Saturday, April 18, 2020
The Empty Coffin / The Madman
My plan is to keep you all spellbound for the month of April here at THOIA, so lets dive into another great issue of terror tales, and this time we'll kick things off with a deadly double feature from the January 1953 issue of Spellbound #11. And wait a sec, didn't we just have a story called "The Madman" last month?! We sure did, but here's another one because as mentioned before, Stan LOVED recycling story titles. Another thing these two tales have in common: unwitting saps who somehow failed to see the much bigger, much more petrifying picture. And don't scream too loudly over that scary Sol Brodsky cover illustration either-- EEEEK!!!
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9 comments:
Until the murder plot, I can really sympathize with Claude. Most people I know have pretty dreary conversations (and I don't mean during this year, I mean during ANY year), and they're as repetitive as they are dreary.
I'd be more open-minded if it were a wife like Harriett, though (until I found out about the "living dead" part).
Of course, Claude's longing for "creature comforts" (especially with a WEALTHY family) is something else I sympathize with.
In the Empty Coffin, if you don't know they are zombies before page 2, panel 3 you aren't paying any attention! Predictable story but saved by great art and a fun tongue in cheek type of atmosphere, especially with Claude and his murder plots. I love just randomly shoving two relatives off the balcony!
The art is great -- the before mentioned page 2, panel 3 and I love how the artist always draws in the mist, as if the house if basically open to the elements. Page 3 panel 1 is a really cool panel -- it's simple but effective.
The madman is just a breezy 3 page read. The ending is actually a happy ending! I love the look on the copy on the last panel, and it's played as nearly a gag strip (like the couple in bed.)
Great cover!
The weirdest thing about The Empty Coffin was Claude's Tombstone.... He's TWENTY TWO YEARS OLD... Is that what the artist think a twenty something looked like? I'm glad The Madman found what he was looking for.....
Thelma's hubby with his pillow over his head was a good touch. What with Thelma's facial expression, it seems obvious that poor Harry was kept up late listening to the late, late lecture, er, show.
I'm with BTX: this guy is only 22? Also, that's lots of murders for one day! Then again, I guess they don't count if everybody was already dead. Nobody to feel too sorry for here.
I loved the second story. "So what? ALL of us do! Now shut up and let us git some sleep!" I guess I'm used to more reverent narration, but pretty much anything could've happened after that, and I'd have stayed a fan. And as others have pointed out, that's a rare happy ending! Fun change of pace.
The first one is really playful. I love the way Harriet keeps spooking Claude--her silent approach, her icy hands. The pre-splash four-panel progression is just great. I also really dig page four: The comical montage in which he bumps the whole family off, leading to the smug way he's lighting his cigarette on the way to the ax.
The Madman was a strange and kind of slight story, but I liked the art even better. The action is dynamic and well-paced for such limited space; the raspy, marked-up quality of the forms are textured and chewy. And I love the coloring strategy, especially on the last page.
Like a lot of the shorter horror comic stories, "The Madman" is pretty much a "comedy blackout," not that that's a bad thing.
Thank you Mr.K. for these posts. The first had an obvious conclusion coming, so just sit back and enjoy the ride. And what a fine ride it was. The ending of the "Madman" was out of the blue and was read just as enjoyably as the first story.
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