The Desert Castle

An interestingly simple little sci-fi horror premise from the September 1952 issue of Weird Tales of the Future #3: Two scientists working on a special generating fluid in an isolated desert castle accidentally spill the experiment on an ancient suit of armor, thus bringing it to violent life. Tony Mortellaro's koo-koo art works this one fast paced 'n full-tilt fun, and I totally adore the questioning climax with the bug eyed, bewildered scientist barely comprehending any of the possible outcomes to what he has just created. What have they done, indeed? What. Have. They. Done?!

"The Demons of Death"

In the comments of our last post of 2024 (HERE!), it sounded to me like Brian was maybe revealing to us his love for devil villains in underpants. So, enter The Deacon and Mickey, an action packed horror crime back-up tale from the December 1943 issue of Cat-Man Comics #22. Yes, I do believe these "Demons of Death" will surely satisfy Brian's fever for the flavor of more rockin' red, hot-pants fashion. For those unaware, Dean Denton, aka "The Deacon" was a former bad guy turned faux holy man crime fighter, making up for his pitiful past by dressing the part, as well as teaming up with sidekick Mickey to battle the denizens of the underworld. There are 32 appearances in all, occasionally dealing with spookier subject matter, thus qualifying The Deac for inclusion here at THOIA. Also, if that pulp perfect splash page doesn't immediately make it worthy, then nothing will. And again-- Happy 2025 to everyone who helps keep this blog chuggin' along with comments and suggestions-- you guys are the best!