The Living Dead

Another top notch terror tale originally published in the April 1953 issue of Mysterious Adventures #13 (see our previous post HERE!) is this incredibly icky, super-smelly spooker by the always awesome, Art Gates. The superb splash, and almost alien final panel are really something, and I seriously regret not adding this to my Haunted Love mini-series. Later silver age reprint publications though, including the Eerie Pubs, brought it back from the dead in the 70's, and even Australia's Gredown resurrected it a few times too, most notably in Tales of Torment #2 (1978), all wrapped up in a rockin' rotten zombie cover design, --as you shall see below!

Death Comes in Small Pieces!

Last month we featured a few frightening tales set in a funeral home, and now today we descend down into yet another eerie embalming chamber for a sickening sneak peak at the lonesome, psychotic life of the absolute most deplorable mortician of all time. Yep, he's definitely got a few problems with a few people, not to mention a few rather macabre momentos hanging in his f-f-f-freezer. If you've ever wondered exactly how hard one person can literally F up everything they touch, well... here ya go! Marty Elkin goes full blast on the gory deets, and Dick Beck delivers one of the most iconic precode horror covers of the 50's, ever! From the April 1953 issue of Mysterious Adventures #13...

Escape from Hell!

The January 1954 issue of Fantastic Fears #5 features a couple of really hot numbers, including (as some of you may remember) the early Ditko classic, "Stretching Things" which can be found rather deep, deep down in the THOIA 2007 Archive HERE! Well, here comes another atrocity from this issue, with GCD believing this to be the work of joltin' Jack Abel. It's a quick little fearsome 4-pager that actually offers no real escape-- sorry for the spoiler, but OMG this is HELL after all! Yep, Satanic Saturday is back, --and don't be surprised if we hear more from 'Ol Scratch and his minions en masse before the month is out!

Holloween Horror Time!

October is here! Time to roll out the orange and black carpet of creeps for our usual month-long Halloween celebration which is actually not that much unusually different than any other month of the year, tbh! Hey, speaking of, do you know anyone who still calls it "Holloween?" Lol! Occasionally I'll see someone spell it like that on social media, or wherever, and I just have to think to myself, "Why, that dumbbell must have holes in their head!" And then sometimes, that's right when the REAL fun begins! So buckle up and take a few tips from Swilber Smith and the March - April 1954 issue of Fantastic Fears #6 --cuz things is just gettin' started 'round here and ya oughta not miss a single post, no sir!

The Klan Killers

THOIA's "War with the Vampires" theme this month finally winds down, but we still have one more batty battle left to wage! And while the nazi bat-winged jerks of today's tale aren't exactly "vampires", they sure do a great job of suckin' at everything anyway! This is a super fun dose of the 'ol weird war tale, via the pummelin' fists of Commander Steel (of the International Police Service) and the April 1946 issue of Grand Slam Comics #52. Featuring some really awesome, though unfortunately uncredited artwork, and similar to our previous entry, it's a lengthy one, but still super fast paced... not to mention, these green robed klan kooks filling the sky with their sinister silhouettes make for some magically macabre moments. And make sure you check out that hilarious contest ad at the bottom, where to enter, all you have to do is destroy your comic book collection, haha... see you all in October for you know what.

Draco-Saki!

One of the wildest, weird war horror villains to ever butt heads with a Four Faves Golden Age supe, (Unknown Soldier), was equally the "Father of all Japanese evil, and spirit of the underworld" aka --DRACO-SAKI! And however you choose to spell his name throughout the story, (?!) his sinister, supernatural vampire abilities are anything but suki, for example: the typical transformation into a bat, hypnotism, etc. Meanwhile, his most interestingly unique and hysterically unusual talent lies in the putrid power of overpowering and possessing his victims with a freaky fume emitted via his gaping, empty eye socket. GAG! MAD Magazine legend, Harvey Kurtzman clearly had a blast coming up with that goofy, gross-out detail, and the whole whoppin', 13 page adventure is just frenzy paced, fists a'flyin' fun. I love Kurtzman during this early 40's phase of his amazing career (see also this Lash Lightning tale in the THOIA Archive HERE!) From the August 1943 issue of Four Favorites #11.