Monday, June 15, 2015

Number 1748: Meandering through the mists of midnight

Young lovers Neil and Audrey are out for an evening, and walking in the creepy swamp where they had their first date. (Neil must be pretty cheap.) Little do they know that Audrey is about to become a target of some malevolent beings who want to drag her into the “ectosphere.” I’m not sure where the ectosphere is, but I’ll stay away from it, if you don’t mind. No wonder, when explaining what she saw in the swamp, her boyfriend thinks she is in need of some serious help. No wonder her boss has to fire her because she can’t keep her mind on her job while worrying about the supernatural beings after her.

This is an ACG story, so love conquers all. (Gosh, I hope that doesn’t ruin it for you.) To protect Audrey’s reputation Neil has prepared a white lie to tell her boss, which is what ends this little opus from Forbidden Worlds #2 (1951). The lie story is well illustrated by Lin Streeter.









at

8 comments:

  1. Daniel [oeconomist.com]1:25 AM

    Once again in an ACG story, in this case in 8:3, one of the characters just somehow knows the rules of the supernatural that were invented for the story.

    Anyway, perhaps someone could explain to me why Neil was dancing in the final panel of page 7. It seems quite inappropriate at that stage of the story.

    ReplyDelete
  2. J_D_La_Rue_671:46 AM

    This the kind of comic i like to see here: not totally awful, not a masterpiece tout court, but a mix of good and bad, a bit like life. I love to read a Spirit story, but I also like this.
    If "love 's like a neverending first date", why a little stupid quarrel about a tree is enough to break them up? And I could go on and on pointing out oddities, but first panel's enough...

    Love those Big Eyed Evildoers. They are archetypal terrors, designed to scare the hell out of kids. The humans they prey on "are so Laden with troubles" that they end up in the ecto - Bin ! But aside from word jokes, seeing them scheming around that ecto table made me think of some rogue guys of the italian Masonry we had to deal with...
    I'm very sad for the loss of Mr. Chris Lee, he was one of MY archetypal terrors :-(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Pappy3:52 AM

    J D, what you've described, "not totally awful, not a masterpiece tout court, but a mix of good and bad," pretty much describes most ACG stories for me. Despite not making much sense, they are entertaining in their own way. The earnestness of the characters always shines through, and true love conquers all.

    Daniel makes a good point about an ACG character who "somehow knows the rules of the supernatural that were invented for the story." Suspense is lost if a character explains the mysteries as they go along. It is called dumbing down the story, so the most simple-minded readers can immediately grasp it. It was apparently an editorial policy for the supernatural comics at the American Comics Group. Because it is entertaining, being a dumb story doesn't necessarily ruin it for me, but it doesn't cause me to look very deep into it as a literary work.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown5:47 AM

    Good ol' ACG, the mark of high art. If this ish hadn't been created in '51, I'd say that opening panel had been ripped off from Scooby-Doo. And the dialogue! "That creeping vapor harbored things--on the trail of escaping prey!" Who has EVER talked like that, especially to themselves out-loud?

    Seems to me that, if the "hoods" could mess with people's lives so they were eligible to be snatched to the ectosphere, they (the hoods) would do that with everyone. All-you-can-eat buffet! And wherever Neil and Audrey live must not have much news if a missing person makes the headline.

    If he's not superstitious and doesn't believe any of the stuff Audrey's said, why in the hell would Neil know that mess about the "hoods" not being able to claim her??

    The one cool bit, in which the writer seemed to trust the artist AND the readers, was where Neil appeared through some lights and, at the end, we were shown his car headlights without being hit over the head with the fact.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Brad S.8:47 AM

    If this had been a '50s romance comic, the woman wouldn't have WANTED her job back because her true job was staying home and being a good wife! At least here she was allowed to work

    ReplyDelete
  6. Alicia American2:45 PM

    Is Lin Streeter a L8Y or a dude? She also drew Pat Patriot yo OMG if Pat Patriot is public domain, she shuld come hang out w/me yo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Alicia American3:19 PM

    This page sez Lin Streeter is a L8Y http://marvelmasterworksfansite.yuku.com/topic/5289/Golden-Age-Rarities#.VYNDe_lViko

    ReplyDelete
  8. Pappy7:28 AM

    Alicia, as an old friend of mine used to say, "Well, I'll be dipped in a big bucket."

    I had always assumed Streeter to be a man in an industry where at least 98% of the artists were male. Your source claims Streeter was female, yet yet another online source claims Streeter to be male.

    So, I don't know.

    "Lin" could be a way of making a name like Lynn or Lynne gender-neutral.

    ReplyDelete

I have gone to comments moderation to try to eliminate spam. Please be patient while I get to your comments for posting.