Comic Coverage

The Blog of Horror....DAY ONE!

As we slide into October, I thought it would be fun to devote most of this month's blogging to the creepier side of comics.  Rest assured, not everything I do during October is going to be Halloween-oriented (such as my coverage of the Minnesota Fall-Con, Oct. 6-7), but I'll definitely be putting a Halloween spin on many of the regular Comic Coverage features, along with some fun new stuff.  Oh, and since last year's Bizarro Justice League went over pretty well, I think that calls for the Second Annual Bizarro Super-Team Challenge, don't you?

Well, to kick off the month, I thought I'd pan for a Gold Nugget in Quality Comics' Out of the Night #5 (1952), but to my surprise, the flat-out scariest part of the entire issue wasn't in any of the stories...but on the back cover!

In an ad for Uncle Bernie's Fun Shop (Bernie was a little on the sinister side himself), I spotted two items that couldn't have come from anywhere but the DEVIL'S TOYSHOP...compelling me to scream:

I don't know what it is about dolls (or mannequins, their eerie grown-up  cousins), but they've always been pretty high on the creep-out scale for me.  It's usually the old-fashioned glassy-eyed girl dolls and the eternally-bizarre ventriloquist dolls that really get my skin crawling...and here they both are in a single ad.

The first of our Demonic Duo is the terrifying GINGER (click on the image for a larger view...if you dare)!  From the hell-glow around the word "Ginger", to that sinister stare...with those tiny hands raised and ready to scratch, is this really the "perfect playmate for the Junior Mother"?

And what's this about "Wonderskin"?  (shiver)

Next up is the HAPPY THE COWBOY nightmare dispenser...and, yes, he IS smoking a gigantic cigarette (click on the image if you don't believe me)! 

If there's anything more unsettling than a ventriloquist doll (a species long known for its wide-eyed malevolence), it's a ventriloquist doll with a heater hanging out of its plastic rictus-grin.  No doubt countless young lads of the early 50's awoke in the middle of the night to see Happy's silhouette outlined against the moon-lit window...with the orange glow of his lit cigarette dimly illuminating his unblinking gaze....accompanied by a soft, creaky-jawed chuckle.

Comic Book Life Lessons: Horror Comics Edition

"Click here for more
Comic Book Life Lessons!

The Highlight Reel: A Postcard from Hell

Awhile back, I added a scene from Swamp Thing Annual #2 to the Highlight Reel...but since it's the season for All Things Spooky, I realized that classic issue deserved another look.  In fact, when it comes to creating truly scary comic book stories, few could surpass the mindblowing writing of Alan Moore and the intensely disturbing imagery of Steve Bissette and John Totelben.

As you may recall from my previous blatherings, "Down Amongst the Dead Men" told the story of the Swamp Thing's search for the soul the woman he loved, Abby Arcane.  Escorted by a number of familiar supernatural characters, Swamp Thing's journey through the Great Beyond finally took him to the lonely shores of Hell itself (click on the panel for a larger view)...

Nearing the place where Abby's soul was imprisoned, Swamp Thing and the demon Etrigan encountered the presence of her evil uncle, Anton Arcane.  As the one responsible for sending Abby's spirit to Hell in the first place, Anton Arcane rode the Irony Express to Hell only a few hours later.  As you read the page below (click to enlarge), take special note of how the jutting, fragmented panel design adds to the debased madness of the scene, punctuated by Arcane's tormented reaction to Swamp Thing's news. Oh, and if you have the stomach for it, look at all of the disgusting details Bissette and Totelben populated their panels with. A truly hellish vision of Hell.

POLL: Who Should Join the Bizarro Avengers?

Last October, my voting campaign to form a Bizarro Justice League turned out to be such a popular feature, the decision to do a sequel was an obvious no-brainer.

However, since last year's vote focused on the DC Comics pantheon of characters, let's switch this year's to Marvel Comics, shall we?  Yeah, I know...Bizarro is kind of a DC thing, but in the great tradition of Bizarro disorder and illogic...who cares?  Now....let's get to it!

Here's the deal:  I've scoured the dregs of internet photo sites to track down some of the world's worst superheroes.  They're not necessarily the worst costumes (since some of them are actually quite good), but let's just say the total effect isn't exactly "super-heroic".

Then, every three or four days through October, you'll get to vote on a different character category, picking who you believe deserves to be a member of:

The contestant in each character group who gets the highest number of votes by Monday, October 29th will make the cut....and join the final line-up of the Bizarro Avengers on Halloween Day!

Which Marvel characters will you be voting for?  Well, to kick things off, you'll be casting your ballot for Bizarro Thor!  Take a look at the contestants in the gallery below (if you dare), then click HERE to vote for your favorite.  Er...I mean least favorite (man, this Bizarro logic can get confusing)!

As for the other characters? Stay tuned!

Friday Night Fights: GIGANTO AHOY!

When the long-lost Sub-Mariner was brought out of an amnesiac fog by the Human Torch in Fantastic Four #4 (1962), he immediately resumed his cherished pastime of invading the surface world!  To assist him with his invasion, Prince Namor blew the Protean Horn to summon GIGANTO, "the largest living thing of all" from the ocean depths!

How did the Fantastic Four counter the threat of a monstrous walking whale?  As proof the fledgling Marvel Comics was profoundly different from the more straight-laced heroes of DC Comics, the F.F. sent the Thing inside Giganto's body to blow him up with a bomb!  Definitely not a Justice League-endorsed tactic....yet undeniably effective.

Flash forward a number of years to Fantastic Four #149 (1974), where we find the Sub-Mariner once again engaged in a surface world invasion...though in truth, this one was a hoax designed to bring the estranged Reed and Susan Richards back together again.  Hey, only in comics, right?

Anyway, accompanying the mock invasion force was a "Mini-Giganto" creature...perhaps looking to avenge the 100 ft. family member blown-up years earlier by the Thing!  Let's see how that worked out for Giganto Jr. (click on the panels for a larger view)...

"BUNT"?

Wow...was that anti-climactic, or what? Ah, but luckily there are gobs of great fight scenes in this issue, so to better meet the high standards set by Bahlactus, here's a picture-perfect clobbering truly worthy of Friday Night Fights: Sucka-Punch...

You are a great American, Benjamin J. Grimm!

("Plow"?  Hey, I don't write the sound effects...I just scan 'em!)

Amazing Artwork

I recently received a "viral email" featuring the work of an English artist I just had to pass along.

The artist's name is Julian Beever, and he's been creating amazing chalk drawings throughout Europe since the mid-1990's.  What makes Beever's work so amazing is his astounding, large-scale use of anamorphosis, or distorting an image so that it can only be seen clearly from a certain perspective.

For example, here's Beever posing with a popular American icon.  Despite the angle of the photographer, the Coke bottle appears to be three dimensional:

To give you a little better idea of what's involved with anamorphosis, here's a shot of a chalk drawing from the planned perspective along with how it actually looks from another perspective:

Absolutely unreal.  Taking about three days to complete each drawing, Beever explains a bit about his tedious process:

"The secret is to set up a camera on a tripod and keep it in one spot and check every mark you make.  It's really just playing with perspective to make it appear different to what it really is."

Here's another drawing.  They're often so convincing, that some people actually step around them for fear they'll stumble into the "hole" Beever has created.

So what's this have to do with comics?  Ah, never fear...because here are a few comic-themed drawings of Beever's:

Keep in mind these things are done with chalk!  Unbelievable.  However, you haven't seen anything yet until you've seen his Batman and Robin drawing!

If you'd like to see more of Beever's work,
click here to visit his website for more photos!

Convention Tips for Dealers: How to Sell More Comics

So I took a drive over to FALLCON on Saturday.  As Minnesota's (and the upper midwest's) biggest comic book convention of the year, it's always worth checking out.  Obviously, it's nowhere near as big or well organized as the major national conventions, but sometimes that's a good thing.

However, this year I just wasn't feeling it.  A big factor was probably the unseasonably HOT weather of 85º, with far more humidity than we would normally get this time of year.  As you'd predict, with all of those fanboys (and girls) in close quarters, it got smelly fast.  By the way, to those of you with the horrific, wince-inducing body odor?  There's this new invention called "deodorant" that you might want to consider.  A daily shower wouldn't hurt, either.

Also, I think there were more small press and vanity comic creators there than there were attendees.  Nothing against small press comics per se, but you know what guys?  If you want people to look at (or buy) your stuff, you should probably do more than just sit there with your hands at your side with two or three of your comics on a table.  I'm not talking shouting through a megaphone or hiring scantily clad bimbos to sit at your table with you, but come on.  If you show a molecule of enthusiasm about your stuff, I just might too.

None of the panels really interested me, so I spent most of my hour and a half at FallCon tracking down and buying back issues (before the heat and B.O. got the best of me).  While searching for the issues I needed (at the best prices), I was astounded at how miserable the shopping experience was at so many dealer tables.  So much so, that I thought I'd put together a little list of tips on how comic book dealers can increase their convention sales.

1.  Try to leave more than one millimeter of space between the comics in your long boxes.  Wedging in more comics than the box can hold may save you space, but the comics are nearly impossible to look at without (possibly) damaging the books and exhausting my patience.  Ideally, your customers should be able to see the issue numbers, the title logos, and a bit of the cover art to allow for quick scanning.  Why the cover art and not simply the issue number?  You'd be surprised how many comics I buy on the strength of an attractive cover.  If I have no hope of seeing the cover art, I won't bother looking through your over-packed boxes.

2.  Most dealers are pretty good about putting their stock in order alphabetically and by publisher, but a depressing number of them still show up with a mishmash of books in no particular order, leaving it up to the hapless customer to sort through the entire mess to luck onto something they might be looking for.  If you can't take the time to organize your stock, I won't take the time to look at it.

3.  If you're going to display your stock two or more tables deep from the main aisle (creating sort of a "mini-store" experience), please... PLEASE make the aisles large enough to fit the Big Boys.  Some of the Con attendees are tipping the scale at three to four hundred pounds, and they're not going to maneuver well in your little lab rat labyrinth, thereby blocking the rest of us from escaping your booth.

4.  Can you guys who bring the shabby, disheveled comics separated with bent cardboard or particle board dividers just not bother showing up? Same for the guys who display the comics in dilapidated long boxes that look like they were exhumed from the Tomb of Horror.  Do you really think I'm going to look through those piles of garbage?  There's a place for you guys at it's called "eBay". 

What drives me so crazy about the skeezy collections is that convention booths probably aren't cheap. More reasonable than the San Diego Comic Con, I'm sure, but probably not a pittance either.  You'd think after paying the fee to display comics, a dealer would have the basic marketing sense (and common sense) to make his stock as appealing and easy to look through as possible.  Years ago, sure....they could get away with a sloppy presentation, but now?  Come on guys...you've gotta raise your game if you want anyone to look at your stuff, much less buy it.

5.  I really like the guys who show up with competitive pricing.  The "50% Off" tables are the only ones I bother visiting, since the prices make it worth my time to patiently review the stock.  I understand that some 50% Off dealers may play games with their sticker prices (in fact, I can spot those guys immediately), but most of them are straight-shooters and I appreciate their willingness to price their comics to move.  I say all that to transition to a type of dealer I don't much appreciate or understand.  These are the dealers who show up at conventions with all of their books priced at absolute top dollar...at, or most likely, far beyond the Overstreet Price Guide.  I realize a handful of Mr. Moneybag collectors pick up high grade comics with no concern for the cover price, but I venture the vast majority of attendees won't be paying $85 for a mid-1970's issue of Daredevil...especially when I can get the same issue at the same condition for $5 two tables over.  The price gougers are usually the same guys I overhear moaning and groaning about how slow the sales are that day.  Gee, pal...I wonder why?  I mean, wow...who wouldn't want to pay 130% of guide for a comic book?

6.  There's gotta be a better way to sell reduced price stock (a.k.a. "the Quarter Bins") than throwing it all under your table on the floor. It's a spectacle that's hard to describe, as bargain-starved fanboys on hands and knees dig through them like squealing pigs at a trough, completely oblivious to who sees their canyon-like butt cracks.  My fellow Fanboys...have you no dignity?  Is it really worth all that to get a full run of Team America or Atari Force?

So, to all of those FallCon dealers lugging boxes of unsold comics back to whatever hole they came from, try to keep some of my pointers in mind if you come back again next year.  Put a little time and thought into improving the presentation of your stock.  That way, maybe I'll give you some of my time...and, most important to you...my money.

POLL: Choose Bizarro Iron-Man!

Last week you voted for Bizarro Thor (who you can still vote for, by the way), and this week we continue our epic quest to assemble the Bizarro Avengers with IRON-MAN!  Bask in the glory of the five worthy contestants below, then click HERE to cast your vote for the most Bizarro-esque Iron-Man!  The one with the most votes will join the final lineup of Bizarro Avengers on Halloween Day!

Cover to Cover: Whistling Past the Graveyard

The Surreal Cemeteries of Superhero Comics

Counter to their gloomy reputation, cemeteries here in the real world are usually well-maintained havens of peaceful contemplation. Not so in the world of superhero comics, where cemeteries are routinely the sites for supervillain attacks, impromptu resurrections, and guilt-riven superheroes shouting anguished vows to the heavens.

The latter category is by far the most common, since guilty brooding has been a staple of superhero comics from the very beginning!  In fact, the two-page origin in Superman #1 (1939) sets the precedent with a panel of Clark in Momentous Decision Mode while visiting the graves of his (as yet unnamed) foster parents.

Nearly fifty years later, on the cover of Adventures of Superman #444 (1988), we find Superman still making Great Vows and Resolutions at the graves of the Kents, this time the foster parents of an alternate Earth's Superboy.

Gold Nuggets: Buckskin...Crusading School Principal!

The Obscure Adventures of Comics' Greatest Generation!

Answer: BUCKSKIN, terror of all saboteurs and traitors!

Secretly a mild-mannered high school principal named Robert Blake (no, not the guy from Baretta), Buckskin defended the United States homefront in the pages of Super-Mystery Comics, published by Ace Magazines.

In the July 1942 issue, a Nazi operative named the Black Buzzard plots to crash an airplane into a "giant munitions plant"!  Ahh...but how would he get past the diligent anti-aircraft squadron guarding the plant? 

Why, with poisoned coffee, of course!

This looks like a job for BUCKSKIN and his trusty pet eagle TALON!

As Buckskin gives the saboteurs a thorough thrashing, the escaping Black Buzzard guns him down! Like all fictional animal companions, Talon follows Buckskin's complex instructions and flies to warn their Liberty Club pals!

Buckskin soon awakens from "insensibility", heroically drags himself to the nearby airfield, and takes to the skies to stop the Black Buzzard.  When he and his remarkably fast-flying eagle catch up to the Nazi fiend, Talon loops a rope around his tail fin(!)...allowing Buckskin to climb onto the moving airplane (despite a bullet in his shoulder and heavy blood loss)!

With his costume fringes flapping madly in the wind, Buckskin finally makes it into the cockpit, knocks the plane into a death dive, then escapes at the last possible second into a convenient pond!

With yet another Nazi threat foiled, what better way for Principal Blake to celebrate than to be casually humiliated by a young Buckskin fan?

Classic Ads: Trick or Treating...Minnesota Style!

Back in the early to mid-70's, my friends and I were crazy about Marvel Comics and their stable of characters. In fact, we were so crazy about them, we'd always want to dress up as those characters for Trick-or-Treating. Imagine our delight when we came across this ad appearing in October 1975 issues of Marvel Comics:

Priced at a mere $2.79 each, we could look like our favorite heroes for Halloween. Just think (we thought), in the dim evening light, we might even be mistaken for the real deals, appearing more like the ghosted hero images in the ad than mere children!

But then, depressing reality would soon settle in, as we all remembered that wearing cool trick-or-treat costumes in northern Minnesota was a near impossibility. 

You see, it can get nasty cold the final week of October in the Great Northland. It wasn't unusual for the first snowfall to have already occurred once Halloween rolled around, so naturally all good moms and dads would stave off frostbite and frozen death by almost completely obscuring our costumes with winter jackets, hats, snowpants, scarves, mittens, and boots.

"But mom!...Spider-Man doesn't wear a hat or a jacket!"

To which mom would calmly reply, "He does if he wants to go trick-or-treating."

"Awww, mom!"

Of course, after visiting the first few houses, the costume controversy was soon forgotten. Massive amounts of free candy have a way of doing that.

POLL: Choose Bizarro Scarlet Witch!

As the voting continues for Bizarro Thor and Bizarro Iron-Man, it's time to turn our attention to the SCARLET WITCH, the first female contestant in my Bizarro team polls (last year's Bizarro Justice League was All-Dude).

As you can see below, I've compiled the most...er..."lovely" Scarlet Witches I could find across the vast wasteland of the internet.  Look 'em over, then click HERE to vote for which contestant you think deserves the title Bizarro Scarlet Witch.  The one with the most votes by October 29th will be announced on Halloween Day with the rest of the Bizarro Avengers!

The Highlight Reel: Star Light, Star Bright

Having heard about the infamous line of EC Comics for years, I was thrilled to finally get a chance to read some of them in the early 1990's, when Gladstone Comics began reprinting them in conjunction with Russ Cochran (who owns all of the EC artwork). Sadly, Cochran soon "took his ball and went home" before the entire line could be reprinted, but I had collected enough of them to get a good taste of what those old stories were like (without spending an arm and a leg).

On the whole, I enjoyed the sense of dread and the dashes of dark humor that permiated EC's horror, crime, and weird science fiction comics. Of course, the hallmark of the stories were their shock endings, often accompanied by a stiff jolt of irony or poetic justice.

Although most of the six to eight-page stories were soon forgotten, one of them managed to make a lasting impression. With a little judicious editing, I think it'll make a perfect addition to the Halloween season's Highlight Reel!

Originally published in The Vault of Horror #34 (1953) and illustrated by the great Johnny Craig, "Star Light, Star Bright" is the horror story I've never quite fogotten. At the outset, it should be noted that the story was created in an era when views toward the mentally ill were "uncharitable" to say the least. Still, even today, attitudes toward severe mental illness are conflicted...and it's this degree of mystery and unpredictability surrounding it that I think still fuels the horror of this story. This is exactly the kind of "taboo" subject matter that rocketed the EC stories into the public imagination (and eventually got them into trouble), and why this particular story continues to creep me out like no other.

"Star Light, Star Bright" opens on the grounds of Dethmoor Asylum at the funeral of its most recent administrator. Attending the funeral are the new administrator Hartley Quimb, various staff members, and a host of the asylum's inmates...who pay their respects in a very disturbing manner (click on the left hand set of panels for a larger view).

In the right hand set of panels, Hartley returned to the asylum and learns that his predecessor was killed by the inmates after he took away their "funeral privileges". Understandably, the news sends Hartley's mind reeling, as the "hate-filled eyes" of the inmates drive him to the peace and calm of his private quarters...

Visions of the funeral Hartley had witnessed earlier that day flashed through his mind as the busy inmates continued with their shocking, bizarre ritual...

The macabre procession continued their march through the asylum grounds, ending up just where the frantic Mr. Quimb feared he would. Was this real...or only a nightmare? Read the last two excerpts to find out!

That leering, gap-toothed maniac peering into the "skylight"?
Yeah....now can you see why this tale has haunted me all these years?

Cover to Cover: Encounters With The Count

Superheroes Vs. Dracula!

"My revenge has just begun! I spread it
over centuries and time is on my side."

–Count Dracula (from chapter 23 of Bram Stoker’s Dracula)

Much like Mary Shelly’s immortal Frankenstein Monster, Bram Stoker’s equally renowned Dracula has grown far beyond his gothic literature roots and assumed a prominent place in our modern mythology.  With that status has come countless appearances of the Lord of Vampires across many decades, media and genres…including superhero comic books!

What better way to sink our teeth into Dracula’s history among the superfolk than with the granddaddy of superheroes himself?  The wonderful Garcia Lopez cover for Superman #344 (1980) featured a thoroughly freaked-out Superman getting attacked by Dracula and a truly chilling Frankenstein Monster.  Despite the Super Scaredy-Cat act on the cover, our hero was actually quite calm as he dealt with the two monsters in the story itself.  Dropping Franky with a super-punch, he then subdued Dracula in unique Superman fashion: by creating a miniature sun using only a hydrogen balloon!  Get it?  Sunlight?  Vampires?

An October Day at the X-Mansion

Wolverine & Cyclops © Marvel Comics

Simply the Best: Tomb of Dracula #61

 I've been a bit of a latecomer to the Tomb of Dracula series of the 1970's.  I remember seeing it around, but for whatever reason I'd never bought any new issues from the squeaky comic racks (strange, considering how much of a monster fan I was).

That all changed a few years back when I attended the local FallCon and came across a stash of incredibly cheap Tomb of Dracula issues.  Whether it was because it was Halloween season, or just feeling like I needed to finally see what I was missing out on, I ended up bringing home a couple dozen issues.

Well, the stories were not only as good as I'd always heard they were, but actually better than what I was expecting.  Writer Marv Wolfman was much more subtle and restrained than I'd ever remembered him on superhero comics, and the incredibly moody (often spooky) artwork of Gene Colan remains the absolute best of his distinguished career.  Of course, the inking of Tom Palmer had alot to do with that, grounding and substantiating Colan's often whispy, ethereal pencils...yet never altering them beyond recognition.

In the years since then, I've been buying reasonably priced issues of Tomb wherever I find them.  Yeah, I know there's a bunch of cheaper black and white reprints of the series available, but the back issues are still cheap enough (at least for now) that I prefer having the actual comics.

Within that growing collection of Dracula comics, one
of my favorite covers is Tomb of Dracula #61 (1977):

Here's why:

1.  The most obvious reason would be the incredibly disturbing subject matter. In fact, I'm surprised the Comics Code Authority (the stamp in the upper right corner) let this one slide by.  Despite dozens of compelling, frightening covers before this one, the sight of a ghostly dead baby sends this one to an entirely different level of horror.

2.  A more subtle, yet equally powerful aspect of the cover is the wonderful design and implied motion of the scene.  The eye easily moves in a circular motion from the Tomb of Dracula logo, to the bat, to the bat's transformation into Dracula, to baby Janus, to Domini, then up to the curved cloud bank...which brings the eye back to the logo.  The curved motion of the clouds behind Domini also seem to give her arms a feeling of upward motion, as well as suggesting (quite literally) the dark powers behind her bid to resurrect the child.  The section where the bat is morphing into Dracula's still-incomplete form is also full of implied motion...to the point where it almost seems as if I'm watching it happen in a live-action movie.  A perfect example of Colan's mastery of shadowy, amorphous forms.

3.  Besides an uncharacteristic blast of bright colors (not typical for a Dracula cover), the bright magenta dawn sky also serves to crank the drama up even higher (if that's possible), by making Dracula's desperate plea even more frantic, since he's risking instant destruction from the sun's first rays (which you can see farther back on the horizon line).

4.  As if all of that wasn't enough, throw in Domini's weirdly transfixed face and Dracula's shocking request, and you've got a cover few could resist buying (despite the horrifying presence of a dead baby).

So...what are some of your favorite spooky covers? Let me know!

POLL: Choose Bizarro Captain America!

As my recruitment drive for the Bizarro Avengers heads into its final week, it's time to pick another member. As the votes continue to pile up for Bizarro Thor, Bizarro Iron-Man, and Bizarro Scarlet Witch, let's add the legendary Bizarro Captain America to the mix!

Check out the gallery of goofy Captain Americas below, then click HERE to vote for the goofiest one!  The Cap with the most votes by the end of the day on October 29th will join the final Bizarro Avengers lineup on Halloween Day!

By the way, you can still vote for the previous three Bizarro Avengers (just follow the links above). Voting for all four members* comes to an end at midnight on Monday, October 29th...so you've got plenty of time to vote (or even campaign) for your favorite (or least favorite if you want to get technical)!

* I've heard rumors of a possible fifth Bizarro Avenger that could be asking for your vote some time before the weekend!  Stay tuned!

Which Came First: The Swamp Thing or The Man-Thing?

Like any business rivals, comic book publishers have routinely "borrowed" popular characters and concepts from their competitors.  However, there were a handful of times when publishers created characters that were so similar, yet appeared so close together, that one publisher copying the concept from the other was a virtually impossibility.

We've seen this "superhero synchronicity" with Marvel's X-Men and DC's Doom Patrol.  We saw it again with the Red Tornado and the Vision.  Now, as we trade the world of bright colored costumes for the murky mysteries of the swamp, let's consider the question:

Of course, before we look too closely at these two goop-encrusted gentlemen, the concept of the supernatural swamp man predates both of them by about thirty years!

As the "template" for all shambling muck monsters to come, Theodore Sturgeon's 1940 short story "It" featured a man who died in the swamp, but rose again as a vengeful half-man, half-rotting vegetation creature.  Obviously inspired by Sturgeon's swamp man, Hillman Periodicals created the first comic book swamp man named The Heap in 1942.  Starting out as a minor villain, the Heap soon became a recurring character in Airboy Comics until the title was canceled in 1953.

Another notable swamp-bred creature of the Golden Age was Solomon Grundy, whose name was taken from a 19th century nursury rhyme. Making his debut in All-American Comics #61 (1944), Grundy became a recurring villain of the Justice Society of America...and continues to plague them today!

Now that we've established that the shambling swamp monster has a rather long pedigree, let's flash forward to the late 1960's and early 1970's, as American comic books reflect a new horror craze sweeping the popular culture.  Readers were buying supernaturally-themed comics as fast as DC and Marvel Comics could crank them out, which spawned a coincidence as mysterious as the swamp itself.

Cover dated May of 1971, a Marvel anthology named Savage Tales #1 hit the stands (click the cover images for a larger view).  One of the black and white magazine's short stories featured the tale of biochemist Ted Sallis, who desperately injected the "miracle drug" he developed into his own system to protect it from sinister forces.  Pursued into a swamp, Sallis ends up drowning...but was later revived by a combination of his formula (and supernatural forces) into a creature known as the Man-Thing! 

Cover dated July of 1971, DC's House of Secrets #92 featured the story of Alex Olson, an early 20th century scientist who was caught in a lab explosion (triggered by a treacherous lab partner) and dumped into the swamp.  Revived by a combination of chemicals and supernatural forces, Alec transformed into the monstrous Swamp Thing!

At this point, you might be thinking "Hey, Man-Thing beat Swamp Thing by a full two months!"  Ah, but remember, in the comic book biz it typically takes three to four months to create and print a comic book from start to finish...so the two month gap between Savage Tales #1 and House of Secrets #92 tells us that DC wouldn't have had a prayer creating a Man-Thing knock-off in such a short period of time.

Nearly a year later, Man-Thing made the jump to color comics and battled Ka-Zar in Astonishing Tales #12 (June) and #13 (Aug), followed by a starring role in the Adventure Into Fear title beginning with issue #10 (October of '72).

October of 1972 also marked the first issue of the Swamp Thing series.  Encouraged by the sales of his debut appearance, DC commissioned the same creative team (Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson) to update the character's origin to the present day. Obviously, DC was now fully aware of Marvel's Man-Thing, since the updated Swamp Thing origin made Alec Holland (previously "Alex Olson") a "a scientist working on a secret bio-restorative formula", who was murdered by a gang of bad guys and later restored to life by his secret formula.

Further muddying the already muddy swamp water was the fact that, in between Swamp Thing's first and second appearances, his co-creator Len Wein wrote the story for Man-Thing's second appearance, originally slated for Savage Tales #2 (but ultimately published in the aforementioned Astonishing Tales #12).

Confused yet?  Good...because now it's time to introduce yet another element of confusion to the swamp man mystery! Hitting the stands in March of 1971 (two months before Man-Thing's debut in Savage Tales #1) was Skywald Publications' Psycho #2 featuring a revival of....THE HEAP! (Remember him?)

It looks like supernatural swamp men were on plenty of people's minds during the winter and early spring of 1971!

Cover to Cover: Bones of Contention

The Superhero Skeleton Crew!

Since the beginning of recorded history (and probably before), the human skeleton has been a powerful symbol for danger, disease, and our own inevitable deaths.  After all, the skeleton isn’t some fanciful creature of mythology or Hollywood fever dreams…it exists inside each and every one of us, waiting to be revealed by death and entropy. As such, our double-edged fear and fascination with this symbol of our mortality has found its way into countless forms of expression. From hieroglyphics to film, ancient talismans to Halloween party favors, and catacombs to comic books, skeletons have endured as a blunt reminder that time is fleeting for everyone…even seemingly death-proof superheroes!

Making that point perfectly clear was the cover of Batman #586 (2001), which portrayed a thoroughly dead Darknight Detective pinned to the wall by a pair of the Penguin’s deadly umbrellas.  Yes, I said “deadly umbrellas”…and no, the Batman didn’t actually die (the scene was only a dream of the Penguin’s).

POLL: Bizarro Avengers....WILD CARD!

With only a few days left to choose the goofiest of the goofy, the lamest of the lame, and the worst of the worst, there's still time for you to pick one final member of the Bizarro Avengers! 

However, instead of a single character represented by five contestants, this time around you'll be picking from five completely different characters...each one of them having been an Avenger at one time or another.  So, look over the five hapless heroes below and then click HERE to cast your vote.  The "wild card" contestant with the most votes by midnight, October 29th will join the other four Bizarro Avengers finalists on Halloween Day!

By the way:  Voting is still open for all
of the previous highly unimpressive
Bizarro Avenger candidates. 

Click on the links below to vote for:

1.  Bizarro Thor

2.  Bizarro Iron-Man

3.  Bizarro Scarlet Witch

4.  Bizarro Captain America

YouTube Theatre: If it wasn't for those meddling kids...

Back when I was a wee lad, long before cartoons could be seen 24 hours a day on at least a dozen different channels, Saturday was the High Holy Day for cartoon watching.  Heck, it was the only day for cartoon watching, outside of the rare Sunday night cartoon on NBC's Wonderful World of Disney.

Despite whining about getting up early for school during the week, by brother and I would dutifully leap out of bed at 6:30 am and plop in front of the TV until mom chased our motionless carcasses off the couch at 10:30 or 11:00.  During those extended vegetative states, one of my favorite shows early on was Hanna-Barbera's Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? series.

Even as a five or six year old kid, I picked up on how utterly bizarre the show was....but (at least to a little guy), it was a fun kind of bizarre.  Where else could you see a gang of teens with no discernible source of income and a semi-talking dog foil so many curmudgeonly crooks...or Shaggy giving a werewolf a haircut...or (in later seasons) low-wattage celebrities like Jonathan Winters, Sonny and Cher, or Phillis Diller showing up and lending a hand?

Oh, sure...in hindsight it was a pretty lousy show, only getting worse as the years wore on (Scooby-Dum and Scrappy Doo...need I say more?), but at the time, that was the show I got up early for....at least until Land of the Lost came along in 1974.  Still, despite Scooby's fading popularity, the original opening sequence is still one of the coolest, catchiest, grooviest, kitschiest things around...never failing to transport me right back in front of the TV on a 1970's Saturday morning!  Written by David Mook and Ben Raleigh, it was recorded by studio singer Larry Marks (who also performed all of the background vocals) a mere three days before the show's September 13th (1969) premiere!  And here it is, nearly 40 years later...

Classic Ads: MONSTER Size Monsters!

To every kid, Halloween is the ideal season for scary practical jokes, right?

WRONG!  Every single day of the year was ripe for scaring the living daylights out of friends, parents, sisters and/or brothers, grandparents, neighbors, pets...well, you get the picture. Stoking this mischievous spirit of childhood were the countless prank and novelty merchants who hawked their wares in dense-packed comic book ads...priced right and promising to trigger gales of laughter or screams of fright.

One of the ads that really got me reaching for my piggy bank was this classic specimen...the towering menace of the MONSTER-SIZE MONSTERS (click on the ad for a larger view):

Let's examine the masterful Honor House sales pitch:

I don't remember my exact reaction as a kid, but I think it went something like this: "Seven feet tall?  Wow...that's taller than my DAD!  Also, who's this 'Polly Ethelene' person?"

Um...yes?  Okay, here's where the pitch wandered off into the tall grass.  Listen, I wanted to scare people with Seven Foot Frankie...not talk to him!

"Aweful"? So they couldn't spell or proof read at Honor House...big deal?  After all, who needs good spelling skills when you've got seven foot monsters to share with the world?

Ahh, but what if I order one or both of the monster-size monsters and I'm not satisfactorily horrified?

As if sensing my wavering skepticism, Honor House drives home the point:

"Shivers of delight"?  Before puberty? I'm sold!*

*Sadly, I wasn't allowed to order either of the Monster-Size Monsters.  Maybe because my mom was secretly terrified of their giant-sized menace. That, or the prospect of me talking to them while experiencing prepubescent shivers of delight.

Bizarro Avengers: Every Vote Counts!

Well, here we are....October 29th already, and your last day to vote for who you think deserves the high (dis)honor of official Bizarro Avenger status! 

As I've explained ad nauseum for the past month, I've dredged the murky depths of the internet for some of the goofiest, dorkiest, and most profoundly unimpressive specimens of costumed Avengers you're likely to see, leaving it up to YOU to figure out which ones make the final cut to join the assembled Bizarro Avengers on Halloween Day.

If you haven't voted yet, click on the links for the character groups below to make your voice heard.  If not, hey...don't say I never asked your opinion on anything!

Click HERE to vote for BIZARRO THOR.

Click HERE to vote for BIZARRO IRON-MAN.

Click HERE to vote for BIZARRO SCARLET WITCH.

Click HERE to vote for BIZARRO CAPTAIN AMERICA.

Click HERE to vote for a "WILD CARD" BIZARRO AVENGER
(left to right: Hulk, Quicksilver, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, and Wolverine).

Twenty-five contestants, yet only FIVE will be
unworthy enough to be called...Bizarro Avenger!

Now get busy...and remember:

Tickle-Me Elmo Flash and Fat Floppy-Boots
Superman are counting on you!

Recommended Reading: Dean Koontz's FRANKENSTEIN

I love the novels of Dean Koontz for a whole laundry list of reasons...only one of which is how they can't easily be pinned down to any single genre.  With varying amounts of suspense, horror, mystery, science fiction and subtle satire, Koontz's novels are not only consistently entertaining, but "miracles of contradiction" as well.

What do I mean by that?

Simply this:  Despite the grim and terrifying situations, settings, and characters of his novels, there's always an overarching sense of morality at work that celebrates the love, hope, friendship and faith of good people as they battle against very real (and often very human) evil.  You'd think books featuring psychotic killers or accidents of genetic manipulation couldn't possibly convey a sense of hope or appeal to our better natures, but somehow Koontz manages to do just that.  That's not to say I don't enjoy his delightfully twisted, whacked-out bad guys...but ultimately it's the decent people populating his novels who really shine and make a lasting impression.

Though I've been an avid Koontz fan for years, I only recently found out about his Frankenstein novels.  Originally conceived as a TV series for the USA Network (with some involvement from Martin Scorsese), Koontz and his collaborator Kevin J. Anderson decided to incorporate their concepts into book form when good old "creative differences" ended their association with the USA project.

Often promoted as an "update" of the Frankenstein story, Prodigal Son and City of Night are actually a continuation of Mary Shelly's original tale.  Its premise is that Victor Frankenstein actually did create artificial life in the early 19th century, and that both the monster and its creator still live here in the 21st century.  The monster, now a wise immortal calling himself Deucalion* (ue-kay'-lee-uhn) is sustained through the supernatural power of the lightning that originally granted him life, while Victor Frankenstein continues to live by way of his own twisted science and iron will.

Victor, now known as biotech tycoon Victor Helios, is secretly creating a new race of humans to replace what he views as the imperfection and fragility of "The Old Race".  However, despite Victor's arrogant insistence that his creations are "perfect", they begin exhibiting disturbing quirks and macabre malfunctions that suggest a growing evil that not even their creator can prevent or even understand.

Stumbling into this deranged secret world while investigating a serial killer are New Orleans detectives Carson O'Connor and Michael Maddison, who eventually cross paths with the mysterious Deucalion and join his mission to destroy Victor Frankenstein.  Since the Frankenstein legend is every bit the pop cultural touchstone in the novel as it is here in the real world, you can imagine the shock of O'Connor and Maddison when they learned the true identities of their new plus-sized pal and his mad creator.

As vivid and compelling as the primary characters are, I can't forget to mention the secondary characters that occupy the Frankenstein books, particularly various members of the New Race.  Thought perfect by their maker, they struggle with forbidden emotions, heartbreaking bewilderment, wildly malfunctioning psyches, and monstrous mutations...as Koontz masterfully builds the growing chaos within Victor's clockwork universe to a fever pitch.

I recently finished Book One (loved it), I'm currently racing through Book Two (ditto), and I can hardly wait for Book Three (Dead and Alive) to be released next Spring...but even though I haven't completed the entire series yet, I can still confidently recommend them to anyone looking for a hugely entertaining read.

Yes, there was a television movie adaptation in 2004, and a comic book version of Prodigal Son (Book One) is supposedly on the way.  However, I would urge anyone interested in the story to avoid the cross-media adaptations and give the books a shot first.

* Since the creature's adopted name was never really explained in the novel, I did a little digging and found out that the name "Deucalion" comes from Greek Mythology.  Deucalion was the son of Prometheus, the Titan who gave forbidden fire to mortals.  The full title of Mary Shelly's original novel was Frankenstein, or, the Modern Prometheus (referring to Victor Frankenstein).  Get it? That's exactly the kind of cool, understated detail I love about Koontz books.

Bizarro Avengers...The Final Lineup!

Click here if you're new to Comic Coverage and have no idea what this is about.  However, If you're one of the 273 votes that participated in the Bizarro Avengers polls, what do you think:  Same time next year?  Hmmm...maybe villains next time. 

Yeah.  Bizarro Villains.

Halloween Memories: "The Comic Book House"

Exactly thirty Halloweens ago, my friends and I strategically chose a new neighborhood for our Trick-Or-Treating campaign. Besides having far more houses to visit, that part of town was also more conspicuously wealthy than the neighborhoods we were used to.  Even as knuckleheaded kids, we were savvy enough to understand that Ritzier Houses = Better Candy.  Not only did the wealthy folks hand out more candy, but they'd occasionally blow our minds with FULL SIZE candy bars, not the stubby, ironically-named "fun size" candy bars.  No lame popcorn balls, apples or pennies from those Big Spenders!

Just when we thought it couldn't get much better than receiving full-size candy bars and (I swear) dollar bills, we knocked on the door of the Purple House, a large home whose eccentric owners had painted the exterior with a bright, retina-blasting purple.  What happened next is kind of a blur. The door opened...then (I think) a Heavenly chorus sang praises while a hand dropped a beautiful, glowing COMIC BOOK into each of our bags.  Not lame comics like Richie Rich or Archie, but real, honest-to-goodness superhero comics! Since all of us were avowed superhero comic book fans, you can imagine our joy and dumbfounded astonishment over receiving such an unexpected bounty.

Me?  I vividly remember getting Secret Society of Supervillains #5, which featured a clash between an army of DC's greatest heroes and villains.  In other words, a cosmic out-of-body experience for my eleven year-old self.

Once we all came back down to earth, my friends and I did what any kids would do in that situation:  we hastily rearranged and mix-matched our costumes to appear that we were entirely different kids and went back for more comics!  We probably didn't fool the Purple House dwellers at all, but they gave us more comics anyway.

Needless to say, from that time onward, the "Purple House" would then be known as "The Comic Book House".

So there you have it....my most fondly remembered Halloween night.  An embarrassing amount of candy, a little cash, and a couple of free comics.  I ask you: could life get any better?

This post brings a close to my month-long Blog of Horror celebration. I  hope you've enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed planning it and putting it together.  Thanks to everyone who dropped by to vote on a poll or to offer a comment. Your feedback and participation really make my day!

Happy Halloween!