Horripilate Host & The Prince of Evil: 19 Years of The Horrors of it All!

On this day 19 years ago (aka 2007), I cracked open the 'ol comic book long boxes and got to work scanning everything I had accumulated over my many decades of fiendish, fan boy collector existence. The point wasn't so much to just have everything backed-up on disc (which it is now, finally-- whew!), but to also begin something I had been mulling over in my horrible head for a few months prior-- and that was to not only start a big bad blog about horror comics, but to even turn my own dork ass self into the horrorest online host of 'em all. The initial game plan was to primarily focus on the Golden era of terrifyin' precode titles. Then over the years that concept changed a bit, and we "flashed forward" occasionally to check out Silver Age screams, as well as throwing Bronze Age bloodbaths upon our alter of evil too. 

The response in those early years of THOIA's existence was incredibly positive, and very rewarding too! And even though the fanbase of the blog has slowed down here a bit over the last decade, it's never ever stopped being a fun ride. As many of you know, THOIA helped me fulfill my dream of producing and publishing award winning hardcover books, including two separate, and critically acclaimed comic book series' with Yoe Books and IDW, --plus, a string of Rondo Nominations, as well as winning the highly honorable Last Drive-In Bolo Award in 2020 (thanks again to Joe Bob and Darcy!) A couple of terrific trips to participate in SDCC discussion panels, autograph sessions, and even gigs with a handful of other publishers as well, were all icing on the creep cake. 

So yeah, I guess I'm pretty proud of what I've created here over the years. But honestly, through it all the biggest perk for me has been meeting so many great, devoted horror comic fans who continue to follow this blog (as well as AEET), and these friendships created will undoubtably last for allll eternity. But the inevitable question persists: how long will THOIA last? I don't really have an answer for that, nor do I have plans of killing it off anytime soon --if that's where you suddenly thought this lengthy intro was heading! But as we all get older and the collection runs thinner of usable / worthy material, it's bound to happen eventually. Hopefully later than sooner! So in the meantime, happy birthday to us all, --and yes, you too! Please have yourselves a nice big slice of that creep cake because you're all an equally important mechanism of this functioning, monsterama machine too! 

Now, enough blab about Mr. Karswell, let's move on to what this blog is really all about, featuring two tales concerning a couple of other horror host chums o'mine. As you'll discover, neither are the sharpest blades in the 'ol sacrificial knife drawer though, so apologies in advance if this post hurts a bit! From the December '73 issue of Chilling Adventures in Sorcery #4, and the Dec '74 issue of Red Circle Sorcery #10.

Kronos--Zagros--Eborak!

Some of you may have pondered: "When did Mr. Karswell first get hooked on Satan?" And the answer comes via the very first time I read a DC horror comic yarn illustrated by the ever fearsome, Frank Thorne! More precisely, the August 1976 issue of House of Mystery #244. This wildly wicked story is overloaded with great Kashdan moments: a sinister brainwashing ceremony, half-nude cult cuties, a kick ass kung-fu fight in a steam bath, and a final page with more clever twists than a pentagram shaped pretzel! If you've never read this one, you're in for a treat. And a very special "Kronos--Zagros--Eborak" to those of you lovin' that diabolically demonic Luiz Dominguez cover below, too!

The Kukulkaton

Tom Sutton was another in the long line of awesome, later era artists to really blow my gradeschooler mind in the 70's. That organically loose, mutated style of his lended just as much to the creepy, high level concepts and monster designs, as to his doomed human characters fighting to stay alive with those beady little petrified pupil'd eyes poppin' outta their freaky faces! So now, enter The Kukulkaton (not to be confused with Kukla, Fran, and Ollie.) You get a murky glimpse of it on the cover of Monster Hunters #2 (Oct. '75), but to see it fully unleashed on the last page in all of its throbbing, Lovecraftian weirdness, well... I guess we all gasp 'n gooseflesh it with the tiny pupils once in a while, as well...

Face of Love / Death + Essays into the Supernatural: The Werewolf

Another 70's comic book that made a huge impression on young Mr. Karswell was the April 1974 issue of Red Circle Sorcery #6. Awaiting readers behind that amazing, Vampira-esque cover design by the late, great Gray Morrow, (one of my most favorite covers ever), was a nifty little tie-in tale about a radio DJ and his #1 deadicated fan in listener land! Even at a a single digit age, I still recognized this spooky Marv Channing / Vicente Alcazar spin on the cool 'n creepy Clint Eastwood cinematic classic, "Play Misty For Me" (1971.) And Gray Morrow wasn't finished with the cover, --also included within this issue was his fun one-page filler "Essay into the Supernatural" about "The Werewolf", which rounds out today's post on a ferocious, snarling high note.

The Old Mill

As mentioned in my intro to the previous post, THOIA turns 19 in a few weeks (July 12th to be exact!), so let's spend the lead-up to that date with a few scary stories that made a huge impact on Mr. Karswell as a young 6 year old just discovering comics in the 70's. My grandmother had taken me antiquing in Farmington MO, and I found and purchased (with my own allowance!) a large stack of mind blowing, coverless horror comics. To say these changed my life would be a serious understatement, --because here I am a half century later still going gaga over them! And notably, a few of these comics that I found that day turned out to be Marvel titles like Crypt of Shadows and Vault of Evil, and these of course contained reprints of the amazing Atlas era precode stories of the 50's-- including this joltin' Gene Colan lead-off grinder from the August 1973 issue of Vault of Evil #4. My copy was not only missing that intense Frank Brunner cover, but also the first two pages of today's Colan story. But I still loved it, and re-read it countless times, over and over, giggling crazily about the funny, gruesome fate of Kurt Braun. More terror tales that shivered 'n shook my poor, pre-teen bones coming up next, so stay tombed! ("The Old Mill" originally appeared in the July 1952 issue of Strange Tales #8.)

Clinging Corpse

Time to ring in the new month with a clingy classic about a corpse that just can't stop hangin' around! This is a real nice quickie crime corker filler from Mort Meskin, and can be found in the back-up pages of the Feb - March 1954 issue of Frankenstein #29. Lots more on the way too as THOIA is about to enter its 19th year of ominous existence on the 'ol weird wide web! Can ya believe it?!! NINETEEN! And yeah, I'm counting that one busted year when Blogger went bonkers. But unholy cows, we're still alive 'n still clingin' around yer necks somehow-- I'm just as surprised as you, TBH! 

The She-Monster

Who amongst you actually believed I would finish out June with a scary She-Beast? Ohhh, how little you know me... why, clearly the only way to truly seal the coffin lid on a month, (as well as a "Lurid Ladies" theme) is with a She-Monster! Dynamic Dick Briefer returns to THOIA now, delivering his own vicious version of the eternally flawed Bride of Frankenstein, via the January 1954 issue of Frankenstein #28. It's quite a beautiful work of art, honestly, all of this mad monster science at its most maddening! And THAT, my friends, is the way you close out a month of posts, and a terrifically terrifyin' theme! More jolts in July-- stay tombed!