Number 2507: Beowulf and the monster

Beowulf is a very early epic poem, 3000 lines in old English. In the story it tells, Beowulf comes to the aid of a group of Danes attacked by the monster, Grendel. Beowulf is a real tough guy. He rips Grendel’s arm off. There is a lot more, but...you want me to ALL your work for you? Go online and look it up.

In this version of Beowulf, spelled “Beowolf,” Grendel is a small T-Rex, a dinosaur. When I went online in search of Beowulf,  I found new and old illustrations from the saga, which present Grendel as a monster, but not a dinosaur. Artistic license, no doubt.

Bill Ely, an artist I consider to be one of the most underrated artists from the early history of the comics, did the pictorial renderings for the story, published in Conquest, a one-shot comic book from Famous Funnies. Besides Beowolf the comic book featured stories about Richard the Lion-Hearted, the Swamp Fox, and Lochinvar. Conquest came out originally in 1953, but was reprinted with Comics Code approval in 1955.

Number 2125: Three men, a dead uncle, and a mysterious artist

Uncle Theodore was not only a maker of ingenious (and huge) toys, he was diabolical as well. From beyond the grave he directed his three nephews through various death traps to find their inheritance. Even though dead, Theodore wasn’t going to make it easy for the guys to inherit his wealth. The unanswered question was did he want them to succeed or fail? One of the characters asks that in the last panel. Readers are left with an unanswered question.

“The Riddle of Hazard Isle” is a mystery story from House of Secrets #27 (1959). Stories in the mystery anthologies from DC could be screwy, but illustrated in such a style that even the silliest story had the full illustrative treatment. Bill Ely drew the story; the writer is unknown.

Ely is something of an elusive person; there is a shortage of online information. We know that Ely drew comics from the 1930s through the 1960s. His birth year is given as 1913 and his year of death is 1993. I like Ely’s solid style. Ely took enough pride in his work that he usually signed it, even in the days when being a comic book creator meant artists and writers were anonymous unless they chose to include a signature.

If any of Ely’s relatives, children, nephews and nieces, et al., are reading this, I would appreciate them contacting me to tell me what they know about Bill Ely.

Number 1638: Cabbages from space stole his face!

You will recognize “The Day They Stole My Face” as being inspired (or swiped, depending on how generous you are with “borrowed” ideas) by Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the Don Siegel hit movie, taken from the book by Jack Finney. In the story giant seed pods from space turn into humans, whom they replace. In this story the aliens are big cabbage heads (really!)

It seems odd that anyone, even alien invaders, would try to steal someone’s life and identity by just building an exact house next door and looking exactly like the neighbor family. But who am I to try to guess how aliens think?

It is drawn by Bill Ely, a comic book journeyman who goes way back to the beginnings of comic books. I have linked to some more by this artist. I believe Ely is underrated by comic book fans. The story appeared in My Greatest Adventure #8 (1956).

More of Bill Ely’s work for DC. Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1383: The not altogether-horrible Hillman horrors

Hillman Periodicals, publishers of Airboy Comics and other titles, had no horror comics in their line. But Airboy was known to battle some ghoulish foes, and because horror comics were popular in the early fifties some of the elements in that comic skewed toward the horror genre.

To wit, the non-Airboy contents of Airboy Comics Vol. 9 #5, from 1952. The stories are short, and all have some horror to them.

Gerald McCann,* was a fine artist moonlighting in comic books. His moody, dark style fits “The Wolf Boy of Krakow” very well. Ernie Schroeder did the Heap story, as well as the cover illustration from the tale. The Heap was a character like the later Swamp Thing and Man-Thing, inspired by Theodore Sturgeon’s 1940 short-story, “It!” Heap was a peripatetic, shambling mute who went from one town to another, involving himself in various horror scenarios. The tone of the series reminds me of Dick Briefer’s last and more serious incarnation of his Frankenstein character, seen in The Monster of Frankenstein. Last, longtime comic artist and journeyman Bill Ely* drew “The Crown of Coort,” which features a Lovecraftian monster and a classic last panel.

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*More McCann and Ely here. Just click the pictures.

Number 1227: “I was a prisoner of Captain Kidd!”

September 19th is “Talk Like a Pirate Day” and I will have a pirate story for you that day. I also have a pirate story for you today. I guess pirates are on my mind this week.

Bill Ely did the excellent art on this story from DC's My Greatest Adventure #11 (1956). I've featured Ely before, and I'll give you a link after reminding you that Ely was a very early comic book pioneer, and drew all through the Golden Age of comics. He then drew for DC for several years, into the 1960s. He is one of those journeymen who do not get the recognition they deserve from fans. Look at this story, his drawing, the detail, the panel composition. It all points to him being one of the top illustrative artists in the comics. And yet under-appreciated by comics fans. I'd like to help change that.

There's more DC work by Ely in Pappy's #772.