Number 2129: Ghost of the Gorgon

John (or Johnny) Bell (né Belcastro) was a comic book artist with a short list of published work in the early 1950s. He worked mostly for Fiction House, and is probably best known for his moody artwork, like this example, “The Ghost of the Gorgon,” which appeared in issue #10 (1954) of Ghost Comics.

According to what short biographical information I am able to find on Bell/Belcastro from the Internet, he was born in 1924, served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, got his art training the way many of the best comic book artists of the post-War era got theirs, in classes conducted by Burne Hogarth. When Fiction House shut down Belcastro worked on a couple of newspaper comics, then went into commercial art in his hometown of Albany, New York. Belcastro died in his mid-eighties, in 2010. Like some other artists of the era in which he did comic books, he borrowed some techniques from the EC Comics artists.

In the story itself the Gorgon appears to be nude on top (page 6). That’s something we usually didn’t see in comic books. The hapless guy who looks upon the Gorgon is turned to stone, but it’s the eyes of the monster that do it. I am sure that before transforming into a solid object, he took a peek at other parts of her.

Number 1298: Going Nuts

This is posting number two of our Funky Funnies week, highlighting some oddball humor comics.

Nuts, which came from the small publisher, Premier Magazines, is actually one of the better Mad imitations. I say that with qualifications. In my opinion no comic ever really came that close to Mad, calling Nuts a better imitation is faint praise. But John Benson, in his excellent compilation from Mad imitators, The Sincerest Form of Parody, gives some space to Nuts. (I'm showing different stories than Benson.) I recommend his book if you're into this type of comic book which, with the success of Mad, sprang up like toadstools after a rainstorm.

The penciler of “Tick Dracy” is unknown, but Hy Fleishman is credited by comic art expert Jim Vadeboncoeur Jr. with the inks, and John Belcastro, using his pseudonym Johnny Bell, did “Prince Valuable.” Fleishman and Belcastro both became known in comics during this era of the early 1950s, and did work in various genres. Fleishman is especially well known for his work, pencils and inks, in horror comics. (Check out the search engine using his name in Karwell's The Horrors Of It All blog for some great examples of his work.)

Number 742


We both loved Magda


In 1959, when we were in 7th grade, my friend Rich got a handful of old comics from his cousin. I'd been telling Rich about horror comics. At the time both of us were reading Adventures Into The Unknown, Forbidden Worlds and the Jack Kirby monster books. I told Rich about the Comics Code censorship, how comic books used to be cool, full of vampires, werewolves and killers! At the time, though, I didn't own any of those terrible comics. Everything I knew about them came from what I'd read in a library copy of Seduction Of The Innocent.

So Rich came from his older cousin's house with a copy of Vault of Horror #21, the Realistic (Avon) Comics one-shot,The Dead Who Walk, and the Fiction House title, Ghost Comics #8. Of the three I lusted most after Ghost Comics, because I was infatuated with the girl, Magda, and her big bazooms. No girls with boobs like that existed in my Code-approved comics. I tried to get Rich to give up his Ghost Comics, but no way. I guess he loved Magda the Gypsy as much as I.

I was also very impressed by the beautifully drawn, spooky cover by Maurice Whitman.

Twenty years later I asked Rich if he still had that Ghost Comics. He did. Would he sell? No.

OK, Rich...I finally have my own copy of Ghost Comics #8, published by Fiction House in 1953. I don't need your stinking copy of Ghost Comics #8, wouldn't take it you gave it to me. Screw you, Rich!

Oh, yeah, Rich, one more thing...would you consider a small cash consideration for your copies of Vault of Horror #21 or The Dead Who Walk...?

"The Curse of the Mist-Things" is drawn by John Belcastro, signing his name as Johnny Bell. As a bonus, another story I remember from that original encounter with Rich's Ghost Comics, "The Soul Stealer."