Number 2199: See no, hear no, speak no...

The popular maxim, “See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,” often accompanied by three monkeys with hands over their eyes, mouth and ears, comes from at least the 17th century (Japan) and maybe even further back to the 8th century (China). It has different meanings based on one's interpretation, but for the sake of the two stories I am showing today, it is about people seeking evil.

It may or may not be clever to base a story on such a familiar trope, but it seems a natural for writers of horror or mystery stories. When in doubt, go to what is familiar. And, of course I chose the stories because they feature apes!

“Search for Evil” is from Harvey’s Black Cat Mystery #44 (1953). No scripter is listed by the Grand Comics Database, but the artist is Howard Nostrand. ”Hear, See, Speak Evil” is from Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #11 (1965), published by Gold Key. Again, no scripter, but the artwork is signed “AW” — Al Williamson.

Number 1761: Wallace Wood: Vengeance of the Armored Arm!

I picked up Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery whenever it featured one of my favorite artists. Wallace Wood is someone whose work I have always collected. This story, from issue #9, 1965, is a one of my favorites from that period. I thought Woody had fun with medieval themes. The Grand Comics Database credits him with both pencils and inks. Experience tells us one or more of Wood’s assistants helped him.

In my opinion, this was one of Wood’s finest jobs for EC, the 3-D version of his Mad story, “V-Vampires!” The original art, yet! Just click on the thumbnail.

Number 1488: Monsters of Karloff

Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery was a title of the 1970s from Gold Key/Whitman, which featured monster stories. What I remember about it from seeing it on the comic racks of its era was the art in each issue seemed uneven to me, a problem I found with most of the anthology comics of the time.

These two stories I found interesting and well drawn. “The Eternity Monster” is from issue #60 (1975), drawn by José Delbo; “The Axeman and the Taxman” is from #68 (1976) and identified (if you can call it that) as being by “West Coast artist?” by the Grand Comics Database.

There are more Boris Karloff monsters at Karswell’s The Horrors Of It All.
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Number 1167: Monster in town

 Carlos Garzón, from Bogotá, Colombia, saw Al Williamson's Flash Gordon work in the '60s. He found out Al was raised in Bogotá, so he sent him samples of his work. By 1970 Garzón was living in New York and working with Williamson. Despite their long collaboration, Garzón did solo jobs, also, including Gold Key's Flash Gordon and this five-page strip from Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #69 (1976).

I chose it because I found scans of the original art on Heritage Auctions, so I'm showing both versions.

George Wilson did the cover, based on a panel from the story.

The latest I heard was that Carlos is living in Orlando, Florida, working on various projects.