Possessed

Very appreciative to the commenter from earlier this week who supplied an answer regarding another possible Ouija board themed comic story. And like our previous post, this one is also from the same weird Western series, the October 1963 issue of Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery #5 to be exact. It's an eerie Peppe / Toth team-up with very nice art, though with a title like "Possessed" it's kind of a shame it's not just a wee bit more scary. Still, it's a fun look at adult party games gone wrong, or is it really a blistering expose about sexual 60's pent-up housewife frustrations? Hmmm...

The Twisted Hands

We're heading back out to sea (temporarily), and our captain today is the late great, Alex Toth, steering us headlong into a bloody tale of titanic treachery and inescapable doom. The fact that this story starts out in the middle of the ocean, yet ends in the middle of the Arizona desert makes it all the more frighteningly fantastic. From the February 1953 issue of Adventures into Darkness #8.

The Eerie Glen / Peg Powler

The last story in the September 1952 issue of The Unseen #6 is a moody one, you'll see the end coming long before poor Joe does, but that's the way the pre-code corpses crumble... and if that's not enough, how about a gorgeous one-page filler bonus story illustrated by Alex Toth!

The Death Wish

From the February 1954 issue of The Unseen #13, this quaint little post-Valentine knife to the heart wraps up our look at doomed romances this week, along with the awesomely misleading cover illustration and a 2-page text story of the same hopeless nature.

NEXT: When there's no more room in Hell...

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BONUS TEXT STORY

The Mark of the Witch

One day a week this month will be designated “Time Machine Day”, and what I mean by that is once a week throughout January we’ll propel ourselves from the Golden Age Era right into the funky future, 20+ years, to see how our favorite 50’s pre-code “Horror Masters” are making out in the Silver Age 70’s (and beyond.) Sound fun? And who is more worthy to kick off this exciting expedition than Alex Toth with a superbly Satanic, moody offering from the Oct-Nov 1970 issue of DC’s Witching Hour #11.

And of course for pre-code terrors by Alex Toth, check the THOIA archives by using the handy search engine at the top of the page.

TOMORROW: Back to the 50's!

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(*NOTE: All ads and bonus materials on Time Machine Days will also be from the future!)

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Plus! A cool Sid Greene quickie from the winter 1969-’70 issue of Witching Hour #6

Other Masters to be featured this month: Jerry Grandenetti, Bernard Baily, Bill Draut, and more! If this THOIA concept proves popular enough maybe we’ll do it every month. Or not, it’s up to you guys really. I just thought it’d be fun to mix things up a little around here occasionally… there's definitely some good horror from the Silver Age too.

Have some suggestions? Faves to feature? Scans of your own to share? Drop us a line, THOIA is YOUR blog too!

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Also, thanks to Yasser at World 4 Blogs yesterday for featuring THOIA. Other bloggers interested in getting on his ever growing list of “must see” blogs can drop him a line HERE!

Alice in Terrorland

Time to wrap up our Alex Toth fest this week with our final terror tale, I hope everyone enjoyed this tribute. Have a Toth story that you didn't see posted here this week? Care to submit the scans? Please contact me so we can add it here, thanks!

Originally presented in the October 1952 issue of Lost Worlds #5

Reprinted and recolored in Seduction of the Innocent #1

Images of Sand

Toth Tribute Day Four! As we drool over another pre code classic we should also take a moment to compliment Mike Peppe who consistently weaved a fabulous ink job on much of Toth’s pencil work for Standard Comics. In fact, Peppe also worked on Murder Mansion, The Hands of Don Jose, and The Phantom Ship as well, among others.

Originally presented in the March 1954 issue of Out of the Shadows #12

Reprinted / re-colored in Seduction of the Innocent #4

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Ever wonder how persistently aggressive and dedicated Toth was about the craft of comic book illustration? Check out this startlingly blunt, but 100% correct critique by Toth on Steve Rude’s Jonny Quest comic.

Click HERE for the FULL critique. Big thanks again to Brian Riedel for the new link.