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.

Death Never Takes a Furlough

THOIA is officially at war with the vampires, and here swoops yet another black-winged, blood suckin' undead babe, complete with her creepy castle full of flesh-hungry, ghastly ghouls! Our American troops already had their hands full during Weird War 2-- now this! From the Nov. '52 issue of Web of Mystery #15, and while it is of course always great to archive yet another Lin Streeter screamer around these parts, just wait until you see the next couple of bat shit crazy WW2 vampire tales on deck! Beware-- they're coming!

The Vampire's Bones!

A few posts ago, a comment mentioned having to "re-read the story a few times to understand what was actually going on", and (for me anyway), the same thing applies with today's wicked vampire encounter, via the November 1952 issue of Adventures into the Unknown #37. It's still a wonderfully weird story, and I love the snooty aggressive nature and looks of the vicious vamp here. But our hapless hero, Gary Owens (not to be confused with the legendary Laugh-In announcer) continually talks about something on the first few pages that artist Pete Riss inexplicably chose not to even bother adding into the visuals. What really makes all of this even more odd is that it's even the freakin' title of the story! Or maybe I've just read this story incorrectly and missed something, who knows? Anyway, let 'ol Karswell know what you think. There are a few more vampires fluttering our way over the next couple of posts as well, so stay toodily tombed...