Fifty-Fifty! / Hate!

You can't deny that when we have an Atlas Fest here at THOIA, it's always a damn good time! And because a few of you axed for it, we'll close out the month with another double header (or is that a beheader?!) Bill LaCava proves that hate is stronger than blood, with a very cleaver, errr, a very clever classic from the August 1952 issue of Marvel Tales #108. But first up, a rather dividing tale of divorce and doom from the May 1953 issue of Marvel Tales #114. The Atlas Tales site thinks this is a team-up art attack from Jack Hearne and Bill Savage, and that sounds savagely good to me too-- either way that you slice it! Hope everyone enjoyed this month of Atlas, you can look forward to another mix of macabre stories from some of the other finer precode publishers, and maybe even a surprise or two as we slide into super September already (?!!), inching closer and closer to Halloween!! Stay tombed...

Which Wish, Dish?

From the March 1955 issue of Mystic #36 (the very last precode issue from this series before they added the hideous comic code stamp of approval *gag!) And leave it to Jay Scott Pike to illustrate one of the most gorgeous bad girls of them all... she actually kind of reminds me of a Silver Age era Buscema gal! Anyway, be careful what you wish for, already!!

Perfect Mate / Once Upon a Corpse

If you're suddenly overcome with a creeping sense of deja vu, it's because yes, just last month we had another post also called "The Perfect Mate" (Atlas had a thing about re-using story titles!) But you have my word that this "perfect mate", from the August 1952 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #12, is quite different than the last one! And as mentioned in our previous post, today's Double Header is also a double shot of Marty Elkin eeriness, two atmospheric entries from the glorious, golden era of comic book shock spookery! Now, "Once Upon a Corpse", from the June 1952 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #11 might leave a few of you less imaginative fiends scratching your head in the end. But I like to think that 'ol Marty simply delivered one of the more original supernatural tales-- featuring a vampiric grave with an appetite all its own! Oh, did I just spoil it for you? Too bad...

"The Neat Trick"

We've been looking at old time stage magic over at AEET this month HERE, so how about we bring a little bit of the 'ol slight of head-- errr, HAND-- over here to THOIA as well, eh? This is a fun, Atlas quickie from the June 1952 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #11, with Harry Lazarus and George Klein teaming up on art duties... and fyi: there's nothing up my sleeve (or inside my collar), but we might just lose our heads in the next post as well, so stay tombed for that coming up next-- I swear, it's gonna be a seriously wild weekend Double Header that you know you won't wanna miss out on!

The Head on Traitor's Gate!

The last post of June 2025 delivers a splashy severed head stuck high upon a gory gate! Yes, it's a gorgeously gruesome glimpse into a crime horror theme we'll see much more of in July, meaning a bounty of Bentley of Scotland Yard / "Can You Guess Who The Killer Is?" tales! From the October 1942 issue of Pep Comics #32, and featuring early art work from THOIA fan favorite, Paul Reinman! Hold onto your h-h-h-ats, and everything inside of 'em, --Mr. Karswell promises a weirder, wilder, and a way more violent month of posts as this sinister summer sadistically scorches on...

The Inquisition: No Kings Day Edition

Lately the world seems to be overflowing with miserable cultists creating nonstop, needless chaos. Their lies and actions inflicting pain, suffering, and yes, even death is totally unacceptable. Fueled by outdated, and very unwanted beliefs and agendas, this way of thinking has no place in modern society, and we at THOIA aim our middle fingers high, equally condemning all wannabe tyrants and so-called kings and rulers who pointlessly crave the ruination of our lives, as well as the lives of our brothers and sisters. With that said, let's take a look at a similar form of historic, though no less Hellish hypocrisy-- The Inquisition, from the February 1974 issue of Skywald's Nightmare #17. And yes, this is also yet another gruesome glimpse / expose into how certain untrustworthy news media outlets spin and spew their garbage narratives completely out of control. (The more things seem to change, the more they stay the same, no?) And if you're one who still doesn't believe that things are in fact, very out of control today, then you my friend are simply not paying attention. 

(Last scan below: "The Inquisition" oil painting on canvas by Victor Schivert, 1900.)

"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!

Begin to Live!

Beginning a whole new madcap month of posts here at THOIA, so let's really live it up right out of the gate with this oddball, Ed Smalle, sci-fi horror mash-up from the August - September 1953 issue of Weird Mysteries #6. And to be honest, this feels like something goofy 'ol Ed Wood would've concocted, --and that is certainly not a bad thing! Also not bad at all is that murderously magical, brutal Bernard Bailey cover illustration!