Number 351
She Kamen through the bedroom window…
Jack Kamen drew this outstanding entry in the Ghost Gallery* series for Jumbo Comics #93, November 1946.
Kamen had quite a way with pretty girls. Here’s a more current drawing by Kamen, from a scan sent recently by fan and collector Bill Leach to my friend Eddie Hunter.
Also, there's this original art by Harry Harrison from a similar story called “Bed of Murder” in EC Comics’ War Against Crime #11, published in 1950. Was this some sort of motif of the time in crime novels or movies, showing canopies of beds crushing and killing unwary sleepers?
*The very first Ghost Gallery was in Pappy’s #114.
The canopy that comes down and crushes the sleeper underneath originated in Wilkie Collins's Victorian-era story "A Terrible, Strange Bed." This story was in the public domain by the 1940s, which would explain why comics writers felt free to steal it.
ReplyDeleteGreat! Kamen was surely one of the square artists at EC, but worthy of more appreciation than is usually given.
ReplyDeleteHey paps, offhand, what was that old post of yours, where a guy makes a deal with a werewolf and must carry him (the wolfman) on his shoulders for a distance? I love it and havn't stumbled on it in my perusals...
Just curious.
Great sotry and I really enjoyed seeing this.
ReplyDeleteIs Kamen still alive? If so, wow, I wish he would make the trip to Charlotte, NC for the Heroes Convention one year.
Maybe!
So, why did the first ghost wait until he had two others dead to save anybody and take revenge?
ReplyDeleteLovely little story, and Kamen obviously loved to draw women.
Supplementing ogmont fulcrum's comment above: "A Terrible, Strange Bed" was turned into an episode of Karloff's Thriller in 1961, and of Welles's Great Mysteries in 1973.
ReplyDeleteRudy, the werewolf story was in Pappy's #160, from a year ago.
ReplyDeleteThanks, guys for the information on the Wilkie Collins story. I read that story decades ago and there was a memory somewhere in my brain. I appreciate you jarring it loose.
The implied sex is really strong in this story. The old woman is pimping the young woman. The grooms are lured by her sexual power to their deaths. It helps the reader that Kamen was able to draw the bride as sexy as she had to be to attract those horny guys.
Chuck, as far as I know Kamen is still alive. His son is a famous inventor, who invented the Segway stand-up scooter. I believe he has done some work with his son, but Jack K. would be pretty old by now.
Thanks much for the info, pap.
ReplyDeleteCheers
Great story Pappy. Anybody else think the panels on the last page of the bride laying with her head turned made it out like she was gonna reveal a skull head or something.
ReplyDelete