Ever encountered a precode horror story that actually hurts to read? I'm not talking about overly bright, sloppy off-register coloring assaulting your eyeballs, I'm talkin' scenes where a character is put in one hell of an unpleasant situation that just couldn't possibly get any worse. Until it does. I'm also not sure how this tale of witchcraft and ultimate pain has evaded a proper post here at THOIA in all these years, though I did put it in Haunted Horror #8 way back in 2013. Those of you new to this classic are in for a ride, as once again, Sheldon Moldoff's art is really something to behold. From the August 1952 issue of Strange Stories from Another World #2.
Sheesh! Those two deserved each other. The witch set her own demise in motion by accusing him. Great story.
ReplyDeleteWhether they like it or not, each one is the other's "Golden Goose," and yet she frames him of all people.
DeleteBut that doesn't wreck the story, of course.
Yeah, this one is like watching a car crash, then suddenly catch on fire and explode, leaving nothing but the wheels. I love the random lore that a black cat appears on a witch's forehead when she's happy. Yet it doesn't play into the story at all. You'd think that that symbol would give away the witch every time she was happy after taking away Hedda's beauty. The ending also is slightly marred because the moon honestly doesn't look any different, yet we were earlier told that when a witch dies, a cat falls in flames from the moon. I also find it hilarious that the witch decides to give herself away so easily by performing witchcraft in the attic. Seriously, go do that in the forest, lady! Love the last panel of page three and the one of Peter on page 8 writhing around from the flames with his head on upside down. It's so delightfully gruesome. Also love the panel of Peter's hand on page 9, panel 4, and those last two panels on the same page of him begging the witch for death. I also find it hilarious that she tells him that she's busy.
ReplyDeleteAll the grisly things that happen in this story, they happen against the backdrop of bright primary colors, which, somehow, makes them worse!
ReplyDeleteThere's some fun anachronisms here, like Hedda's sexy nightgown.
I like Peter -- how long did he hold onto this plan just waiting for all the pieces to fall into place? That guys deserves some respect for this plan!
I love all the lore this thing throws at us. I want a cool cat picture to appear on witches heads, and then the shape of a cat (which I can't find in the last panel) to fall down from the moon. The witch is also a bit "EC old witch-y."
This is a great just desserts tale, and made even better that Peter and Witch cause their own fates.
Were other people able to read the caption about his avarice? I struggled with it and subsequently was confused by the next part of the story.
ReplyDeleteYes, but it was a little difficult. The hard part to read states that his “bravado was but a cloak” I somehow have a knack for reading smudgy, illegible writing. Also, when Peter discovers the witch is vulnerable to fire that isn’t her own, “nead” is spelled wrong.
DeleteWonderful treat, thank you Kars!
ReplyDeleteOh yeah, Peter's bravado was but a cloak are the blurred words Todd.
ReplyDeleteExactly!
DeleteThanks, John. I got the gist of it but never figured out "bravado" on my own.
DeleteInteresting. My own bravado is but pants.
ReplyDeleteI love the fruity colors here--and the Moldoff art, of course. This this is the world's most disturbing origin story, and I can't believe that someone in the eighties didn't resurrect the character to turn-out a tortured anti-hero comic about an immortal burn victim with a hairless-but-beautiful, backward-facing, head revenging himself upon a demimonde of paranormal villains in the modern world. A Swamp Thing-style funnybook for the kids who want it a little bit rougher. I'd have definitely subscribed.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!