Over the years, we've taken many a journey into the depths of the afterworld here at THOIA, but possibly none quite as hot as this! From the August 1945 issue of Suspense Comics #9, with awesome Nina Albright illustrating Summer's end to highlight just one of our absolute most favorite, and memorably scenic "Fall" moments of 2024-- with plenty more just ahead for all eternity. Stay tombed...
5 comments:
I really like this one though it's really odd. It's more like a Chick tract then a horror story (though many Chick tracts are horror stories!)
I love a super villain devil (great boots and trunks!) and this one in gets in the "don't pack" quip though, yeah, buddy, you *were* an angel at one time!
Great splash, an entire page of good girl art, big moralizing ending ... all the components except the story lacks any forward motion or conflict. Still, I love it! Extra points for the title font, which would show up in fair dark rides often.
This comic came out on August 1945, the same month and year as VJ Day, when Japan surrendered. I suppose this story was drawn up and colored a month before its publication, and I doubt the writer, artist or publisher could have guessed the end of the war was so close.
As to the story, the first page is a real winner, it has that style of illustrations seen back in the 1890's or so, with lines added to give the look of depth to the image.
The only weak point in this story is the reason ol' Scratch pops up when he did. Had there been a backstory of Jan and Sasha making a pact with the devil for wealth and power for five years, then the arrival of the devil would have been expected. I guess for comic readers during the final days of WWII, punishment for collaborators was poetic justice or just desserts.
I love the bottom of page two. "Come over here and dance while I crack this bottle of champagne!" Suddenly, one minute later, they are necking on the couch, the bottle empty. This kind of crash cut is usually heralded by a record scratch. Cue seventies base-heavy love beats!
... for a minute exactly before Jan is jock-blocked by Satan. It's a flashy intro with plenty of smoke and a dainty little trident, and I like it very much. There's a lot of nice art here for sure. I'm with JMR about the splash. That design, with Satan peeping over the placard, would look so good on a tombstone. Maybe with his finger pointing to some third date, between life and death: "This is when." Leave 'em guessing as to what.
Duval seems to be closely modelled on Pierre Laval, the puppet Prime Minister of the nazi collaborationist Vichy Republic...
I like how the Devil himself says he has more money than he needs. For what? Does he have bills? Just struck me as humorous.
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