult of Brother Rath!

We've seen an unholy plethora of horrors here at THOIA over the years: monsters roaming the night in search of gory feasts, epic terror from beyond the stars, pissed off xmas trees, etc. But one thing possibly more terrifying than all others, is the all too human religious fanatic performing bat$hit evil in the name of "God." As is the case of todays atmospheric action adventure featuring the crime fightin' wits of "The Echo", ie: a mild-mannered ventriloquist with the occasionally convincing ability to throw his voice around and, okay whatever, plus his siblings (uh, Dr. Doom?!!) vs. a viciously violent, snake handlin' psychopath cult! The story clips along nicely, with the real highlight being the frantically fun, oddly eerie artwork (and lettering) by Paul Gattuso which adds a whole other level of unique crazy to the peculiar proceedings. Originally featured in the Oct '45 issue of Dynamic Comics #16, this one also slithered its way into Mike Howlett's super chilling SNAKE TALES hardcover collection. CLICK HERE for more info!















Wanna check out something a little more sleuthy silly, and on the grave robbin' side of this same Dynamic Comics issue-- just CLICK HERE!