Even Archie's All-American town of Riverdale had a dark side -- albeit in a lighter shade of gray. MLJ/Archie Comics publisher John Goldwater was one of the masterminds behind the Comics Code Authority which effectively spayed and neutered the industry of its best-selling horror and crime titles. In this pop culture microcosm was an analogy that perfectly shows how overreaching regulation can kill out private industry. The proof of this is the many comic book companies employing hundreds, if not thousands of employees, that were forced out of business by the new draconic rules. Even the popular EC comics line was gutted, forcing publisher William Gaines to adapt to other, more "acceptable" forms.
By the 1970s, the Comics Code began to lighten up its restrictions a bit, thanks mainly to James Warren who flipped the bird at the establishment and began publishing full-size magazines that were the black and white, spitting image version of the EC horror line. Warren even went so far as to hire as many of the old EC guard that would work for him. The result was the epitome of horror comics Neo-Classicism.
Like any other institution, time eroded the facade of the Almighty Code, and comics began to get more in step with the times. The boldest move was from Marvel Comics, who published a Spider-Man comic that dealt with drug abuse without the ubiquitous Comics Code Authority "Stamp of Approval" on the cover. The Big Bad Stan Lee huffed and puffed and blew a raspberry right at the Code and the walls began to crumble.
The folks at Archie Comics seemed to conveniently forget that their company was the benchmark of comics conservatism and introduced a couple of titles that were obviously intended to compete in the newly-hot horror comics market.
MADHOUSE was a horror comics anthology title under the "Red Circle" imprint that was fairly tame, but nevertheless was a serious attempt at gaining market share. Contributing pros like artist Gray Morrow allow these comics to be viewed with a little more appreciation than they would have otherwise. The final irony is that the same company that destroyed hundreds of comics titles in the mid-1950s, would 20 years later publish their own horror comic and with the same anthology format as many of their targeted enemies.
Included in the series were one-page Essays Into the Supernatural, which were patterned after the short features used in many of the pre-Code horror comics and resurrected by the Warren publications, CREEPY and EERIE.
The following examples are from MADHOUSE #'s 96 and 97 from 1974.
I have been informed by regular MONSTER MAGAZINE WORLD reader Jose Cruz that he is seeking manuscripts for his "for the love" ezine-in-development entitled MAD HOUSE. Below is the howl for submissions. Or, you can visit his blogspot by clicking HERE.
AN ANNOUNCEMENT TO SINISTER SCRIBES AND OTHER VARIOUS FIENDS:
Do you crave classic horror stories? Do you love the musty smell of a paperback anthology containing vintage horror? Stories about creepy old houses, aristocratic vampires, Lovecraftian creatures, and tales of psychological spooks?
We wanted to send a shout out to all interested parties who would want to submit pieces in this vein to MAD HOUSE, a new digital mag that’s eager to hear the terrifying tales that all you storytellers have to share. In addition to fiction, we're open for nonfiction, poetry, and artwork alike. If you pine after the Universal and Hammer horror films and worship authors like Poe, M.R. James, Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, and many others, than MAD HOUSE is the monster mag for you!
We’re looking for roughly three more fiction and/or poetry submissions and can use four to five nonfiction articles. Stories can reach up to a 7,000 word maximum. Maximum word count for articles is 5,000 words.
SPECIAL NOTICE: We are getting close to our quota for fiction and at this time are in need of NONFICTION PIECES. These can include but are not limited to: reviews, retrospectives, essays (both academic and formal), and opinion pieces.
The official deadline for any and all submissions for our premiere issue is MAY 5TH, 2012. We are planning on releasing the anthology in time for the Halloween season and need to have all materials at the ready by the above timeline. Don’t miss out on your chance!
At this time we cannot offer payment to our contributors. We're putting this rag together for the pure fun of it and out of our love for all that is classic horror. We hope to someday offer monetary compensation for the great work that we’re provided with. In the meantime it is our desire to simply put together a loving publication that we can all share with other terror-loving friends.
We prefer that your submission is in Word document format, 12 point Times New Roman, single-spaced. Attach it to your email and make sure you include the piece's title and your name in the subject line. We will request short bios upon acceptance of your piece(s).
Address all submissions to madhousemag [at] yahoo [dot] com.
Check out our blog for more information and how to contact us. Be careful as you traverse through MAD HOUSE and always keep your hand at the level of your eyes! You never know who you may run into.