May was such a grueling month of hideous, downbeat horror tales, I thought maybe kicking off June with some kid friendly fun could really shake things up around here! And don't for a single second think just because it's Spiderman in a haunted house that this one doesn't deliver the chills-- the final twist panel, in fact, makes this story very worthy of its inclusion here at THOIA. From the Dec. 1974 issue of Spidey Super Stories #3, with art by Win Mortimer and Mike Esposito!
Well, once again we made it to Walpurgisnacht-- but can we survive this naughty nacht without getting ourselves burned?! It's gonna be one heckuva Halfway to Halloween fight as Captain Battle swoops in to put a brutal end to some Hellish heathens and their horny wicked ways, from the Feb. '42 issue of Silver Streak Comics #18. But first up, Bob Powell sends us careening down-- down-- down into the flaming caverns of Satan's sizzlin' domain, in an all-time classic Harvey Hit from Hell, via the April 1952 issue of Chamber of Chills #7. THOIA will return after a few days of Mr. Karswell May Day Birthday Recuperayytion, --please stay tombed!
Okay, one more hero horror story before you guys start screaming scarlet murder at me (unless anyone actually wants to see more?) And yes sirs, it's a Mr. Scarlet screamer again, along with the usual spookily dressed-up crime kook and his hysterical, tough talkin' hench goons. Did I save the best story for last? I kind of think so, aside from the arresting action, eerie art atmosphere, very funny dialog, and skulls skulls skulls, there's a really clever gravestone gimmick utilized here that would make both The Joker and The Riddler green with envy. The main perp also has a rather unusual alt angle this time around that I haven't seen in an old supe comic like this before as well. From the same great issue as our last post too, CLICK HERE! It also feels like Binder put a little more oomph into the art than he did with The Mummy Ray.
We've traded in our whooshing death ray for a b-z-z-z-ing mummy ray (bandages not included!) in this week's deja vu loaded installment of Mummy Monday, via the Fall 1941 issue of Wow Comics #3! We've also swapped out crazy Captain Battle for the ever hilarious Mr. Scarlet, a shameless, mustachio'd masked hero who is not above the use of an innocent victim's corpse as a distraction device against his fiendishly foolish foes! And okay, since these "mummies" aren't the usual type of actual Karloffy mummy we've all come to love around here, I've also included a special one page tutorial on "How To Make A Mummy" from the November 1973 issue of Skywald's Psycho #15. Also of note: the more observant of you may notice a rather striking similarity in the overall writing vibe and art of Mr. Scarlet, and that's because it's by Otto and Jack Binder, the same dynamic brother duo who delivered all the great Captain Battle horror hero action last week. Enjoy!
