PLAY A SONG OF DEATH!

In this "ghostly yarn of weird terror", violinist Henri Marleau is ticked because his rival, Ricco, has aced the music audition over him. Marleau quickly dispatches him via strangulation to assume the top spot. Ricco, of course, comes back to haunt him and drives him insane. Marleau meets the kind of end we expect to see in a pre-Code horror comic.

"Death Song!" appeared in Comic Media's (Alan Hardy Associates) WEIRD TERROR #2 (November 1952) with art by Don Heck.

JUST EARNING A LIVING . . .

Henry Mason gets caught up in a web of terror after he murders his wife (strangulation again!) for a beautiful woman that he "accidentally" hits on a remote road. Thinking he's got it made with a new babe, he quickly finds that her lustful designs have nothing to do with romance.

"The Wage Earners" appeared in WEIRD TERROR #1 (Comic Media, September 1952) with art by Chuck Winter.

A GLIMPSE OF THE PIT

Besides all the werewolves, vampires and ghouls, the devil himself is probably the most recurring villain during the pre-Code horror comics era.

Doris Duncan becomes a nasty bit of work after she is lured by money to commit murder. A quick trip through Hell with the Devil as her guide has her changing her ways after she is sent back to the land of the living for another chance. Usually, these stories don't turn out so well!

The story, "A Glimpse of the Pit" appeared in Comic Media's HORRIFIC #9 (January 1954) and was illustrated by Pete Morisi.

LOVECRAFT ADAPTED (PART 1)

Over the years, H.P. Lovecraft's "weird fiction" as he often referred to it, has been adapted many times in comic books. Sometimes he was not credited (especially in the pre-Code days) or his basic premise and plot were lifted to make another, supposedly original one.

In this case, one of his most well-known short stories, "Pickman's Model" was appropriated into "Portrait of Death" from the first issue of WEIRD TERROR (September 1952), illustrated by Rudy Palais.

HAVING A FRIEND FOR DINNER

Ol' Billy Boy gets a little more than he bargained fer when he gives a lift to a beautiful young girl in the backwoods of the Smoky Mountains. Ya' see, a beautiful young girl alone and a remote country road do not add up to a good end to whoever falls for the age-old trick.

Introduced by "The Teller of Tales", "The Deadliest Witch", drawn by Rudy Palais appeard in Comic Media's HORRIFIC #12 (July 1954).

AN EXTRA SHOT IN THE HEAD

Any fan of pre-Code horror comics will be familiar with the infamous cover shown above by Don Heck for HORRIFIC (Comic Media, January 1953). What you may not know is that Heck recycled the "horrific" image from a cover he did just a few months before for the first issue of Comic Media's WAR FURY (September 1952).

Heck added an extra touch of horror for this war comic with the G.I. giving the North Korean soldier a shot of burning petrochemical by way of his flame-thrower.

Some images are just too good to be used only once!

LOOK, MA -- NO HANDS!

One of the themes explored in TwoMorrows' latest issue of the new CRYPTOLOGY is that of disembodied hands. The idea of a severed limb has forever frightened people, especially if it comes back to life!

Peter Normanton discusses dismembered limbs in his pre-code horror comics excesses article. Like a number of other tropes, this device was used numerous times and in the most outlandish ways. One of the stories he mentions is "Devil Claws" from HORRIFIC #3 (Comic Media, January 1953). Likely out of the Iger Shop, the writer and artist are unknown, so I'll let the story speak -- or scream -- for itself. Ugh!

COMIC MEDIA'S LAST GASP

An clever attempt at getting as close to the word "Terror" without raising the ire of the newly-adopted Comics Code Authority, TERRIFIC was the last of Comic Media's horror comics (WEIRD TERROR #13 preceded it in September).

Comic Media was formed in 1952 under the company, Allen Hardy Associates after Hardy left Harvey Comics. He took with him one of the premiere horror comic artists at the time, Don Heck, who was adept at creating particularly revolting covers along with his interior art. Also jumping ship from Harvey was Pete Morisi (aka PAM). Other imprints under the company were Artful Publications Inc. and Harwell Publications Inc.

During its short, two-year existence, Comic Media published Western, romance, adventure, humor, and war titles along with horror. Created by Pete Morisi, Johnny Dynamite was the most popular character to come out of the line.

Hardy had a call for submissions that appeared in the August 1953 issue of WRITER'S DIGEST, which was known for regularly providing market reports for various comic book publishers. He stated he wanted "the unusual, artists and writers who don't have hackneyed approach to comics[sic]."

Writer's Digest, August 1953

Comic Media ceased publishing in 1954. Most of the titles were sold to Charlton. Farrell continued TERRIFIC for one more issue (a non-horror comic featuring Wonder Boy) in March 1955, then disappeared. Don Heck went on to work for Atlas, which soon became Marvel. Pete Morisi had a successful career with Charlton.

Don Heck later commented on Hardy's death: "Allen was an alcoholic. He was a member of AA but he went off the wagon. While he was in this way, I could not leave him." He added, "I stayed until I cleaned up the stuff for Allen Hardy who, by that time, couldn't do anything. He had to go back for treatment. Not too long after that he died. I heard the story he was smoking a cigarette and it dropped and he burned himself to death. I liked him! He was a good guy as far as I was concerned."

TERRIFIC

Vol. 1 No. 14 (first/last issue)

December 1954

Mystery Publishing Company Inc. (Comic Media)

Editor: Alan Hardy

Cover: Don Heck

Pages: 36

Cover price: 10 cents

CONTENTS

"Dead on Arrival"

Script: ?

Art: Marty Elkin

"Human Cross"

Script: ?

Art: Don Heck

"The Wolf Twins"

Script: ?

Pencils: Ross Andru?

Inks: Steve Kirkel

"Dance of Death"

Script: ?

Art: Rudy Palais