Number 1964: Witchy women

In time for Halloween on Monday, here are a couple of tales from Ace Comics’ The Hand of Fate, both from the same issue, both featuring witches. I like the artwork in both, but as for the stories...I hope you don’t think too much about the plots. They are horror comics, after all, and like many horror stories strain credibility even more than typical comic book plots.

Someone at Ace Comics got confused (and not just by the events in the stories), and the last two issues of The Hand of Fate are number 25. The Grand Comics Database lists them as #25a (November 1954) and #25b (December 1954). Our stories today are from #25b, which is also the last of The Hand of Fate. As fate would decree, it was the last issue before the Comics Code was implemented in early 1955, and despite their crazy plots, brought about the death of horror comics as we knew and loved them, .

Lou Cameron drew “The Last Hiding Place.” Achieving a near-perfect imitation of Jack Davis’s style, Larry Woromay drew “The Witch’s Wicked Words.” Both of these stories have been shown by Karswell in years past at one of my all-time favorite blogs, The Horrors of it All.

Number 1604: Flapping Head

“The Flapping Head” is a not untypical tale from Forbidden Worlds, but it has the distinction of being drawn by Al Williamson.

Williamson was known for his collaborators on a job, nicknamed the Fleagle Gang by Harvey Kurtzman: Angelo Torres, Roy Krenkel, Frank Frazetta, among others, but for this story the Grand Comics Database credits Williamson for pencils and artists Larry Woromay and King Ward for the inking.

This story has been reprinted several times in the past few decades, solely because of art by Williamson.

From Forbidden Worlds #6 (1952):

Number 1598: Ted’s head!

We are slipping out of June with a couple of stories from one of the first horror comics I ever owned. I got it in a trade circa 1959, and it has been in my collection since.

I have shown the Dick Briefer-drawn “Somewhere Lurks a Thing!” before, in the early days of this blog. These are new scans. “Ted’s Head” has art credited by the GCD to Larry Woromay ? by way of the Atlas Tales site. I think Larry did a pretty good job showing headless people without the gore. But it wouldn't have satisfied the Senate committee and their hearing on comics. They didn’t buy Bill Gaines’ decapitated head cover of Crime Suspenstories #22 as “being in good taste for a horror comic.” For the record, I think “Ted’s Head” is in good taste for a horror comic.

Number 1461: Horror without the horrible

Only a few more days until Halloween. Fill up those candy bowls for the visiting trick-or-treaters, but save the best stuff for yourself. Pappy's rule for Halloween: the kids get the cheap stuff.

No cheap stuff for you today. I’m showing all the stories from Atlas Comics’ Marvel Tales #119 (1953). The tales run the gamut from a golddigger/serial killer to mummies from outer space to choosing a new life, to...well, read on.

Unlike most horror comics of the era there aren’t any vampires or werewolves, and the mummies aren’t even Egyptian mummies. All in all it’s a fun issue. There is some variety, even humor to some of the stories. Besides the total silliness of the plot of “When the Mummies Rise,” drawn by Russ Heath, there is a shaggy dog joke ending to “They Gave Him a Grave,” illustrated by Larry Woromay. John Forte’s art is perfect for the serial killer story, “Collector’s Item!” I got a laugh out of the Marilyn Monroe panel in “The New Life!” drawn by Al Eadeh. Mac Pakula wraps up the issue with a story of a killer who escapes earthly justice only to find it in space.

I could not help comparing the cover by an unknown artist to an earlier cover by horrormeister Bernard Baily for Mister Mystery #11.

As a morbid child I used to think of what would be the most terrible way to die. High on my list was being buried up to my chin and set upon by ants. Despite having a higher ratio of skulls to head, the Marvel Tales cover is tepid compared to Baily’s.