Greyble to the Grave / Haunted One

THOIA delivers our Valentine's Massacre post one day early because hey-- it's also Friday the 13th! And like we do on most holidays, it's a double fab fear-ture. Let's start off the festivities with a grave tale by Angelo Torres from the November 1959 issue of Eerie Tales #1, and featuring a really gorgeous cover painting from good 'ol George Tuska, too! Then we crack open another rare debut #1 issue, the May 1952 issue of Voodoo #1, in fact! It's a leggy crime horror reworking of a Bomber Comic's Grimm Ghost Detective story-- they simply changed Grimm's name to "Trimm!" Ha, hope everyone gets a little trim as well on Valentine's Day-- and stay tombed, cuz this February freak-out is far from over!

Johnny Danger Meets the Gorilla!

It's been awhile since we've had a good 'n gory gorilla on the loose tale around here, so let us now salute those rampaging, savage Sunday Matinee monkeys of the silver screen (see Bride of the Gorilla, Monster and the Girl, Gorilla at Large, Murders in the Rue Morgue, etc...) with a fun Johnny Danger murder mystery on a movie set scenario! From the June 1947 issue of Movie Comics #3, highlighted with terrific art by the great, George Tuska! Yes sir, hang on to your slinkiest, sheerest nighties, --this one's a real corker!

A Shriek in the Night / Easy Dies It

The superbly terrorific Weird Mysteries #1 one-shot, was a black 'n white magazine from Pastime Publications, (March 1959), and featured an all-star collaboration of art legends: Carl Burgos (who illustrated both of today's stories), Paul Reinman, Joe Orlando, Angelo Torres, and the great George Tuska, who illustrated quite of a number of the stories, as well as concocting that incredibly beautiful cover. At 68 pages, it contained well over a dozen tales of brisk, quick-witted, precode inspired horror, and also highlighted by a very humorous, exceptionally well written horror host; plus other fun strips, like faux greeting cards, etc. I'll definitely be posting more from this one throughout 2019, but for now it's two weird love tales (and a bonus gag) that frightfully fit into our month-long Valentine's theme. xXx

The Tentacles of Death

Jumping back into the full issue presentation of the February 1955 issue of Amazing Ghost Stories #16, it's now Tuska's turn to deliver the exceptional art skills and tentacled thrills with a tale more on the sci-fi side of things than actual "ghost story" --none the less, it's still a fun, 6-page, B-movie monster romp through the crazy age of precode horror. ENJOY!

Waitin' for Satan

Not to be confused with Bill Everett's hilarious "Satan is Waitin'" that I posted back in July 2008, todays story was originally presented in the May 1953 issue of Marvel Tales #114 (art by George Tuska), and asks the question, "Is it possible to double-cross the King of Double-Crossers?" Read on friends...

Death's Bleak Birth! / Acid Test!

Closing out February with another double header, our first story from the May '74 issue of Tales of the Zombie #5 is a favorite of mine and contains one of the saddest, most chilling endings in any horror story ever. And for you people jonesin' for some damn 50's style pre-code already, I've included the Stan Lee / George Tuska reprint classic "Acid Test!" from the Oct. '73 issue of Tales of the Zombie #2, (originally presented in the July '53 issue of Menace #5 under the title "Nightmare!")