Spirit Spasms

Three funny little gag comics from the great Vic Martin, (oh how I love that sad ghost shooting himself!), plus some assorted spooky puzzles.

I’ll have more Vic Martin and other fun supernatural filler stuff for you tomorrow too.

The Pit of Horror!

Thank God it’s Satan: Revisited! Yep, Demon Days are here again and today I deliver unto you a Diabolic Devil Double Header of Bill Everett classics! This is the final day of stories from Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 (hope you enjoyed it) and it's also the last day for the Lyric Challenge. Slide your submissions into the comment box before 8pm Central time tonight so the judges have ample time of their own to go over everything thoroughly. If you missed a day or two it’s not too late to go back and enter the earlier posts this week too.

Come on! Win some neat prizes, or be cast forever into...







Too easy today... from the Misfits it's Earth A.D.

"...on Earth as it is in hell,
We'll see you get to like it in A.D., A.D.,
People gonna talk about A.D., A.D.,
Bloody hell and sacrifice.
You, your heads on a big display,
Oh, your really gonna like it here A.D., A.D.,
The people gonna talk about A.D., A.D.,
Living hell is not so bad..."

Satan Is Waitin’

BONUS: Everett delivers a super silly Satano slap… from the March 1954 issue of Wild #2

And for a Silver Age Everett classic head over to Chuck’s Comic Book Catacombs today as he continues to kindly play host to more THOIA goodies.

But wait-- what's this? Why it's Pappy from Pappy's Golden Age Comics Blog! Lookin' extra swanky in his brand new THOIA t-shirt too. Now that's some class right there folks!

Also, head over to Pappy's blog today too for some bra-bustin' Bill Ward cheesecake, as well as a great Ace horror post from earlier this week called Spell of the Devil Dancers! Click HERE!

Down in the Cellar

No doubt today’s tale is by Paul Cooper, there’s his signature right in the splash. But the Atlas Tales page lists Matt Fox with a question mark so can someone explain this (Ger?) Maybe Cooper penciled and Fox inked? [That's the guess. -- Nequam] There is a definite Fox vibe here in places, most notably the creepy shrunken head and other random detail. Okay whatever, time to read a classic tale of terror, and for those still in the game its Lyric Challenge, Day Four! Begin!

From the Sept 1952 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #10

Too Old to Live

This is definitely not the best tale of the week, or from this issue, but as promised I’m giving you the entire Adventures into Weird Worlds #10. Stories like today's entry are sort of typical Atlas filler, but even Atlas at its most filler-iffic was still miles better than some of the other publishers of the time. This one is short and sweet, with a good crutch whackin' panel, though a slightly predictable, yet satisfying twist ending. [I see "Abbo" down in the bottom of the splash panel. Wonder what that means? -- Nequam]

And don't forget to enter the Lyric Challenge!

“...there is nothing more for you and I,

I'm 93, you're sixteen,

And I think I'm goin' blind…”

Goin’ Blind by KISS

The Killers!

Day Two of Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 and also our Lyric Challenge contest! Today we have a great Bernie Krigstein creature classic… it’s one of my favorite tales by him, and one that undoubtably helped spawn the countless imitation stories that used this same plot in the Silver Age monster-fests yet to come. Awwwesome.

“Many miles away, something crawls to the surface,

Of a dark Scottish lake…” (Synchronicity 2 by The Police)

The Ghoul!

For this entire week’s presentation of the September 1952 issue of Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 we’ll be holding another THOIA contest, this time called Lyric Challenge (as suggested by Patrick Kendall.) Simply put, you read the post, make your usual insightful comments, but then also include lyrics from any song that fits the overall theme or mood of the story itself. It could be a metal masterpiece, a pop jangler, a country ditty, a rap catastrophe,…you name it, and we’ll rate it. Plus! You might just win yourself a THOIA t-shirt in the process.

A winner will be announced next weekend by a "special guest judge" (or two), and runs EVERYDAY this week. You must participate in at least 3 of the challenges to be eligible to win. Is this getting too complicated? Read my entry example for today’s ghoulish tale after the story below. Begin!

The Graveyard by King Diamond
“Where am I? What am I doing here,

In this God forsaken graveyard?

Yeah... that's what I'm doing...
I remember now,

This is my new home

And they will never find me here.”

"The Man-Eater"

More gruesome sci-fi horror for you today, (see the space ships on the first page? Yeah, that means “sci-fi” here at THOIA.) And as you can also see, pages 4 and 5 have a small corner chunk of artwork missing (thanks corner-eater!) Annoying, but doesn’t affect the story at all.

From the January 1952 issue of Astonishing #8

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The Finger

This is our first creepy sci-fi tale of the weekend, and like I said, if you thought you were going to see something out of Buck Rogers today then you don’t know your THOIA. And what’d I tell ya? I told ya I’d be giving you The Finger today, didn’t I? I wish I could say I was giving you The Devil Horns. Bang. Your. Heads.

From the January 1952 issue of Astonishing #8

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Even the Dubble Bubble Gang got in on the horror action back in the day. Actually, when The Finger from another dimension wasn’t chewing up the scenery (and cast) in the tale above, it was moonlighting on the side and starring as bubblegum in ads from the 50’s like this one. What an actor!

You Are the Murderer!

This one treads deep into EC territory but comes up in the end with some nice surprises of its own... add to that a spooky splash and typically gorgeous Art Gates art. I always love stories with a screaming title that shifts the blame onto the reader for its doomed finale. YOU DID IT!

From the September 1953 issue of Crime Mysteries #9

For another fun, though much less dark crime tale, head over to Chuck’s Comic Book Catacombs today by clicking HERE! And get ready, because tomorrow I’m totally going to give you all the finger!

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Dave Tackett vs. Deadite!"Just got my THOIA T-shirt and it's already saved me. Just after opening the package, a strange, swirly time-vortex opened and a hideous Deadite jumped through. It was about to strike me down when it noticed the t-shirt. Suitably impressed, it immediately began replacing its outdated medieval tunic with the latest in terror fashion. This bought me some time. Thinking quickly, I opened THOIA on my computer which has completely captivated the Deadite. I am now safe for a long time because, fortunately, Deadites are slow readers who like to linger over the art in each panel."

Thanks, Dave

Great pic Dave, and whew--- that was indeed a close call! I’m glad you were able to hold off a sinister soul swallower. And how very convenient that it wears the same size shirt as you!

FYI: Dave is the Star Commander of Quasar Dragon, one of the best blog sources around for finding a variety of instant links to FREE sci-fi, horror, and fantasy comics, movies, zines, short stories etc… check him out by clicking HERE, and prepare to be overwhelmed!