Monday, May 19, 2025

The Case of the Missing Tombstones!

Well, Tombstone Tuesday just moved to Monday, all apologies folks! My pre-planned schedule has been thrown off since the big 'ol storm that blew through the midwest a few days ago and knocked out our power for a spell. But everything's slowly back to (ab)normal around here, and since nothing else could possibly go wrong (could it?), how about something a bit more fun yet still equally abnormal with a kooky spooky Inspector Klooz case from the Oct. - Nov. '46 issue of Young King Cole V2#2. Fans of silly slapsticky horror, as well as Terrytoon's Heckle & Jeckle will surely enjoy the distinct illustrative stylings of Connie Rasinski / JAC / Jason Comic Art.

Thursday, May 15, 2025

Voodoo

Buried in the back pages of the July - August 1948 issue of Exposed #3, (among the typical sort of bang bang gangster crime stories) lurks this hair-raisin' Harry Kiefer illustrated tale of vicious voodoo ultra violence. Swirling with demons, death dolls, and brutal torture, this is a wild little ghastly gem of grisly horror from south of the blood-soaked border...

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

The Blue Zombie

Who's ready for another eerie entry in the super fun, Golden Age "Fantastic Feature Films" series illustrated by the always terrific, June Tarpé Mills? (See the previous two posts HERE and one over at AEET HERE!) This time it's a chilly weird war creeper actioner, meshing mad science w/ the living dead, and shambling forth via the July '40 issue of Target Comics V1#6.

Saturday, May 10, 2025

The Subway Terror!

Traveling across state lines to hook up with a minor is absolutely a monster level no-no, but some people have to learn the hard way! Wait a second, that's not what this story is about, --that's the other "Subway Terror" currently serving 15 years in prison. Anyway, the terrors presented in today's post are just as despicably awful, so hang on tight as Mister Mystery himself takes you down down down into an equally low level, where other unseen monsters live among us. From the Nov. '51 issue of Mister Mystery #2, art by Mike Esposito.

Thursday, May 8, 2025

One Awful Night with a Fiend

There's another random, isolated comic book panel making the Tumblr meme rounds (see the middle image at the top of page 5 below.) A few people wrote in asking what it's from, so here we go with a Mike Sekowsky illustrated tale about a struggling actress trapped in an unholy Hollywood nightmare. For a story packed with grave robbing, black magic, and the resurrection of an evil snuff film maker, you'd think this would all be a bit more unnerving instead of just spooky silly, but it still has its moments. GCD notes that Vince Alascia contributed the inks here as well. From the April 1952 issue of Hand of Fate #10.

Monday, May 5, 2025

Snake-Eyes of Doom!

Another full month of macabre May-hem continues with an eerie, satanic classic from the January - February 1954 issue of Eerie #14, with art by the terrifically top-notch terror team-up of Nodel and Alascia. Roll those blood-soaked bones!

Friday, May 2, 2025

Maskless Axeman

Not to be confused with "Assless Chaps Man" (the alter ego of Brian Barnes), Maskless Axeman was the very first entry in the super cool, but brief "Fantastic Feature Films" anthology back-up filler tales from the earliest days of Novelty's hero-driven, Target Comics. It's a clever concept, as if we just walked into the the theater as a film is starting, --we can even see the backs of the heads from the people seated in front of us. We also get the title card and cast listing highlighting a handful of the same reoccurring actors and actresses, most notably "Orson Black" swiping Lon Chaney's moniker as "The Man of a Thousand Faces." There was around a dozen or so of these created, mostly self-contained, crime driven adventures, with a few based on literary classics like Treasure Island and Gulliver's Travels, and of course a few with some downright gruesome great horror overtones like the one in today's post, via the February 1940 issue of Target Comics V1#1 (and listed on GCD as the 666th comic entry, no less!) June Tarpé Mills, one of the first major female comic artists of the Golden era, provided the art for all but two entries, and she does a superb job with the heroes, heavies, and especially the Hollywood-esque hotties, as equally evident in the other story I have featured over at AEET HERE today as well-- check it out after today's blood soaked THOIA story!