Number 208


No return from Davy Jones!


This well-illustrated story appeared in a magazine called Monsters and Things #2, dated April, 1958. No credits are given.

Monsters and Things was a 25¢ magazine I remember from the magazine stands, spending time loitering, looking at this sort of thing. It was made up of monster movie stills and three of four text fiction pieces. At the time I wouldn't have dared bring home a magazine devoted to monsters. My mom would have tossed it. I was already on shaky ground for buying Mad and its imitators. While I remember this issue of Monsters and Things from its appearance on the stands, I didn't find this copy until 1980 or so. The cover and a couple of full-page interior illustrations are by Bob Powell.

The comic story appears to be a black and white reprint of a pre-code horror story. "Curse Of The Living Crossbones" is of the variety of horror story where a young attractive couple gets drawn into the supernatural. The story title doesn't bring anything up in the Grand Comics Database, but it is apparently reprinted from an Ace Comics title.

It is a pretty good pirate yarn, ye swabs. Yarrrr.

Number 191


Arrrr! Hangman talks like a pirate today

September 19 is Talk Like A Pirate Day. Here at Pappy's we like pirates and like to arrrrrrgghhh along with Robert Newton in Treasure Island.

This Hangman story is from Hangman #8, Winter 1942-43. But the pirates are from 1498. You'll just have to read the story, because I can't explain it. All I can say is, it's vintage Golden Age comics. It's drawn by Bob Fujitani, signing himself Bob Fuje. He's drawing in his early style. Within a few years he'd adopt a more realistic, illustrative style. As you can see from some of the panels, a lot of his influence for the drawing in this story came from Will Eisner.

After you've read the story, mateys, swing your cutlasses, shake your pirate booty and holler arrrrrgghhh in honor of Talk Like A Pirate Day.