Weird Secret Origins!

These "giant" specials were a real treat some years ago when DC felt like doing that sort of thing. They published several neat packages of entertaining comics, none more so than this one featuring the artistic elegance of Jerry Ordway. The inset of The Spectre in the logo appears to be a Jim Aparo image from Adventure Comics #431..

Here's a look at Ordway's artwork minus the copious cover copy. I love it, but there's something about the overwhelming copy on the ultimate cover which gives it a frantic energy. Ordway definitely knows his stuff.

Rip Off

Merry Marvel's Frankensteins!

Mary Shelley's famous and frightening creation met the Uncanny X-Men in late 1967, but it turned out the Frankenstein's Monster depicted here by George Tuska was not the real deal, but a robot built by aliens. Sheesh!

Update: It was brought to my attention by Britt Reid (see comments section) that a later reprint of this comic had the Tuska Frankenstein head altered by Marie Severin. I'm a bit fan of Marie's work, but in this instance her more "human" Frank face is less menacing.

Later in 1968, Norrin Radd runs across the infamous creator, or at least his heir Ludwig and finds himself the victim of the Frankenstein family's genetic predisposition to meddle with Mother Nature. This cover and the rejected variant (which I prefer but understand why it was rejected -- not enough Surfer) are both the work of the great John Buscema.

Finally in 1971 Marvel unveils the real McCoy, giving the epic saga of Frankenstein and his "Monster" their own ongoing comic. Mike Ploog was tapped to give...er...life to the saga, one I've long regarded as the greatest ghost story ever written.

Rip Off

The Spectral Hound!

Being a huge fan of Martin Powell's take on the famous detective from Baker Street, I'm very excited to read that a new Sherlock Holmes story from Powell is headed to the stands, this time adapting my absolute favorite novel. The Hound of the Baskervilles was a novel I read young, and the tale of the spectral hound haunting the dank moors left a definite imprint on my youthful imagination. I'm very eager to see what the author of Scarlet in Gaslight does with this venerable Holmes classic.Alas the artwork this time is not by the utterly awesome Seppo Makinen, but by Jamie Chase. The early images I've seen look great though.

To get revved up for it, I'm digging out my Powell-Makinen Holmes comics and giving them another read this Halloween season.

Rip Off

Through A Glass Darkly!

This weird cover by the late great Tom Sutton for Charlton's Ghostly Tales #113 from 1975 is an outstanding example of what he was producing for the Derby publisher at the time.  This cover relates to a story titled "Through a Glass Darkly" both written and illustrated by Sutton.

The cover (though not the story)was used in 1998 for the ACG reprint Pulp Horror.

The story was also reprinted a few years ago in The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics.

Rip Off

Ghost In The Machine!

Phone pranks are always funny. Or are they?

Whatever the case, this Warren Kremer cover for this classic Harvey Comics Casper the Friendly Ghost is a hoot. 

Rip Off

Hoodoo Witching Time!

It's that time again, time for Webb Fest 7. This year the annual congregation of Webb Wilder fans is again taking place in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but not at the old venue of the Capitol Theater. The action will happen at a joint called The Warehouse. I'm actually looking forward to seeing Webb and his band in these new conditions, as they are the ideal bar band. It should freshen the experience.

The album Doo Dad, generally consider Webb Wilder's best, will be the focus of the night according to some reports. One song from that album though that I always look forward to hearing is "Hoodoo Witch". It's the only song I know that mentions the famous story by W.W. Jacobs titled "The Monkey's Paw", a classic ghost story. Give it a listen. 




Rip Off

Ghastly Origins!

I'm currently enjoying The Spectre's Silver Age adventures, but to be honest the first time I really "got" the character was when I stumbled across this reprint of his Golden Age origin story from More Fun Comics #54 and #55.

I didn't get Secret Origins regularly, so it must've been the startlingly good Nick Cardy cover art which attracted me. I simply love this cover! The potent narrative in those three distinct panels drives home the essential core of what makes The Spectre tick. He's dead and returned and seems bent on kicking criminal butt. Look at that glare on his pallid mug as he rises out of the water. Ouch! And check out how Cardy uses the implied motions of the water to add to the sense of momentum when the Spectre emerges from his watery tomb.
 

The original covers for these stories are pretty dang effective in their own right. The Bernard Bailey artwork here is spare but offers up a truly creepy and cadaverous rendition of the "Discarnate Detective" as Gardner Fox dubbed him. Those blasts of energy framing his craggy face really makes these covers pop just enough.This feature being in "More Fun Comics" is a bit of hoot for sure.

Rip Off