Revenge

For the next few days we’ll be looking at some stories from the October 1953 issue of Witches Tales #21. And coincidently, today and tomorrow’s tales both found their way to the small screen on the landmark Alfred Hitchcock Presents television series a few years AFTER this issue hit the stands. Today’s post in fact was made into the very first episode of AHP (airing on October 2nd 1955), also titled “Revenge” and based on the classic Samuel Blas story (watch the full episode HERE courtesy of Hulu!)

TOMORROW: Howard Nostrand!

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Vintage Ads

I Turned into a… Martian! / I Lived a Ghost Story!

We won’t be traveling as far into the future as we did last month on Time Machine Days… just a half decade or so to the early 60’s this time around. And I know, yesterday I promised a Joe Sinnott story, but when I got ready to scan it I realized I totally misplaced the damn issue somewhere. So to make up for this I’ll post two stories today, including a spooky ghost gagger by Atlas fave Paul Reinman.

But first, let’s fill a Steve Ditko request from THOIA reader Black Walnut with this classically titled S/F monstrosity from the September 1960 issue of Journey into Mystery #60.

“Possession of the mind is a terrible thing

It's a transformation with an urge to kill

Not the body of a man from earth

Not the face of the one you love, 'cause

I turned into a Martian

I can't even recall my name

Times I never hardly sleep at night

Well, I turned into a Martian today

I walk down city streets

On an unsuspecting human world

Inhuman in your midst

This world is mine to own, 'cause

I turned into a Martian…”
---Misfits

TOMORROW: workin' on it...

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I Lived a Ghost Story!

From the January 1960 issue of Tales to Astonish #7

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(Click the image for the details!)

Photos HERE: http://mjkpr.com/ForryAckermanArt/

Where the Undead Roam

Nice artwork from Benulis and Abel save today’s unfocused, plot hole riddled tale from completely derailing alongside the narrative train wreck… seriously, just tell the story next time—argh! But still, for this very same reason I actually like this tale, because as in lesser pre-code publisher style, it reaches high for moody, poetic flourishes but typically never quite manages to fully grasp the brass ring (can’t fault them for trying though.)

From the 1953 issue of Monster #2

TOMORROW: Time again to Flash Forward to the 70's, this time with Joe Sinnott!

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Vintage Ad

The Dark Abysmal

I’m not really the biggest fan of Fiction House pre-code comics from the 50’s… sure, Ghost and Monster have great covers and are full of top notch art, but nearly everything I’ve read from their horror titles so far contained very little in the writing department considered “on par” with the pretty pictures. So, for the next few days this week I tried to find a sampling of stories that are better than the usual FH fare, and oddly enough all of these examples come from the 1953 issue of Monster #2, starting with this fun little Monster-fest by Johnny Belcastro featuring 7 crammed pages of inspired art and ideas with a creepy, rampaging, tentacled Squiddly Diddly monster straight out of Lovecraft, (and totally keep your eyes peeled for the hilarious “Austin Powers-esque, Nudity Obscured” panel at the top of page 2.)

TOMORROW: A better example of bad Fiction House writing, (but cool art...)

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Fiction House AD

Ghoul’s Gold

As some of you already know Dick Ayers created volumes of superb horror work with many publishers of the Golden and Silver Age eras, from Marvel / Atlas to Eerie Publications… and here we find DA displaying his unique pre-code chops over at Ace with a spooky grave robber tale from the November 1953 issue of Web of Mystery #21.

FYI: If you enjoyed yesterday’s Beelzebub tale (which came out 5 months before this one), then today you may find yourself experiencing a serious case of déjà vu.

TOMORROW: Monster.

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Plus, a couple ACE extras...

Beelzebub! / The Rivals

Somehow we went the entire month of January without a single tale from Atlas, so to kick off February here’s two classics for you from a trio of underrated legends. The Atlas Tales site says Matt Fox and Larry Woromay joined awesome forces for the first story, while Al Luster kicks consistant ass on the second… both tales are from the June 1953 issue of Journey into Unknown Worlds #19.

TOMORROW: More graverobbing...

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The Rivals