{"id":8,"date":"2016-06-27T09:01:07","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T07:01:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/?page_id=8"},"modified":"2016-11-29T16:21:51","modified_gmt":"2016-11-29T15:21:51","slug":"witchcraft","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/?page_id=8","title":{"rendered":"Witchcraft & One-Shots"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ten months after releasing the AVON HORROR line with EERIE, the editors added a second title: WITCHCRAFT.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Witchcraft #1<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

March 1952\"Witch1\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Devilish fiend rising like a flame from beaker in laboratory and frightening brunette in foreground) \u2013 ???<\/p>\n

\u201cHeritage of Horror!\u201d (Joe Kubert)<\/p>\n

\u201cDevil-Music!\u201d\u00a0 (Gene Fawcette ? + Vince Alascia)<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Ship Is Doomed!\u201d (Harry Lazarus)<\/p>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Ouanga!\u201d (???)<\/p>\n

Cover had been credited to Bernard Baily (possibly) which I don\u2019t believe for a second. I\u2019m guessing at Sid Check. Check did the illustrated inner front cover (the Avon contents page) and signed it. Called in Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. for art spotting assistance and he concurs (insofar as it’s not Baily). He says: \u201cI’d put money on George Roussos for the cover, Tillmann.\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cHeritage of Horror!\u201d is a fun \u2018baddie\u2019<\/strong>, in my humble opinion! First I am supplying you with a story synopsis (all of this issue I picked from the forum of Digital Comic Museum): \u201eJulian is an ugly man who wants to paint a beautiful picture. Julian hates a guy who is handsome and married the girl he likes. He paints a picture of the guy getting hit by a car and exactly that happens. He does a painting to make himself handsome<\/strong> and eventually gets married to the woman he’s wanted. The woman finds out what he did, though, and takes care of him.\u201c<\/p>\n

\"Neverpose\"

Huh? \u201eI\u2019ve never posed for THAT!\u201c Elegant hint at possibly non-censentual intercourse.<\/p><\/div>\n

I love the way Kubert executes this run-of-the-mill \u2018mad art painter meets ugliest man in the world\u2019 tale with panels of pure exaggeration<\/strong>. The emaciated figure of Julian, his rebirth as a muscle-packed gigolo, Vivian\u2019s cry-face and her bodiless spying eyes.<\/p>\n

As late as on page 6 it dawned upon me that Julian did not only paint himself beautiful, but painted a\u2026 ahem\u2026 scene of romance\u2026<\/strong> with him and Vivian \u2013 to bed the widow as soon as possible.<\/p>\n

You can find the whole story on THOIA \u2013 or on my site, FIFTIES HORROR, because I can\u2019t stop laughing at \u201cHeritage of Horror!<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ah, by the way, the plot is a variation of <\/strong>a plot\u2026 of an EC story<\/strong>\u2026 which I can\u2019t find\u2026 at the moment\u2026 Aarrgggh. Where issit? I\u2019m sure I saw it done as an episode for the HBO show \u201cTales from the Crypt\u201d\u2026 nice one, actually\u2026 keep digging\u2026 hmm, did I dream this?… There are some stories about paintings having magic power.<\/p>\n

Anyway, the finale of both stories is the same: The picture gets damaged \u2013 and the face of the man dissolves! Must\u2019ve been illustrated by Jack Davis \u2026<\/p>\n

NOW I found it: \u201cDrawn and Quartered\u201d by Davis from TALES OF THE CRYPT #26 (October 1951).<\/p>\n

\u201cDevil-Music!\u201d is another baddie, but no fun. It\u2019s crudely illustrated and varies another plot I\u2019ve seen before: \u201cA woman finds some music and plays it on the piano. A man \u2013 Mr. Mammon – appears and promises her twenty-five years of fame<\/strong>. She finally finds out she signed a deal with the devil. Another woman ends up with the music. (I do have one complaint about this story. It keeps referring to her as ‚young,‘ yet from the first the way she is drawn makes her look like an older woman, definitely not young.)\u201c
\nThere you have it, even the reader who wrote that synopsis is complaining about the artwork. Artwise I am doubting the credit for Gene Fawcette on pencils here. Jim says it MAY be Fawcette under Alascia\u2019s drowning inks, but it\u2019s extremely hard to decide.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Ship Is Doomed!\u201d: We are looking at Harry Lazarus\u2019 first horror job<\/strong> for Avon.
\n\u201cA ship that has a captain’s daughter on board is said to be doomed. A former captain that died is now a ghost on the ship.\u201c
\nTrods along horridly for three blah-blah pages, suddenly gets interesting on page 4! Not that bad, took me by surprise<\/strong>. See it on THOIA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cVengeance of the Ouanga!\u201d is a very straight and simple curse story: \u201cBob Grant is a reporter who goes to a French island. He wants to visit Ghost Island but it seems no one wants to take him there. The story of the island is told, including that of the Ouanga monster<\/strong>. The reporter realizes too late he should not have tempted fate.\u201c
\nCause the Ouanga monster comes for him! Brrrrr. The horror.<\/p>\n

\"Ouanga\"<\/p>\n

The monster man with that dangling dead man\u2019s arm before his chest really looks quite frightening! Thought this was art by Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, but Jim is not sure about it. The eyes have it, on THOIA, anyway: \u201cVengeance of the Ouanga!<\/a>\u201d posted there.<\/p>\n

Witchcraft #2<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

May 1952\"Witchcraft2Cover\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Giant black skull with crossbones floating before yellow background, behind the eye-holes a terrified couple is to be seen) \u2013 Gene Fawcette ?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Death Tattoo\u201d (Normal Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Vampire Puppet\u201d (Edward Goldfarb)<\/p>\n

\u201cHouse to Let\u201d (Sid Check, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Northern Horror\u201d (A. Albert + Joe Kubert)<\/p>\n

That stunning cover is a pre-code horror masterpiece<\/strong>, although it might have been still better if the artist had left out the people behind the eye-holes. Just a black \u2018jolly roger\u2019 before a yellow background! Ha!<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Death Tattoo\u201d is quite fun, but nothing that special. Circus performer Garth wears a magic symbol on his chest<\/strong>. The \u201cdeath tattoo\u201d allows him to use the power of hypnotism, but comes with a price. Its wearer is slowly driven insane; and after his death, the tattoo detaches from the body and goes searching for a new victim.
\nUnusual for an AVON HORROR tale, it is told in first person<\/strong> by Garth\u2019s rival, Jack, who is in line to be the next victim of the eerily floating death tattoo.
\nThe story is very typical for your standard pre-code horror yarn<\/strong>; we post it in our \u201cStories<\/a>\u201d section!<\/p>\n

\"VampirePuppet1\"\u201cThe Vampire Puppet\u201d runs in the same vein (harhar) as the previous story, a nice run-of-the-mill precoder, executed by the underrated Edward Goldfarb.
\nPuppet master Gravon and his puppet Koko<\/strong> are celebrities. His three assistants are jealous of his success, murder Gravon and go on stage themselves. Koko, however, changes into an avenging vampire puppet<\/strong> and drains the treacherous trio of their life blood.
\nStory\u2019s is quite cruel<\/strong>, by the way, have a look at our row of teaser panels and see the whole story by clicking it \u2013 will lead you to our \u201cStories<\/a>\u201d section.<\/p>\n

\u201cHouse to Let\u201d is a next entertaining story, although we face a \u2018hybrid<\/strong>\u2019 here \u2013 this is science fiction horror<\/strong>: Professor Janney invents a formula to bring dead matter to life. He tries it out in his home laboratory \u2013 with horrid success. His house becomes alive and keeps him prisoner. Janney slowly diminishes in size, ready to be absorbed by his murderous home.
\nThis is total hogwash<\/strong>, of course, but still a fun read. See it posted HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Although \u201cThe Northern Horror\u201d looks like Joe Kubert art on a first glance, it is clearly not. The unfathomable brain of Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. came up with Kubert inks and pencils by a guy named A. Albert. Albert (of whom no first name is known, except the \u201cA\u201d, obviously) is a phantom artist we came across reviewing FICTION HOUSE HORROR<\/a> (for more info, click the link).
\nAlbert seems to have exclusively contributed to WINGS, PLANET, JET ACES and GHOST, doing two dozen stories for Fiction House \u2013 and no more.<\/p>\n

So, what is \u201cThe Northern Horror\u201d about? Somewhere in Northern Canada, an expedition in search of Uranium comes across Viking artifacts<\/strong>. Eskimo guide Arnook warns the foreigners of the \u201cGolden Sword of the Spirits\u201d, but some men push on, discover a lost Viking ship and their doom.
\nThe art\u2019s above par in this freezing tale of greed and curses, but fails to rouse my interest. Too straight for me.<\/p>\n

Mind you, WITCHCRAFT #2 is not a GOOD horror book, but it kept me smiling<\/strong> throughout. It\u2019s all rather run-of-the-mill, but just above the average \u2013 and done with a light touch and pleasant art. I\u2019m surprised NONE of the stories were to be found on the internet. We give you three out of four in our \u201cStories\u201d section.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Witchcraft #3<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

July 1952\"Witch3\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Torso of wild woman in spidery dress sticking out of spider net, five big red spiders crawling towards the reader) \u2013 ???<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Red Spider!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Thirteenth Clown\u201d (Mort Lawrence, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter Off Dead!\u201d (Leonard Starr ? + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost\u2019s Revenge\u201d (Gerald McCann)<\/p>\n

Again a nice and weird cover! Unknown artist. To me, this could be more Gene Fawcette than the last cover. But we do not know.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Red Spider!\u201d offers us insect horror<\/strong>. Always welcome, but this tale unwinds quite blandly.
\nDamon Rankin, an entomologist, collects insects. While on vacation on a small Caribbean island, he comes across a fabled red spider. By killing it, he sets free evil powers<\/strong>.
\nThere\u2019s a fun last page of psychedelia, else the story trots along very run-of-the-mill. Go see it on THOIA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Thirteenth Clown\u201d has an unusual ending. Jacob Rok forged his brother\u2019s testament to take over his circus business. When star performer Marco the clown confronts Rok, he\u2019s being strangled and buried in the woods. But the ghost of Marco keeps performing as the \u201cPhantom Clown<\/strong>\u201d, bringing Rok to justice and supporting new owner Linda.
\nThe wonderful Mort Lawrence<\/strong> takes over the art chores for \u201cThe Thirteenth Clown\u201d. This is his one and only horror<\/strong> job for Avon!
\nLawrence worked on romance and western features (\u201cWild Bill Pecos\u201d) for Orbit in the late 1940s;\u00a0 then took root at Avon for two years before heading over to Atlas\/Marvel in 1953. We give you his story in our \u201cStories<\/a>\u201d section.<\/p>\n

\"ThirteenthClown1\"<\/p>\n

Under THIS LINK<\/a> you\u2019ll find a strange German (!) reprint version of his \u201cMidnight on Black Mountain\u201d: Sorry, there is no English version available online\u2026 So I give you this one.<\/p>\n

\u201cBetter Off Dead!\u201d ushers us into the sports milieu. Boxing champ<\/strong> Georgie Price gets the jitters when dead girl friend Anne starts to haunt him. She distracts him during a prize fight. Georgie dies of brain concussion and Anne leads him away to the afterworld.
\nAll of the stories in this issue seem meshed together from formula variations<\/strong>. A boxer haunted by a curse, the avenging ghost of a clown, the horror of a human spider.
\nJim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. thinks the pencils for this story might be coming from Leonard Starr.<\/p>\n

Can \u201cThe Ghost\u2019s Revenge\u201d break the mould? First contribution by Gerald McCann<\/strong> for AVON HORROR. Other one is printed in EERIE #11. Very peculiar, illustrative artist. This might be something. But, alas, we wade knee-deep in irony<\/strong> here:
\nJames Kendall is a professional \u2018ghost-breaker\u2019, relieving troubled persons from their fear of spooks. He is also the man who embezzles his warden\u2019s fortune. So Kendall throws the young Anne off a cliff to her death \u2013 and is furthermore haunted by her ghost.
\nWell, there is one more twist coming<\/strong> when Kendall is confronted by the girl\u2019s fianc\u00e9. But it all adds up to a simple tit-for-tat yarn. Hmmmph. McCann\u2019s art is nice, though. Making the best of it. We post these seven pages in our ‚Stories‘ section HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Witchcraft #4<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

September 1952\"Witch4\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Death-like figure stirring boiling cauldron, man and woman looking distraught from out of the pot) \u2013 Alvin Hollingsworth, signed<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Bribed Death\u201d (Alvin Hollingsworth, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Terrible Face\u201d (Mort Meskin + George Roussos)<\/p>\n

\u201cClaws of the Cat\u201d (Harry Lazarus, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cDiary of a Monster!\u201d (Mort Meskin + ?)<\/p>\n

Ah, a cauldron motif<\/strong> for the cover!
\nThere are fewer of those than you\u2019d think<\/strong>. Only three spring to my mind instantly: Jack Katz\u2019 bubble tea-like brew as seen on the cover of OUT OF THE SHADOWS #8. And the wonderfully orange glow of the witches\u2019 cauldron on BEWARE! TERROR TALES #8. And, of course, the cruel title page of MISTER MYSTERY #13 \u2013 showing us a man\u2019s head in close-up being dumped under in a blood-red fluid. Arrgh.<\/p>\n

Well, the Hollingsworth approach to it is as crummy<\/strong> as Hollingsworth likes to get. Everything is out of size and perspective; it\u2019s a very cheap-o cover. But that is the fun of it, innit?
\nInside it\u2019s not getting any better! All of the jobs look very hastily done, awkwardly illustrated, o my, o my. Well, Hollingsworth always looks awkward, so let\u2019s start here:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Bribed Death\u201d is again a first-person narrative. And the best one (out of two) in AVON HORROR\u2019S run. Harhar. No, this is actually an impressive story<\/strong>. Newspaper correspondent Robert Avery has a heart condition and only one more day to live<\/strong>. He strikes a bargain with death himself: Avery kills people before their time and gets to stay alive longer. He travels to dangerous spots like war-torn Korea and Red China where life is cheap and death sudden. His luck runs out as he tries to be smuggled out of a disease-stricken city in a coffin.
\nLots to like<\/strong> here: First-person narrative is crisply written, story settings in Korea and China are probably unique for horror comics of its time. And Hollingsworth delivers some of his best art<\/strong> ever! We tease you with his depiction of nice nightmare psychedelia \u2013 click it to see whole story posted on FIFTIES HORROR<\/a> (it deserved to be presented there!).<\/p>\n

\"PsychoHolli\"<\/a>
\n\u201cThe Terrible Face\u201d, however, is a weak and almost crappy story. Plastic surgeon<\/strong> Emil Toller is jealous of the handsome Jack Parks. Parks is engaged to lovely Nanette whom Toller plans to marry. When Parks is hurt in a car crash, Toller disfigures his face, driving the man to suicide. The dead man\u2019s misshapen face haunts the surgeon who ends up inheriting his terrible features.
\nVery bad job on artist Mort Meskin\u2019s part, if you ask me.\"FireWarning\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And we encounter a weird looking job<\/strong> (too little heads on bodies too big, jeez!)\u00a0 by Lazarus next in \u201cClaws of the Cat\u201d. Story\u2019s an entertaining no-brainer<\/strong> \u2013 depicting cruelty to animals! And old women, of course!
\nGrace and Walter Brock murder his rich aunt Annie for her money. They kill her pet cat, too. After burying the old woman, they find the cat\u2019s body gone. Months later, strange things start to happen: Walter is scratched by an invisible animal, and Grace transforms into a murderous feline.
\nStraight and fun nonsense revenge horror<\/strong>. See it posted <\/a>in our \u201cStories\u201d section!<\/p>\n

\u201cDiary of a Monster!<\/a>\u201d is the next first-person narrative! Offering us an interesting topic \u2013 pyromania<\/strong>! I recall an EC story by Reed Crandall (\u201cThe Firebug\u201d in CRIME SUSPENSTORIES #26, December 1954), but no more.<\/p>\n

John Stark is a firebug<\/strong>. He causes a lot of fires until he is caught red-handed. Stark claims his innocence on behalf of being possessed by a monster inside of him<\/strong>. When Stark commits suicide in his cell, the fire monster indeed breaks loose.
\nUnusual ending as you see. There really WAS a monster all along responsible for the mayhem. Story closes with morale, a warning<\/strong>, as you can see in the longish panel to the right. Click the flame<\/strong> to see whole story<\/a> posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section!<\/p>\n

Hmmm, they are really trying to drive a message home, methinks.
\nAlthough I like Crandall\u2019s leering maniac face<\/strong> way better!
\nLet it burn! Let it burn! Heh, heh, heh\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Firebug\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Witchcraft #5<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

December 1952\"Witchcraft5Cover\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Death-like figure stirring boiling cauldron, man and woman looking distraught from out of the pot) \u2013 Kelly Freas, signed<\/p>\n

Contents Page (Everett Raymond Kinstler, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Witch of Shadow Glen!\u201d (Gene Fawcette + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere Zombies Walk!\u201d (Alvin Hollingsworth, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Witch of Death!\u201d (Rafael Astarita, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Warlock of Manescu Manse!\u201d (Gene Fawcette ???)<\/p>\n

Striking cover by Kelly Freas, it\u2019s painted<\/strong>. Only occurrence in AVON HORROR\u2019S history.
\nThis seems to be the first job<\/strong> by the talented Freas in the comics business<\/strong>. He became a regular for MAD MAGAZINE from their number 31 on (in February 1957) and created (alongside Norman Mingo) many classic covers and images. Have a look at his Wikipedia entry <\/a>and marvel how much the guy did!<\/p>\n

Contentwise there\u2019s a lot of witch stories for one issue! Witch, witch, warlock\u2026 tch!
\nThen again the series IS called WITCHCRAFT<\/strong>!\"WitchOfShadow1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Witch of Shadow Glen!\u201d is a moody piece of horror<\/strong>, concentrating on psychological aspects:\u00a0 Bob Franklin is in love with Sonya Granet, who is haunted by a childhood trauma<\/strong>. She thinks she was promised to do the devil’s bidding. During their short marriage, Bob discovers that Sonya indeed is a witch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere Zombies Walk!\u201d features a next amazing splash by Hollingsworth. Story offers mild horror, too, but no surprises: On the Caribbean island of Hondo tourist Jack Carney learns oft the native voodoo belief<\/strong>. The touch of a zombie<\/strong> can heal the sick, but will kill the healthy. Carney pries on a secretive native assembly and witnesses forbidden ceremonies. He gets caught, touched by a zombie and joins the ranks of the undead.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Witch of Death!\u201d teeters on the brink of ridiculousness: Tom O\u2019Malley and his wife Alice inherit the Gillespie farm on the New England countryside<\/strong>. They are warned to go there; the place is said to be cursed. Tom and Alice travel there and meet the witch-like neighbor woman. Entering the farmhouse, they are attacked and killed by a cat, a raven and a scarecrow.
\n\u201cThe Witch of Death!\u201d starts off moody like the other two tales before it, but ends on an almost slapsticky note, when the pets start attacking. See some panels here. Story breaks off very abruptly. And again, no surprises, no twist<\/strong>, plot unfolds and closes as laid out in the beginning.<\/p>\n

\"petattack\"<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Warlock of Manescu Manse!\u201d fits right into the pattern of folkloristic horror<\/strong>. I suspect the same author in all four stories. Young Austrian woman Carla Hanlein is unhappy with the hard country life and hopes for the riches prince Lustveg Manescue has to offer. Her dream comes true, but at a price. She\u2019s married to the prince, but finds out about satanic rituals<\/strong> and murders at court<\/strong>. Given the choice, Carla is initiated as a witch and terrorizes the countryside together with her demonic husband. Carla\u2019s siblings come looking for her and bring down the devilish rule of prince Lustveg. By poking a burning piece of firewood into his right eye.<\/strong> True.<\/p>\n

\"pokerface\"<\/p>\n

WITCHCRAFT #5 all in all is a nice-looking horror book, alas, rather suspense-free<\/strong>. We give you the lead story (\u201cThe Witch of Shadow Glen!<\/a>\u201d) in our appendix section. However, the whole issue<\/a> is posted in one big scroll on the blog \u201cDestination Nightmare\u201d. If you wanna see more \u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Witchcraft #6<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Witch6Cover\"December 1952<\/strong><\/p>\n

Cover: (Succession of giant floating skulls scaring a man downhill) \u2013 Alvin Hollingsworth, signed<\/p>\n

Contents Page (Everett Raymond Kinstler, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cMonster of Sarno Gulch!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrican Horror!\u201d (Harry Lazarus, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cMystery of the Moaning Statue!\u201d (Alvin Hollingsworth, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cHero of the Venus Flyer!\u201d (Gene Fawcette)
\nLast issue<\/strong>; none of the stories were posted on the internet so far. Nothing good here? We\u2019re about to find out! It\u2019s a nice cover, by the way, I like the brownish colors and the touch of psychedelia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMonster of Sarno Gulch!\u201d feels distilled from the plots of last issue\u2019s stories. A man witnesses forbidden voodoo rituals where men turn into beasts<\/strong> by drinking a magic potion. The man, George, returns to the US carrying a vial of the stuff. He marries Elaine, keeps his secret for himself, but she finds out that he can change into a beast and yaddayaddayadda \u2026
\nIn the end, George and Elaine hunt together: a reporter who was after the story!<\/p>\n

And the next nosey American<\/strong> has the hots for eavesdropping on native rituals<\/strong>: \u201cAfrican Horror!\u201d introduces us to Peter Dane who comes into possession of a potion that turns men into leopard-like beasts<\/strong>. Dane gets addicted to the stuff and even gives it to his wife Alice (another Alice). She does not go wild, though (sexual symbolism?), just faints. Peter is ready to kill his useless and lethargic wife, but is pushed down a rockface by the spirit of the native chief.
\nLazarus art is oftentimes fun in its trashiness<\/strong>. And can be downright scary, if you\u2019re a kid. I guess.<\/p>\n

\"mouthful\"<\/p>\n

Finally a new plot in \u201cMystery of the Moaning Statue!\u201d, a contribution to the horror subgenre of mad art painters and sculptors<\/strong>. Sculptress Rhoda Prahar is romanced by the twins Paul and Alan Ryan. She likes them both and models a warrior statue after the likeness. Alan manages to win her heart, but jealous Paul kills his brother and marries Rhoda a year later. Since Rhoda is of Hungarian heritage, her statues harbor the souls of the dead. When Paul develops a persecution mania<\/strong>, he strangles Rhoda, but is attacked and killed by the statue of his dead twin brother.
\nWe chose to post THIS <\/a>story in our appendix, because it\u2019s the most original and complex one of the issue.<\/p>\n

\"MoaningStatue5Det\"<\/a>

The eyes have it! Fun arrangement of Hollingsworth art on page 5.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cHero of the Venus Flyer!\u201d is a full-blown science fiction story. WITCHCRAFT goes out on a futuristic note \u2026 heh, heh.
\nThey obviously had no horror plot left<\/strong> anymore.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The One-Shots<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

City of the Living Dead<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1952\"CityOfLivingDeadCover\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cover: Whip-wielding blonde in breeches standing before bound skeletal zombie) – Alvin Hollingsworth, signed<\/p>\n

\u201cCity of the Living Dead!\u201d (Alvin Hollingsworth, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Glistening Death\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Witches Come at Midnight!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Has Many Tongues\u201d (Harry Lazarus, signed)<\/p>\n

That is a gorgeous eye-catcher of a cover<\/strong> \u2013 and a very unusual one: The lady is clearly in charge<\/strong> here, giving that fiend hell! You wouldn\u2019t expect HER to don a red dress and run away screaming, do ya?<\/p>\n

\u201cCity of the Living Dead!\u201d- the title story is an insipid, disappointing tale of adventure:
\nYucatan, Mexico. A group of explorers discovers mystic Quetana, fabled \u201cCity of the Living Dead\u201d. Centuries ago, murderous pirates<\/strong> were banned there by Quetzal, Aztec god of justice, destined to live in agony forever<\/strong>. The explorers are attacked by the zombies, but Quetzal appears and saves those pure of heart amongst them.<\/p>\n

Yaaaaawn! Artwise you get Hollingsworth at his\u2026 ahm\u2026 best. Panels crowded with weird faces and no sense of depth or perspective.<\/p>\n

\"WeirdFace\"<\/p>\n

Still wanna see whole story? Can do, mister. Over at Karswell\u2019s superblog \u201cThe Horrors of It All<\/a>\u201d (THOIA).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Glistening Death\u201d offers us a mixture of horror and science fiction: A man hides out at his uncle’s swampland mansion and discovers he is a slave to a glistening meat eating alien creature<\/strong> that takes the form of a beautiful woman.
\nHuh? Sounds weird. Is weird. Too arbitrary for my taste. The heavy art doesn\u2019t get the story off the ground, either. Read it all again on \u201cTHOIA<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s see what those crones have brewed together for us\u2026 \u201cThe Witches Come at Midnight!\u201d is just as weird as the last tale.
\nWitches (along with their master Satan himself), converge every night at midnight at the old Rainey farm terrorizing the family. One night when young Joel is attacked by the monsters, his pet rooster<\/strong> „Peter“ arrives and scares off the creatures who think he’s Chanticleer, the fabled rooster.<\/p>\n

Some of Nodel\/Alascia\u2019s panels are haunting in an awkward way<\/strong>. They\u2019re more droll than terrifying, but this suits perfectly to the narrator\u2019s perspective of the boy. Your spine is tingled with a sense of supernatural thrills, but it doesn\u2019t build up to a shocking payoff.
\n\u201cThe Witches Come at Midnight!\u201d goes out with that proverbial whimper, not the bang we hoped for. Showing you an array of panels and invite you over to THOIA <\/a>to see the weirdness of it all:<\/p>\n

\"MinionsAll\"

The minions and their master. Frightful bunch of buggers, innit?<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cDeath Has Many Tongues\u201d is one of pre-code horror\u2019s wacky masterpieces<\/strong> \u2013 and one of the best stories ever illustrated by Lazarus.
\nSlave trader Captain Death (yah, \u201cnomen est omen\u201d, as the romen say, cccchhhhh, the Romans, of course<\/em>) is captured by the native tribe he uses to prey on. The witch doctor curses him with the heads of the slain growing out of his body<\/strong>. Death tries to cut them off, but the pain drives him insane. He chooses to drown himself in the ocean. See whole story featured on FIFTIES HORROR<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dead Who Walk<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1952\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \"DeadWhoWalk\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cover: Procession of ghostly specters passing blonde woman cowering in alcove) – Tex Blaisdell ?<\/p>\n

Very strange book, indeed. We encounter \u2018mystery art\u2019 in here, the cover for one. Flipping through this I assumed to see only two stories.
\nOne long and one 4-page \u201cshortie\u201d signed by Goldfarb\/Baer in the back. Looking closer you\u2019ll find that two of the usual four stories have no splash pages!<\/strong> They start with the smallest caption header. Someone credited those three to Joe Orlando (possibly) \u2013 which we will now look into:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dead Who Walk\u201d (Joe Orlando ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cAntagonists from the Grave!\u201d (Joe Orlando ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trapped Ego!\u201d (Joe Orlando ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cMurder by Geometry\u201d (Edward Goldfarb + Bob Baer, signed)<\/p>\n

Ah, cripes! Now I get it. \u201cThe Dead Who Walk\u201d IS one long story, broken down into three parts<\/strong>. So it is a special issue<\/strong>; apart from\u00a0 their book-length \u201cDracula issue\u201d (aka EERIE #12) the only time they went for a longer narrative.<\/p>\n

You can read the story (in three parts) at Karswell\u2019s superblog \u201cThe Horrors of It All\u201d (THOIA): Part 1 (\u201cThe Dead Who Walk<\/a>\u201d), part 2 (\u201cAntagonists from the Grave!<\/a>\u201d) and the conclusion in part 3 (\u201cThe Trapped Ego!<\/a>\u201d).<\/p>\n

The art feels like that early 1950s work by Orlando\/Wood\/Check, but I\u2019m inclined to think that it\u2019s Sid Check at work here \u2013 and not Joe Orlando. Or could it be Harry Harrison? I\u2019ll do some checking on Check (hah) and call in the grand master of art spotting, Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr.
\n<\/strong>Jim answered very matter-of-fact and dry: \u201cBoth story and frontis are SIGNED Tex Blaisdell!\u201c. He\u2019s right, you hafta look sharp to find lightly scratched letters \u201eTEX\u201c hidden in the first panels.
\nAnd I am guessing that the cover might be Blaisdell as well. So let\u2019s back up and correct the contents listing:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Dead Who Walk\u201d (Tex Blaisdell, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cAntagonists from the Grave!\u201d (Tex Blaisdell, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trapped Ego!\u201d (Tex Blaisdell, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cMurder by Geometry\u201d (Edward Goldfarb + Bob Baer, signed)<\/p>\n

Tex Blaisdell<\/strong>, by the way, did contribute to Avon\u2019s crime and war books! It\u2019s amazing what you can find out with a bit of thorough research. I was too lazy, see? You ALWAYS should check<\/strong>: What other titles came out in that time at that company \u2013 and who filled these?<\/p>\n

About the story: Creepy George Bacon has been stalking the lovely Anne, but died in a car crash some time ago. When Anne\u2019s fianc\u00e9 Kent suddenly dies of no apparent reason, Anne and her brother Jack remember Bacon\u2019s dabbling with black magic<\/strong>.
\nJack and physician Dr. French enter a wild chase: Bacon\u2019s ghost spirit (his ego) and that of his criminal brother (ditto deceased) is jumping from body to body, trying to get their hands on Anne.
\nThe spirit of the deceased Kent is still in play, though. He leads our investigators to Bacon\u2019s hide-out and battles Bacon\u2019s ego mano a mano. Kent wins, returns to his body, kisses his Anne \u2013 and we have a happy ending, folks! Oh, jeez\u2026<\/p>\n

The following \u201cMurder by Geometry\u201d is a detective-crime story. The butler actually gets revealed as the murderer.<\/p>\n

Diary of Horror!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1952\"DiaryHorror\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cover: Ghouls and fiends with skull lanterns dragging along two captive women in torn red dresses) – Alvin Hollingsworth<\/p>\n

\u201cBeware of the Undead!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Mirror of Death!\u201d (Norman Nodel ? + Vince Alascia ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost\u2019s Curse!\u201d (Charles Nicholas + ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom of Philip Hawks\u201d (Alvin Hollingsworth, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cBeware of the Undead!\u201d is a native curse story combined with the also familiar kill-rich-uncle plot<\/strong>!
\nTrinidad tourist Nat Grear learns of the native lore of the Obeah man, a devil incarnate<\/strong>. There was a man named Tamiko who killed out of pure lust, until he fell to his death in a waterfall. Grear plans to shove his wealthy uncle into the cursed waters, but ends up drowning there himself. He now has all of eternity to spend and suffer along with the original Obeah man.
\nNodel\/Alascia\u2019s stiff artwork does not grip the reader, only the drowning scenes in the end are mildly interesting. See it posted on \u201cThe Horrors of It All<\/a>\u201d (THOIA).<\/p>\n

More entertaining is \u201cThe Mirror of Death!\u201d \u2013 featuring a nice big splash and a full-page finale<\/strong>! This has seldomly be done in pre-code horror \u2013 and most of the times it just serves to fill space<\/strong>! Here, too, but it is nice to behold, anyway.
\nWhen on shore-leave sailor Steve Lajos changes into dapper businessman Robert Martin and robs unsuspecting ladies of their jewelry. The vain and arrogant Lajos meets his fate when entering the temple of mirrors, house of seven-armed god Struga<\/strong>. Lajos breaks the mirror which reveals his ugly inner self and is damned to live in the presence of vengeful Struga.
\nQuick look on THOIA <\/a>to check it out? Here you go.
\nArtwise this feels like Nodel\/Alascia again, but is not signed. Hmm.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost\u2019s Curse!\u201d is surely drawn by the versatile Charles Nicholas<\/strong> (who worked for almost ALL the horror books!).
\nHis clean-cut style is a welcome boost in quality to AVON HORROR\u2019s crummy art<\/strong>. Story\u2019s not that bad, either:\"GhostCurse\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jarod Parks is secretary to successful classic dancer Mona Travis. Since Parks has gambling debts, he murders Mona and forges her last will. The dancer\u2019s ghost, however, pesters Parks with haunting threats of his punishment after death. When Parks finally dies, he rots away in his grave fully conscious.
\nFun part of \u201cThe Ghost\u2019s Curse!\u201d is the incessant fury of dead Mona<\/strong>. We\u2019ve seen people being haunted all the time in our beloved horror comics, but Mona\u2019s at it like a nagging wife. Around the clock, so to speak, respectively the greater parts of pages 3 to 5.
\nAnd suddenly she\u2019s gone! And Jarod just lies there waiting in his grave. Cursed to never leave his grave. That\u2019s a bit unbalanced, if you ask me. Story to be found on THOIA <\/a>– click miniature splash to go there.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom of Philip Hawks\u201d is one of those cursed-to-sail-the-seven-seas<\/strong> yarns I hate so much. They are all alike!
\nYoung lovers John Allen and Mary Kane set sail for their honeymoon voyage<\/strong> on their own ship, but they have been cursed by John\u2019s rival, Philip. The jealous man wanted to have fair Mary for himself. Philip Hawks\u2019 ghost commandeers the boat and they all perish at sea.<\/p>\n

Hollingsworth\u2019s usually shabby art looks very fluent on these pages \u2013 with a touch and hint of \u2018pop art\u2019 in the making (that last page!). Go see it for yourself. Whole story is posted NOT on THOIA (surprise) but on \u201cFour-Color Shadows<\/a>\u201d, another long-running blog with wonderful contributions.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Phantom Witch Doctor<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1952\"PhantomCover\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cover: Red-headed beauty in transparent dress dancing in the moonlight, giant spectre of witch doctor looming behind her) – Everett Raymond Kinstler (signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom Witch Doctor\u201d (Gene Fawcette + ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Thing in the Mirror\u201d (Everett Raymond Kinstler, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Came Dancing\u201d (Norman Nodel ?)<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the Deep!\u201d (???)<\/p>\n

Beautiful cover by Kinstler with an unusual speech-balloon-like title insert.<\/strong> Looks like someone at the office was too lazy to work this in an elegant way! \u201cOh, the letters and the background are quite alike colorwise, hmm, I could choose different colors or\u2026 just put a big white bubble behind it. Done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Phantom Witch Doctor\u201d is a tale of revenge. Cruel white men kill for ivory<\/strong>, but the witch doctor\u2019s ghost will have his revenge! Well, no surprises here. A rather mediocre story all in all. Posted on THOIA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Thing in the Mirror\u201d is another very straight, one-dimensional story<\/strong>, hear the synopsis picked from Grand Comics Database. \u201cJames murders George to gain Barbara, but is tranformed into a little green monster<\/strong> who becomes a carnival exhibition.\u201c
\nThat is exactly it. A dramaturgy best described in our modern terms as\u2026 WTF?! <\/strong>See it posted on THOIA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Came Dancing\u201d is unusual insofar as it\u2019s about a lover spurned. An emotional motif only. No money, no monsters, no curse<\/strong>. The dancing duo of Cara and George breaks up when George marries a rich admirer. Cara is heartbroken and commits suicide. Her ghost starts haunting George and finally will be his doom.
\nI like how the writer \u2018times\u2019 his plot: Cara is able to get to George the moment he starts flirting with her (again). Artwork, however, is rather bland.<\/p>\n

\"PowellClub\"

Take a break from AVON HORROR and check out the „Teen-Age Sex Club“ – which is just like a 1950s version of … offline Tinder.<\/p><\/div>\n

Found the story posted online on a whole blog I never ran across before: \u201cTrue Love Comic Tales<\/a>\u201d (active since 2011). They present other classic stuff (like Bob Powell\u2019s \u201cI Joined a Teen-Age Sex-Club<\/a>\u201d).
\nOr Horrible romance from the 1960s \u2013 like Don Heck\u2019s gothic \u201cKiss of Death\u201d from the pages of DARK MANSION OF FORBIDDEN LOVE. There\u2019s an enormous tag cloud to choose<\/strong> from. Under the label \u201cEC Comics\u201d I found their tongue-in-cheek \u201cLove Story to End All Love Stories<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOut of the Deep!\u201d is the next of those straight-lined stories which can\u2019t develop any \u2018oomph\u2019. Two men are marooned on strange island, confront alien intelligence<\/strong> (in a pool of water!), wrestle some with the horrid agents of that intelligence, perish, but by accident eliminate alien threat. Arrrggghh, I dunno.<\/p>\n

\"PoolRules\"

You taking orders from a puddle, friends?<\/p><\/div>\n

If you feel like gazing into the abyss, always remember that the abyss also\u2026 ah, nuts. It\u2019s just a puddle in a cavern<\/strong>! Gather round on THOIA<\/a>. (Scroll down at this link, it\u2019s the second story posted.)<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Night of Mystery <\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

1953\"NightMystery\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

(Cover: Skeletal head with top-hat looming above cityscape, frightening poshly dressed couple in street) \u2013 Alvin Hollingsworth (signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cDiary of Doom!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Haunted Arrow!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Giant from Earth!\u201d (Gene Fawcette??? Bill Benulis ???)<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost of the Coal Mine!\u201d (Norman Nodel + Vince Alascia, signed)<\/p>\n

Once again an almost all-Nodel\/Alascia issue<\/strong>. EERIE #14 will be published some weeks later, though, to be chronologically correct\u2026<\/p>\n

While reading \u201cDiary of Doom!\u201d, a special twist for this story\u2019s ending formed in my mind<\/strong>. It was not confirmed, but I still can imagine MY ending.
\nListen to the plot: John Mason lives alone on a small island off the New England coast. One day his collage friend Bob Trent comes visiting and confides in him a dark secret. Trent is suffering from a brain tumor which turns him into a raving maniac<\/strong> on stormy nights. Mason gives him shelter and promises help, but that night a storm brews, Trent flees the house and murders someone. Mason goes to the police, but the cops cannot apprehend Trent who manages to escape and swears revenge on Mason. Mason now hides himself on that island. After a big storm a searching party cannot find any trace of him.\"DiaryDoom1\"<\/p>\n

Now I figured<\/strong> the diary-writing Mason was a Jekyll-and-Hyde character, went finally mad and ran off somewhere. The last page of \u201cDiary of Doom!\u201d, however, shows us Mason being attacked by the maniacal Trent \u2013 and Trent being still on the loose somewhere. Ha.
\nI LIKE MY ENDING MUCH BETTER.<\/p>\n

I can still pretend it to be my way. Trent reappearing just being the fantasy of a twisted mind.
\nWe post the tale<\/a> in our \u201cStories\u201d section. Maybe you feel like judging it yourself …<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Haunted Arrow!\u201d is a real clunker of a story. Ouch. Tom Starr relives the memories of his murderous ancestor<\/strong> Robin. Robin killed an Indian chief\u2019s daughter and was brought to justice by the chief\u2019s deadly arrow. Now Tom dreams about this, murders (in his sleep!) his wife \u2013 and is shot by a haunted arrow out of the blue. Jesus frigging\u2026
\nSometimes they took no effort in writing this stuff.<\/strong> This is just embarrassing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Giant from Earth!\u201d is one of those droll science fiction yarns<\/strong> you\u2019ll find by the ton in these old comic books. Space Gulliver! See earth-man John Allen fight a cat and a man and killing them both with his bare hands. Because they were evil.
\nGo look for this amusing (and nicely drawn!) science fiction yarn on the blog \u201cAtomic Kommie Comics<\/a>\u201d, another bonanza of weird postings<\/strong>
\n(I think this is a spin-off site of the above mentioned \u201cTrue Love Comic Tales\u201d).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost of the Coal Mine!\u201d is another pointless drama to me: George Dirk kills Jed Blaine to steal his treasure, but in digging for the treasure he digs his own grave.
\nGreed, greed, greed is the machine driving men in old comic books<\/strong>. This is plain booooring. Sorry.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"Secret\"<\/strong><\/p>\n

Secret Diary of Eerie Adventures <\/strong><\/p>\n

1953 (100-page giant)<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No one ever saw a copy of this comic book!<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s probably a \u2018sampler\u2019 book consisting of three returned Avon horror books stapled together at random.<\/p>\n

Good luck finding one, it’ll be worth a fortune…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ten months after releasing the AVON HORROR line with EERIE, the editors added a second title: WITCHCRAFT. Witchcraft #1 March 1952 Cover: (Devilish fiend rising like a flame from beaker in laboratory and frightening brunette in foreground) \u2013 ??? \u201cHeritage of Horror!\u201d (Joe Kubert) \u201cDevil-Music!\u201d\u00a0 (Gene Fawcette ? + Vince Alascia) \u201cThis Ship Is Doomed!\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":58,"parent":0,"menu_order":20,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/8\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/58"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/twistmyratio.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}