Iron Man?!! But I thought Kars said we were done with hero stuff for a while! Annnnd indeed we are, as this is not a Marvel post, --but a wild robo Atlas classic from the January 1953 issue of Mystery Tales #7. Carl Burgos even delivers a hairy-scary dash of lycanthropy to the first page, making it eligible for a Werewolf Wednesday post as well! Yes, today's perfect post is all about the fiendish fake-out!
Every Monday in March is Mummy Madness Day here at THOIA --and this week it's also happenin' at AEET too! Annnnd okay now, a few of you might be familiar with this grisly golden age gem from the February - March 1954 issue of Strange Fantasy #10, --I mean, it was reprinted nearly a half dozen times in the Eerie Pubs, but it also found a new, return-to-color home in Haunted Horror #17 back in 2015! And that's why it was a such a surprise to Mr. Karswell recently when he discovered that it had somehow never been featured here at THOIA-- until NOW, that is!
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Spider Woman?!! But I thought Kars said we were done with hero stuff for a while! Annnnd indeed we are, as this is not a Marvel post, --but a creepy crawly Ace classic from the June 1953 issue of Hand of Fate #18. Artist Bill Molno densely packs every panel perfectly with loads of eerie atmosphere and lush line work, keeping the weird web motif spinning strongly in roof textures, foliage, fabrics, hair, fur --and fear! Artist George Roussos must have really loved that splash panel below, because a few months later he pulled quite a superb swiperoonie of it for the October 1953 cover of Out of the Shadows #10, just sayin'. Oh, and Happy Friday the 13th to each and every one of you today, too!
Okay, one more hero horror story before you guys start screaming scarlet murder at me (unless anyone actually wants to see more?) And yes sirs, it's a Mr. Scarlet screamer again, along with the usual spookily dressed-up crime kook and his hysterical, tough talkin' hench goons. Did I save the best story for last? I kind of think so, aside from the arresting action, eerie art atmosphere, very funny dialog, and skulls skulls skulls, there's a really clever gravestone gimmick utilized here that would make both The Joker and The Riddler green with envy. The main perp also has a rather unusual alt angle this time around that I haven't seen in an old supe comic like this before as well. From the same great issue as our last post too, CLICK HERE! It also feels like Binder put a little more oomph into the art than he did with The Mummy Ray.
We've traded in our whooshing death ray for a b-z-z-z-ing mummy ray (bandages not included!) in this week's deja vu loaded installment of Mummy Monday, via the Fall 1941 issue of Wow Comics #3! We've also swapped out crazy Captain Battle for the ever hilarious Mr. Scarlet, a shameless, mustachio'd masked hero who is not above the use of an innocent victim's corpse as a distraction device against his fiendishly foolish foes! And okay, since these "mummies" aren't the usual type of actual Karloffy mummy we've all come to love around here, I've also included a special one page tutorial on "How To Make A Mummy" from the November 1973 issue of Skywald's Psycho #15. Also of note: the more observant of you may notice a rather striking similarity in the overall writing vibe and art of Mr. Scarlet, and that's because it's by Otto and Jack Binder, the same dynamic brother duo who delivered all the great Captain Battle horror hero action last week. Enjoy!
