Let's keep the scary science fiction horror shivers a'comin' with a specimen gatherin' metal man menace from the stars, via the December 1954 issue of Web of Evil #21. Cheapo C-3PO creep-ohs from outer space are just the way I like my deadly drive-in droids of doom-- YAAAAA!!!
I love these ... robots? They seem like the actual aliens but are also robots? Whatever, they have a great look, all I love how business like they are. They aren't outright attacking people, just collecting them in what is the most humane way.
ReplyDeleteThey don't fight back against the guns or getting hit with a car. They just keep collecting. That's actually pretty scary, how completely cool they are.
There is pretty much 3 endings you get in these stories: (1) some random thing defeats the aliens (my favorite ending) (2) they are coming back! (this ending) or (3) entire world destroyed (my least favorite, you don't have to think of much plot for that.) The script played really fair by showing the vault first, so bravo!
This story had it all, gold prospecting, meteorite hunters, spacemen, alien abductions, and a battle with aliens all in six pages.
ReplyDeleteThere really are those who search out meteorites, since such a specimen can sell for as little as $2 a gram to hundreds per gram, not per ounce, per gram. Gold is selling for roughly $74 per gram, no wonder those prospectors were excited to find that meteorite.
This tale would have been just a horror comic thriller if not for several supposed, or real, encounters with non-earthly beings. I won't go into details since this is a horror comic blog and not a UFO blog, so I will just leave the UFO mystery rabbit hole for other bloggers to ponder.
Another out of this world find, Karswell, thanks.
Gadzooks! At least the good guys, I mean robot aliens, win! Wait, I should've said YAAAAA!
ReplyDeleteThe splash is wonderful. With the stiff figure drawing and the exact replication of the terrified prospectors in the foreground, this thing really advances a mood of robotic violence. The art is great throughout, very entertaining with fine detail and delightful character work: All the surprised faces on page two are so pronounced that the artist had to start actually blowing their hats off on page three--just so they could look even more shocked!
ReplyDeleteI also dig the ruthless trajectory of the story. No twist, no explanation, just the steady advance of some scary alien robot plan. I suspect that, in a more we-rounded story, we'd have followed along with the final guy as he is trafficked back to the alien planet, where we'd be surprised by an unexpected weird idea (it's Future Earth! Human Zoo! The robot queen needs a Wild Western hubby!), but this one leaves all of that a mystery, so I get to pick one out for myself.
I think I can guess one of the ufology stories that JMR777 is referring to. And you don't have to believe any of it to find it really spooky.
ReplyDelete"The robot queen needs a Wild Western hubby!"
It wouldn't be the first story that reversed the genders, and had female aliens wanting Earth men, not the reverse. One great example is the Mexican space movie SHIP OF MONSTERS.
Along with a story that doesn't let up for a second, this story has such great melodramatic language too.