Friday, September 22, 2017

Number 2105: Uncle Otto takes it with him

Uncle Otto looked for his dead wife’s fortune for 15 years. He killed her for it. He died just a couple of hours before his niece, Fran, and her fiancé, Vic, showed up at his rotting old mansion. Not only did the ghost of Fran’s aunt Edna appear to the couple, but also the ghost of Uncle Otto. Otto was not deterred by being dead; he wanted to defy the old adage, “You can’t take it with you.” Or if he couldn’t take it with him, at least he could keep it from the interlopers to whom Aunt Edna bestowed her hidden wealth.

“Rendezvous with Death” is from Forbidden Worlds #34 (1954), the last issue before the Comics Code would turn thumbs-down on a story like this. It even defies the usual ACG plot, where the young couple is able to triumph over the evil supernatural forces and proclaim their love in the final panel. By the end there is no love left.

Lately, in our comments section, we have talked of the Jeepers Girl. Artist Kenneth Landau drew a version of her in the splash panel.








Here are two more stories from the final pre-Code issue of Forbidden Worlds. Just click on the thumbnail.


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2 comments:

  1. Daniel [oeconomist.com]4:18 AM

    D_ng! Not much justice here.

    The business of burying Edna in the garden is in keeping with the general off-kilter nature of ACG stories.

    As is the secret crypt for Otto's body. Putting it in the attic meant that it would only stay secret until the house collapsed or underwent major renovation; the former happened within hours. Otto got the money, and he'll know the peace of the grave once soil has settled on the wreckage of the house.

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  2. Brian Barnes7:45 AM

    That's a great story. The spiraling circles of greed and aunt/wife making the same mistake in marriage. It's a very old type of story and works really well here. Well enough that I can avoid some of the conveniences of the story.

    The art's nice, also. This is an all around fun tale.

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