The Steel Monster

Behind another gorgeously painted cover, (this time by Allen Anderson), awaits a tale that some of you may notice bears an uncanny similarity to a particular Theodore Sturgeon yarn first published in the mid 40's. That's right-- it's KILLDOZER!!! (with a few slight differences.) And yes, this wasn't the only time that KD made a comic book appearance, as Marvel Comics later unleashed 20 pages of murderous, mechanized madness in the April 1974 issue of Worlds Unknown #6: The Thing Called... KILLDOZER! --just as ABC Studios let loose in the same year with their own TV movie adaptation starring Clint Walker and Robert Ulrich-- it seemed KILLDOZER was everywhere in '74! So enjoy today's post, and I know, it's not too terribly different from what I normally post around here-- per our current March theme-- so if you really wanna complain about it you'll have to take it up with The Dozer!! From the May 1951 issue of Amazing Adventures #2, artist unknown.

The Corpse That Killed!

We're still in "Giving You Something Different" mode this month here at THOIA, and though I actually did give you a different, though no less eerie Ellery Queen story once before back in 2014 (HERE!), it's possible that enough time has passed that it just might feel different enough to make the most out of our current March Madness Marathon. And yes, this tale has some definite spooky similarities to our previous post as well: psychotic killer, a decent body count-- plus dynamite dialog, a seance scene (I love seance scenes!) and a superbly chilling, ironic climax down at the atmospheric old graveyard. Did I forget to mention an incredible Norman Saunders cover painting too?! Interior art is pretty swell as well, but unfortunately uncredited. From the Ziff-Davis, Winter '52 issue of Ellery Queen #1.

The Phantom of Notre Dame

I've posted a few hero oriented stories here over the years, and like our last post, I thought this month it would be fun to look at different golden age tales that still deliver on the idea of "horror", though not necessarily acquired from the usual horror comic books of the era. Todays post is no exception, as the original Daredevil comic series of the 40's played up your typical rootin' tootin' American hero in disguise vs. the WW2 Axis of Evil menace, and it's still true in this story as well. But this time the lights camera actions are spiced up with a grotesque, vengeance filled hunchback who viciously crushes, zaps, stabs, and slashes his way through the cast of a 1940's Hollywood film production! So if your mind isn't already blown to bits by that foot fetish freak-out torture cover, hang on to your helmets as the Daredevil (he's cool, but he ain't no Matt Murdock) and his comedy relief pal, swing in to the rescue! Cover and story art by Charles Biro.

From the June 1942 issue of Daredevil Comics #11.





























And what about that foot fetish torture cover image, you ponder? The scene actually shows up towards the end of this same issue in the Pat Patriot story, "The Mallet Strikes!", highlighted with early art by THOIA fave, Lin Streeter! Here it is:

The Ghost Goes Ga-Ga!

I'm always looking for something different to post around here from the vast array of classic "horror" tinged comic tales published in the last century. And sometimes it works with you guys, and sometimes the whiners come out in full force and make out like there's only one kind of horror in the world worthy of mention, when in fact we know that's not true at all. (NOTE: Double check the name of this blog if you need further assistance.) So with that, I will say up front that aside from the incredible splash page, there is virtually no horror in this story at all, but it's still fun none the less, (even though the idea of teen suicide isn't), and overall it's like a kooky old 40's B-flick-- and ladies, you know you wanna see Jackie's bare buns just as much as the men wanna see crabby Kathy take a squirt in the mouth! And let's not overlook the super lovely Ralph Mayo art which is absolutely worth the FREE post price alone.

From the June 1948 issue of Thrilling Comics #66.

The Teller!

Gypsy Goth wrote in asking if I could post The Teller! story from the November 1953 issue of Horrific #8. Apparently, it's the last one from this issue that I haven't archived yet, so here it is-- and it's a Don Heck tale too! It's possible I overlooked it as this story did find it's way into the Horror By Heck (IDW / Yoe Books) collection, and maybe you'll wanna click HERE if you haven't grabbed that particular chilling gem yet. And for the rest of this issue, check the archive for Sewer Horror, Portrait of Death, and Hirschel's Hair. Yes sirree, yet another FULL ISSUE presentation here at THOIA!