Another wild one from the April 1953 issue of Chilling Tales #15, (dig the previous post too), and you'll likely see the ending coming from a few cemeteries away, but I bet you'll still have fun with it all the same! Henry Kiefer's spooky illustrative approach can be a bit rough at times, but it does the job unleashing a bizarre looking monster while also unveiling a uniquely odd, moody graveyard experience...
5 comments:
This monster was a mix of a gargoyle and the Muppet Gonzo, with a dash of praying mantis.
This tale was a retelling of "Monster from the Pit" found here on THOIA Jan 27, 2013. Comparing the two tales is a bit like comparing Bela Lugosi to Christopher Lee in their portrayals of Dracula, each brought something unique to the retelling of the tale.
Great Monstrous fun for November!
The art is really interesting on this one. Published date is 53 but this looks like 40s comic art. Contains a number of novelty panels (in this one the circles) which work pretty well. They can at time be distracting but they are placed in the important part of the action.
I love the monster! I love his thin arms, his goggly eyes, the forked tongue, the long nose, no wonder he'd rather turn into a fake reporter!
I also like that he's human smart and cunning and not just a monster. He just wants blood and he's going to make sure he's not caught, though forcing the guy to dig up the grave before killing him was a pretty jerk move!
I also detect something insectile in the design of this monster. Something about the skinny limbs and the odd tentacular fingers; the hasty, energetic way the kald's figure is drawn seems like grasshopper wings. It's really got a creepy bod. And that face--it's hard to imagine it's anything but a Matt Fox design.
And yeah, the ending doesn't really come out of the blue or anything. But I really enjoy the creepy kind of fairy tale styling of the storytelling here. The odd repetitions ("The Kald! You are the Kald!" "Yes, the Kald!") and simple sentences sort of feel dreamy, like someone talking in their sleep. I love it.
I lived in the Balkans for five years and never heard of a Kald. I know what a Kratt is, though. A construction made of tools, straw, household items, imbued with life by the Devil's blood. They are related to golems, and are usually used for labor. But I guess they can be dangerous if they are told to be. I think they are rather more of a northern Slavic folklore than Balkan, but that's close enough for me to bring it up. Maybe it's unrelated. But what's interesting is that the Wikipedia page for kratts includes a painting that is pretty reminiscent of today's baddie.
>the Muppet Gonzo
Haha, I see it!
>looks like 40s comic art
agree
>the Wikipedia page for kratts includes a painting that is pretty reminiscent of today's baddie
Very interesting! Thanks for all the great info
It's also a little like "Yours Truly, Jack the Ripper" by Bloch, with one of the investigators being the monster all along.
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