The October 1962 one-shot issue of Tales from the Tomb #1 (published by Dell) is 84 freaky pages of varied anthology horror about ghosts, monsters, and all manner of eerie bumps 'n boos in the night. It's a fun, though somewhat mixed bag, with the real stand-out story for me being this engagingly casual 8-pager about an artist and his friendly female neighbor discussing the man's recent return from the cursed countryside. Their breezy cool, flirty conversation in a big city loft feels nothing short of a spooky stage play, slowly turning more and more ominous with each chilly page turn, until that single... final... panel...
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This is great art and though the ending was telegraphed it is still extremely effective. What is unusual is that Betty was obviously not Randy's love interest, she she didn't go on a date with him and he didn't seem putout by her going out with someone else.
Or maybe he was “put out”, and that’s why hanged himself…
I almost always say this, but I wanted both of them to come out all right.
Even if you never exactly hear that Randy has one, Betty is like one of those great "unrequited crush on a neighbor" stock characters.
I feel like he’s crushing on her too though. Fourth panel page six, the look on his face after she tells him she “has a date” is half covered in dark shadow (the only other panels in the entire story that apply this ominous shadow touch are ones where a character is telling something eerie, or witnessing death. I think we’re seeing the curse hit him that very moment, despite the words he utters back to her.
So let's focus on that last panel. Hanging in comics is a hard thing to pull off; at time it looks cartoon-y but other times it's highly effective.
When it's highly effective is the time when it's hinted at; here, though, the artist has it both ways. You get the full hanging in the picture and then the feet (though I'd be embarrassed to die in those socks!) The camera is below and up, the light frames the picture, and Betty and the feet also frame it. It's really a fine piece of art. Well composed. Bravo to the artist for that.
I also like that the shadows are pretty ominous throughout. Even by page 2 people are already casting heavy, dark shadows.
I'll also forgive the second to last page I think it'd be nearly impossible to miss somebody hanging in a room so the setup is a bit much, but it works for the story.
This could have been a rejected script for a spooky radio drama such as Inner Sanctum or Mysterious Traveler. As a drama it does work, though the ending was telegraphed so the impact is lessened.
I had read this comic online, and some of the stories are indeed hit or miss, but overall, it is a great read on a dark and cold night, which is what much of the nation is experiencing right now.
Nice, clean, well-paced work. It's just what I like from sixties comics. This also feels emblematic of Dell's status as CCA rebels. I don't think a hanging would fly under any other banner in 1962. Especially not without some moral lesson about bad behavior.
You know, I was totally delighted to read a story with a nice, mature platonic relationship between an adult man and a woman. You never see that, not in comics or TV shows or anywhere. The closest we ever get are unrequited will-they-or-won't-they teases that almost always tip toward the "will". But I guess we are invited to see what we want when things go unexplained. I want them to just be friendly neighbors. Someone else might like to imagine this is an early stab at including realistic gay characters.
I would like to argue one finer detail that often gets missed when we rely on modern mores and trends in language to parse work from a different era. In 1962, the word "date" would have been used for any sort of reason, any social plans, and should not be read as to exclusively indicate a romantic meet-up. She may have been going to the movies with mom, or picking up her brother at the bus station. Although it's obviously still possible she really was out with some paramour, too. Maybe all four of them went bowling together.
And what about this Mother Jones? Man, another story about her further adventures subletting the farm and we're gonna have to write up her Wikipedia entry.
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