The Case of the Curses / From the Ocean Bottom

We've spent most of the month looking at scary 70's Skywald classics, and yes, I promised we'd finally make our way back to the fright-filled 50's-- and we are! But first, a quick stop into the early 60's. And note: this is merely a temporary detour because I was recently discussing post-code ACG "horror" with Nequam and thought, what the heck, how about an example of how a really good series like Forbidden Worlds seriously got the business from the contemptible comics code, i.e.: water it way down, remove all traces of swords (!!!) etc., --yet still manage to be "too gay" (???), --though ya know what-- also, actually strive (or struggle) to preserve OK art and remain entertaining in a doofy Ripley's Believe it or Screw It kind of way. The second two-page quickie tale feels a bit more at home here, so enjoy 'em or hate 'em, we'll be back in a few with more of the good stuff! From the August 1961 issue of a Forbidden Worlds #97.

The Werewolf Strikes

An interesting ACG nazi (were)wolf tale from the Dec - Jan 1950 issue of Adventures into the Unknown #14, --it's a bit on the predictable side but still a lot of fun, and the oddly eerie transformation panels certainly make it worth the read. I really enjoy Bill Ely's artwork, it's perfectly suited to the story and helps move the wordy drama along nicely like an old B-film from the 40's or 50's. (Cool cave man cover art by Ogden Whitney.)

Design for Death / Honeymoon Horror

Double Header Day at THOIA, with two more tales from the September 1952 issue of The Tormented #2. "Design for Death" is a typically insane pre-code story with nice art from Bill Ely... this one really reaches hard for the big twist ending but I'll leave it to you on whether it succeeds or not. Followed by Mike Sekowsky's second story in this issue "Honeymoon Horror", yet another re-telling of the classic Samuel Blas revenge tale, as previously told by EC (of course) and also as the very first fantastic episode of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955) television
series called "Revenge."

[While working through the archives, I was surprised to find that a story posted about 3 years earlier, "The Store by the Cemetery", appears to be a close remake of "Design for Death"-- they definitely share the same central premise, and "The Store..." was published roughly a year after "Design..."! Coincidence? Deliberate swipe? Read it here and let us know what you think! -- Nequam]