The Flies!

Flyday Fridays are back at THOIA! And wowzers, I'm not sure we've partaken a tale from Marvel's legendary Legion of Monsters #1 one-shot (September 1975) before, so I guess it's finally time to hear what all the buzzzz is about! The titanic, three-way team-up of Gerry Conway, Paul Kirchner, and Ralph Reese do a pretty consistent job of plopping real life side show actor / performer, Schlitzie into the horrible, humiliatin' action, though of course underground comix legend, Bill Griffith first popularized Schlitzie's likeness as Zippy the Pin Head in both comic books and syndicated strips just a few years earlier. This all coming about, of course, in large part thanks to the rediscovery of Todd Browning's 1932 cult classic, FREAKS, as it made it's grand revival through the 60's midnight movie circuit, and late-nite horror host show airings on the 'ol boob tube. Okay, with all of that out of the way, let's not forget to gaze longingly at the glorious cover painting by Neal Adams-- Yow!

With Knife in Hand!

Most of the great Jack Katz stories that we've featured HERE at THOIA over the years have been devoted to his ominous output for Pines publishing house. So sometimes it's only right to remind everyone that he also did some amazing work for Atlas as well-- like this deadly doozy from the murderous May 1954 issue of Strange Tales #28.

A Man Named Satan

Time to crack open a hot one, as THOIA celebrates Easter 2026 in the only infernal way we know how-- with a tribute to Satan! More than anything, I felt like the coloring of this story, with its heavy use of purples and greens, seemed a bit Easter eggy. Though lo and behold of course, illustrator legend, Bernie Krigstein's evil uniqueness shines through! From the December 1950 issue of Marvel Tales #98. And just for the hilarious Hell of it, I've also added a devilishly funny gag by HAM! Have yourselves an especially evil Easter!

Dripping Fangs / Vampire Bat Kill!

At THOIA, we prefer our detective mysteries laced with a dripping, double dose of horror, --and here are two that fit the frightening bill nicely. First up, King O'Leary and his frisky sidekick Kitty are on the chiller-diller case of murder at a midnight monster movie, via the December 1945 issue of Zoom Comics #1! Followed by a 3-page, not-so-perfect quickie crime, utilizing a bloodthirsty bat as a murder weapon (ummm, the flying mammal kind, not a baseball bat!), from the April 1950 issue of The Perfect Crime #2. George Appel's art on the first story is quite nice though, and loaded with atmosphere, even reminding me of King Ward in a few places, most notably the freakish faces, and interesting angles. So get ready! Match wits with the coppers, and see how quickly you can solve these crazy crimes!

House of Wax!

APRIL FOOLS! It's not "House of Wax" at all-- it's "House of Whacks!" hahaha from the December 1953 debut issue of Mad #1! APRIL FOOLS! It's not from the December 1953 issue of Mad #1 at all either, it's actually from the December 1953 issue of Eh! #1 published by EC-- errr, April Fools uhhgain, --from Charlton. Eh! ran 700 issues... April Foo... ehhhh... that's to say, 7 issues total before calling it quits, just like I'm calling it quits with this rather annoyingly foolish gag o'my own! And if you think this intro is full of tired attempts at humor, wait'll you get a load of this vampire story, because it's incredibly funny, and totally unique and oooo boy... April freakin' Fools for probably the last goddamn time ever. Yeesh, even the Sam Spade Wild-Root hair tonic advertisment that I tossed onto the end of this post is somehow way sillier!

Mystery of the Missing Mummy

Something slightly different for our final March of the Mummies Monday, and we're going waaaay back to the March 1939 issue of Funny Picture Stories Volume 3 #2, from Centaur. It's a spooky old detective mystery full of fun, Saturday matinee serial thrills, and stiffly superb artwork by E. F. Webster, who also penned the script. GCD notes that aside from this foray into comics, Webster was also a fine arts painter, as well as a former federal agent. Maybe that explains the natural knack for weird mysteries, such as this. 

Hope everyone enjoyed this month of macabre mummery!