It's been a while since my fellow horror host chum, Mister Mystery stopped by with one of his own terrible old terror tales to tell! So let's set sail on a nightmarish sea of screams, errr dreams, and find out what awaits in this creepy coffin... from the November 1951 issue of Mister Mystery #2 .
How many tales of tragic time machine tomfoolery do you believe exist in the realm of sci-fi / horror comic books? I couldn't even begin to fathom how many there are just posted right here on this blog alone-- but I'm sure it's a lot! And yeah, the best ones always seem to involve some crumb bum crook trying to escape the law by violently taking advantage of an innocent scientist. And with that…
It's been a bit since we had ourselves a kreepy Krigstein klassik. So fly that freak flag high, you way-out weirdos, this witchcraft laced sideshow oddity comes from the June 1952 issue of Adventures into Terror #10 , and is guaranteed to tie you and your nightmares into a nutty 'ol tangle of knotty nots!
Apologies as we missed our Werewolf Wednesday slot by one day-- but here it comes a'creepin' now, snarling savagely and with ferocious fangs ripping flesh! This is actually a really fun entry from the great "Ghost Gallery" sector of Jumbo Comics ( #161 from July 1952 to be exact), and features wonderful art by legendary EC hero / fan favorite, Jack Kamen . It also includes a couple of very unique…
If our previous post HERE left you feeling a little repossessed, then maybe it's time to get re -repossessed! And while I'm not exactly sure if what I just said actually makes any sense, I do know this terrifically twisty tale of rotten romance, via the May 1975 issue of Ghostly Haunts #44 , is absolutely loads of freak-deaky fun. Winnie the wanton Witch re-materializes once again to host the…
Here's a joltin', revoltin' idea-- let's kickstart the new month of posts with a shock ending! And not just any shock ending-- but a SHOCK ROCK ending, to boot! If Kiss, Alice Cooper, and King Diamond were dead, they'd be rollin' over in their graves right now! And if that opening Su Gumen number ain't electrifyin' enough for ya, let's end it all once and for all with a humorous Wayne Howard…
Well, we racked up another monstrously macabre month of comic horror classics, and with one final tale to go it surely doesn't come more horrific than this! Hy Fleischman seriously knocks it way out of the park here with 7 taut 'n tense pages of perfect pacing and atmosphere, --and that iconic cover design is absolutely one of precode's finest moments ever. From the August 1954 issue of Dark…
Sunday Fun Days are here again with a wild, satirical whack at horror comics from the 1950's, and it comes courtesy of a midcentury girlie magazine to boob-- errr, boot! Of course, this could also easily be whackin' it at sci-fi horror film classics like I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957), The Fly (1958), and I Married a Monster from Outer Space (also 1958), but let's just stick with the blurb's…
We looked at a comic book Frankenstein story exactly one week ago today, right HERE --and in the comments, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man '43 was mentioned (by the guy who always mentions Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man whenever he possibly can!) So hey, let's make it another Frankenstein Friday and take a look at Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man , shall we? But let's make it extra different and…
A few of you seemed on the fence about the hot pink horrors of our previous post, so I thought maybe we'd take another stab at it with a fun, old-time oddity from the March 1939 issue of Amazing Mystery Funnies V2 #3 . Of the 7 pages, 3 of them are overlayed with a variety of perplexing pink hues, while the other 4 pages are in black and white. Not sure why they did it like this exactly, but I…
As promised, here comes another DC Movie Comic adaptation of a creaky, old Universal fright film classic (see our previous post for Son of Frankenstein in case you missed it!) And this time it's a spooky detective mystery set in a haunted theatre --where murder hath taken the stage! From the August 1939 issue of Movie Comics #5 , "The House of Fear" '39 film (not to be confused with the great…
I promised you something cinematically different for today's post, and here it comes, via the April 1939 debut issue of DC's Movie Comics #1 -- Basil Rathbone! Boris Karloff! Bela Lugosi! Lionel Atwill! And Josephine Hutchinson in-- SON OF FRANKENSTEIN! This is a fun, condensed photo comic adaptation of the Universal monster classic from the same year, featuring modified black 'n white film stills…
One more Chilling Alcazar Adventure into Sorcery for you this month, and it's a gorgeous tale containing verified proof that monsters walk among us! Don't believe me? Just put on these glasses and you will indeed see that --THEY LIVE! From issue #5 , via Februrary 1974, and this story also holds an extra special place in my heart because not only did it introduce me to the amazing work of Alcazar…
On this day 19 years ago (aka 2007), I cracked open the 'ol comic book long boxes and got to work scanning everything I had accumulated over my many decades of fiendish, fan boy collector existence. The point wasn't so much to just have everything backed-up on disc (which it is now, finally-- whew!), but to also begin something I had been mulling over in my horrible head for a few months prior--…
Some of you may have pondered: "When did Mr. Karswell first get hooked on Satan?" And the answer comes via the very first time I read a DC horror comic yarn illustrated by the ever fearsome, Frank Thorne! More precisely, the August 1976 issue of House of Mystery #244 . This wildly wicked story is overloaded with great Kashdan moments: a sinister brainwashing ceremony, half-nude cult cuties, a kick…
Tom Sutton was another in the long line of awesome, later era artists to really blow my gradeschooler mind in the 70's. That organically loose, mutated style of his lended just as much to the creepy, high level concepts and monster designs, as to his doomed human characters fighting to stay alive with those beady little petrified pupil'd eyes poppin' outta their freaky faces! So now, enter The…
Another 70's comic book that made a huge impression on young Mr. Karswell was the April 1974 issue of Red Circle Sorcery #6 . Awaiting readers behind that amazing, Vampira -esque cover design by the late, great Gray Morrow , (one of my most favorite covers ever), was a nifty little tie-in tale about a radio DJ and his #1 deadicated fan in listener land! Even at a a single digit age, I still…
As mentioned in my intro to the previous post, THOIA turns 19 in a few weeks (July 12th to be exact!), so let's spend the lead-up to that date with a few scary stories that made a huge impact on Mr. Karswell as a young 6 year old just discovering comics in the 70's. My grandmother had taken me antiquing in Farmington MO, and I found and purchased (with my own allowance!) a large stack of mind…
Time to ring in the new month with a clingy classic about a corpse that just can't stop hangin' around! This is a real nice quickie crime corker filler from Mort Meskin , and can be found in the back-up pages of the Feb - March 1954 issue of Frankenstein #29 . Lots more on the way too as THOIA is about to enter its 19th year of ominous existence on the 'ol weird wide web! Can ya believe it?!!…
Who amongst you actually believed I would finish out June with a scary She-Beast ? Ohhh, how little you know me... why, clearly the only way to truly seal the coffin lid on a month, (as well as a "Lurid Ladies" theme) is with a She-Monster! Dynamic Dick Briefer returns to THOIA now, delivering his own vicious version of the eternally flawed Bride of Frankenstein , via the January 1954 issue of…
We're heading back into the teeming, screaming jungle for another eerie, horror adventure encounter, and this time with the monstrously macabre maiden " REPTA" via the slithery, September 1953 issue of Horrific #7 . And of course Marty Elkins art is always a welcome addition to the THOIA Archive , but just to further spice things up around here with something different, Mr. Karswell also welcomes…
Time for one of the most gruesome fairy tale freak-outs ever produced during the precode 50's, via the February 1954 issue of The Thing #12 . And this one comes from dependable 'ol Steve Ditko , no less, demonstrating, as usual, his dynamically deadly, dense sense of panel packin' punch. I mean it when I say that every single page here is seriously overflowing with a fangtastic amount of…
Gale forces are still blowin' strong here at THOIA , as we re-enter Earth's atmosphere, leaving behind Gale Allen and her space-age Girl Squadron (see our previous post HERE ), thus, landing once more back on solid, blood-soaked soil to find not one, but TWO great, horror-tinged, Gail Ford murder mysteries awaiting us! Yep, someone's dumped a dead dame amongst the dummies in a department store…
From the teeming, steaming jungles of our previous post HERE , to the weird, webbed corners of spooky outer space, it's now time to blast-off into more long-legged, blonde bombshell adventure as Gale Allen and her gorgeous Girl Squadron face some bloodthirsty butterfly men! Sounds kinda silly doesn't it? But you have no idea how creepy-crawly alien butterfly men can be! And don't even get me…
After witnessing the blonde bombshell, ass kickin' horror action of our previous post HERE --I feel this voluptuous vibe has totally set us up for a wild, week long theme! Enter another fair haired, hard hittin' honey, this time in a juicy jungle jolter from the July 1954 issue of of Cave Girl #13 ! The great, Gardner Fox wrote the script, while Bob Powell delivers the va-va-va-visuals and…