October MONSTER MASH!
The Scarier Side of Superhero Comics (part one of four)
As arguably the first work of science fiction, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) has gone far beyond its gothic novel roots to cast a towering shadow across literature, film and the larger pop culture. So much so, it’s probably safe to assume that nearly every living soul on the planet could identify Frankenstein or, more accurately, his monstrous creation.
Although the primary sources of the creature’s popularity are the Universal horror films starring Boris Karloff, Frankenstein’s Monster also turned up in the horror films of competing movie studios, as well as countless plays, toys, radio shows, TV shows and, of course, comic books!
Continue reading "Cover to Cover: Frankenstein meets...EVERYBODY!" »
“When twilight everywhere released the shadows, prisoned up all day, that now closed in and gathered like mustering swarms of ghosts.”
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 
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:
Last October, my voting campaign to form a 
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!
Last week you voted for 
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.
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.
As the voting continues for 
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).
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.
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).
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 
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.
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!
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! 
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?
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! 
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.
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