CRYPTOLOGY NO. 5 NOW SHIPPING

The latest issue of TwoMorrows' CRYPTOLOGY is now available. Edited by Peter "It Came From the Tomb" Normanton, issue #5 is another spectacular, full-color tome packed to the coffin lid with retro creep culture.

Here's the 411 from editor Normanton:

“If you thought you heard the rattle of bones, you were right! This time ’round, I, the Cryptologist, have dug up a few skeletons in the closet of my creepy little magazine. We have the Ghost Rider, from comic books through until his incarnation on the cinema screen! There are skulls aplenty on the covers dating back to the pulps, Martin Goodman’s Atlas Digests, and horror comics from the pre-Code era! We unearth Hy Fleishman’s hideous skeleton covers from the 1950s, along with a few of the stories he drew. “Toys from the Crypt” examines Walt Disney’s skeletons, vintage Pirates of the Caribbean models of the 1970s, plus Last Gasp’s Skull Comics and the films of William Castle. If that’s not enough, our Killer B department has exhumed a few skull and bones classics: House on Haunted Hill, The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake and The Skull! And don’t forget our Hammertime section. So roll the bones for a magazine made especially for you retro horror fans, by Leese, Voger, the Kronenbergs, and editor Peter Normanton!”

But wait -- that's not all! There's more good news: Earlier this year I was fortunate to land a spot on the writing staff of CRYPTOLOGY. My first article, "Hoist High the Skull and Crossbones! The Pirates of the Caribbean, From Theme Park Ride to Model Kits" appears in this issue's "Toys From the Crypt" department. I've got another one in the pipeline for a later issue and two more articles for the future. Needless to say, I'm very excited to be a part of this excellent publication from TwoMorrows and Peter Normanton. I'll keep you posted on any new developments.

To see a 22-page preview go HERE.

To order go HERE.

NO MORE TWOMORROW(S)?

Regular visitors to this site will have earlier seen a banner under the WOM blog title asking to help keep TwoMorrrows Publishing alive by making a purchase directly from them. Since then, I received an order from them with a letter explaining their predicament. Like other independent companies, they have been ripped off by the inept and greedy bastards at Diamond Distributors. Recent news has reported that they are looking for a buyer to bail them out, but if and when that happens, TwoMorrows and dozens of others have been left on a precarious financial lurch, to the point where a few have already announced they are out of business because of this train wreck.

If you've purchased anything from TwoMorrows before, be it from a newsstand, comic book shop or via mail order, you know that these folks publish some of the best, highest-quality books and magazines on the topic of comics and popular culture that are being produced today. For that reason, I consider them damn near a National Treasure.

With that, on behalf of TwoMorrows, I'm asking that you take a look at the letter and scanned flyers below, and if you're anywhere near interested (and how can you not be?), visit their site and make a purchase, now matter how large or small, print or digital. For instance, if you missed buying a print copy of THE CHARLTON COMPANION -- which is now commanding high prices for used copies from various sellers -- you can get an immediate download of the digital PDF for only $14.99.

And don't forget to try out CRYPTOLOGY, their newest magazine that covers all things monster, including movies, comics, toys and collectibles, all with a retro-spin. Admittedly, I have a bit of an ulterior motive for this particular request, as I am on the writing staff of the magazine, and I'd sure hate to see it disappear!

Thanks for your support, and as Stan Lee was famous for saying: Nuff Said!

Browse the TwoMorrows site HERE.

THE WEIRD, WEIRD ART OF MATT FOX

THE CHILLINGLY WEIRD ART OF MATT FOX

By Roger Hill

TwoMorrows Publishing

June 2023

Hardcover

ISBN: 978-1-60549-120-2

128 pages

$29.95

Among the largely unknown and underrated artists from the Golden Age of pulp magazines and early comic books is Matthew "Matt" Fox (1906-1998). While his unique style may be recognizable to some, few know who the enigmatic man behind the work really was.

During his career, his preferred media was lithography, color woodcuts, oil and watercolor painting and etchings in the fields of illustration, advertising art, pulp magazines and comic books. Like many other illustrators of that period, Alex Raymond was a major source of his inspiration.

Prior to World War II he worked for Fiction House on the PLANET STORIES pulp title. His first illustrations for WEIRD TALES were in 1943 and after that he worked exclusively for the magazine for the next eight years. He landed his first cover assignment for the November 1944 issue, depicting a scene from August Derleth's "The Dweller in Darkness". In total, he would complete 12 covers (one went unpublished when the magazine finally folded) and 40 illustrations.

Weird Tales - July 1950

His first comic book story and cover was in 1952 for Youthful's CHILLING TALES and he would later produce a substantial amount of work for Atlas Comics, many times inking Larry Lieber's (brother of Stan Lee) pencils.

Fox worked a short period of time for Bhob Stewart (1937-2014), who was editor of 

CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Mr. Stewart later commented on his relationship with Fox:

"Fox came across as a straight-arrow, no nonsense sort of guy. I recall him looking very slim and fit. He was selling glow-in-the-dark posters, and he wanted to run an ad in the magazine. He unfurled his glowing poster, which depicted demons and banshees dancing in the pale moonlight. We took it into a dark corner of the room, and yes indeed, it did emit an eerie green glow. He had designed an ad for the posters with clever hand drawn effects. The style for his half-page ad fit in nicely with the type of art we ran in the magazine. I suggested he create one of our department headings and he said, 'Sure. I'll do those.' The Matt Fox ad ran on the bottom of the last interior page of issue #8 from October of 1966. His neatly rendered copy read, 'Weird and monster fans! Something new! Demons and Banshees! See astonishing monsters that will glow in the dark in weird green light! A lot of fun, shock and surprise!' That same issue also featured his heading for the Ghostal Mail department, which showed a variety of demons looking on as Dracula and Frankenstein's Monster peruse letters from readers. We later produced The 1967 Castle of Frankenstein Monster Annual Fear Book, which included the same Matt Fox ad as well as a new heading he illustrated for the fanzine review column. That second drawing was much larger, showing a demon chasing a terrified man across a cemetery where one of the tombstones says 'Rest In Peace Matt. Fox.' When he dropped off the second illustration, I casually asked, 'So how many orders did you get for the glow-in-the-dark posters?' he responded bitterly, 'None.' After that I never saw him again. He became the 'phantom' artist, whereabouts unknown!"

Very little is known about Fox's personal life, but Roger Hill has probably written as much as there is available about that and his career. In his book, The Chillingly Weird Art of Matt Fox (TwoMorrows, 2023) he has done an amazing job on piecing together Fox's life (a lucky break by Stan Lee put him in contact with Fox's sister, who still had some of his original work), as well as sharing numerous examples of unpublished art.

Chilling Tales #17 - October 1953.

The slender volume is a fairly quick read, but without Mr. Hill's efforts we would have had considerably less. As usual, TwoMorrows has done an excellent job with the book design and the art has been reproduced as per their extremely high standards. That it was printed as a hardcover scores even more points for quality. I give this my highest recommendation, as it is a treasure of rare material that we would have most likely never known about without the diligence and scholarship of Mr. Hill.

The book is sold out from the publisher, but they are selling digital copies HERE.

Below: Matt Fox's work for CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN as described in the above quote:

COMING . . . A NEW MONSTER MAG!

Who says print monster magazines are a thing of the past? The folks at TwoMorrows Publishing are unleashing a new magazine, CRYPTOLOGY with the first issue due this October. According to their website, three more are planned through the beginning of 2025. The editor is horror comics' Crown Prince, Peter Normanton, who dazzled us some years ago with his indie-published FROM THE TOMB.

 À la EC Comics, et al, The Cryptologist will guide us through each issue, and according to the provided information, it will be a mix of articles about retro monster movies and comics, which sounds quite alright to me.

If any of you are lucky enough to know about this outfit and the quality -- no. the highest quality publications about comics and pop culture, you know this will be as good as it gets.

Other recommended titles from TwoMorrows: ALTER EGO, BACK ISSUE, COMIC BOOK ARTIST, and JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR.

CRYPTOLOGY pre-order information is HERE.

Now, excuse me while I go do a happy dance.

“Greetings, creep culturists! For my debut issue, I, the Cryptologist (with the help of From The Tomb editor Peter Normanton), have exhumed the worst Horror Comics excesses of the 1950s, Killer “B” movies to die for, and the creepiest, kookiest toys that crossed your boney little fingers as a child! But wait... do you dare enter the House of Usher, or choose sides in the skirmish between the Addams Family and The Munsters?! Can you stand to gaze at Warren magazine frontispieces by this issue’s cover artist Bernie Wrightson, or spend some Hammer Time with that studio’s most frightening films? And if Atlas pre-code covers or terrifying science-fiction are more than you can take, stay away! All this, and more, is lurching toward you in TwoMorrows Publishing’s latest, and most decrepit, magazine—just for retro horror fans, and featuring my henchmen Will Murray, Mark Voger, Barry Forshaw, Tim Leese, Pete von Sholly, and Steve and Michael Kronenberg!”

"Heh-heh-heh, it’s me again—the Cryptologist—and my ghastly little band have cooked up a few more grisly morsels to terrorize you with! Amongst them is Roger Hill’s conversation with diabolical Don Heck, along with a complete 1950s story by that fabled horror comics artist! For something even more gruesome, Steven Kronenberg slices up his favorite severed hand films! Barry Forshaw brings back the otherworldly horrors of Hammer’s Quatermass, while Tim Leese spends more Hammer Time on that studio’s output. Then, Richard Hand resurrects spooky old radio shows, while editor Peter Normanton prepares a viewing of horror-inspired covers from the Shadow’s own 1940s comic book! We’ll cover another Killer “B” movie classic, along with more pre-Code comic books, and Pete Von Sholly gives his twisted take on cartoon horror. So peer into the dark side with TwoMorrows Publishing’s latest terror—scribed just for retro horror fans!"

“I, the Cryptologist, am back with editor Peter Normanton and my horrible little troop of ne’er do wells, to inflict the dread of Mars Attacks upon you—the banned cards, model kits, and despicable comics, along with a few words from the film’s deranged storyboard artist Pete von Sholly! The chilling poster art of Reynold Brown gets brought up from my vault by Steve Kronenberg, along with a host of terrifying puppets from film, and more pre-Code comic books Dr. Wertham would prefer you forget! Plus, Tim Leese spends more Hammer Time on that studio’s films, we run from another Killer “B” movie (1959’s The Manster), and Justin Marriot flips through obscure ’70s fear-filled paperbacks. It’s more retro-horror to satiate your sinister side!”

“I, the Cryptologist, throw open my putrid sanctuary, as acclaimed illustrator Alex Ross regales us with the gory lowdown on his Universal Monsters paintings. Tim Leese and Hammer Time then take us face-to-face with that studio’s classic film “Brides of Dracula.” Mark Voger puts the horrors of 3-D movies of the 1950s into focus, and editor Peter Normanton literally brings that era’s 3-D comic books to life with a mini-history, and complete 3-D story reprint! From there, we embark on a journey to discover the early origins of blood-curdling slasher movies, as a prelude to the macabre pre-Code artwork of Atlas’s Bill Everett and ACG’s 3-D maestro Harry Lazarus. Another Killer “B” movie awaits (courtesy of Steve Kronenberg), as does cartoon creepiness by Pete Von Sholly. It’s a crypt full of the macabre, prepared especially for retro horror fans!””

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, CONAN THE BARBARIAN!

It's hard to describe the surprise that met my eyes on the comic book rack when I spied the first issue of Marvel Comics' CONAN THE BARBARIAN. By 1970, I had become a die-hard Robert E. Howard fan, especially of his Hyborian Age tales. Kull was cool and Bran Mak Morn and Solomon Kane were both dark, but Conan's stories shine like the flame from an oil-dipped torch! I was also one of the multitude that was weaned on the Lancer series with Frazetta covers, still the iconic image of the adventurer, the warrior, etc. Now, it's 50 years later and Conan is still appearing in the comic books and many other forms, only adding to the longevity of this enduring character.

The folks at TwoMorrows have recently released issue #121 of BACK ISSUE and it is a tribute to 50 years of Conan in the comics with a survey of the 50 best issues of the initial run. It is a sort of special "Barbarian" issue as it also contains articles and art about all sorts of other barbarian comics from the Bronze Age.

This is a must have for fans of Conan and Sword and Sorcery in general. Order direct from TwoMorrows HERE.

Here are a few preview pages to whet your appetite . . . and your blade.

TWOMORROWS NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT!

There's lots of businesses out there these days that can use our financial help. One of them has been a favorite of mine for many years. They are the publishers of top-notch publications like ALTER EGO, COMIC BOOK CREATOR, BACK ISSUE!, and the JACK KIRBY COLLECTOR. During their days of publishing COMIC BOOK ARTIST, they expanded on their special James Warren issue and turned it into a luxurious hardback, THE WARREN COMPANION, of which I was a contributor, thank you very much. They've also produced some special Monsters issues along the way.

Well, the word's now out -- TwoMorrows is in financial straights. I think they would be wise in consolidating some of their titles (at least temporarily), but in the meantime they are reaching out to comic fans to help support them during this tough time. If you haven't tried their products yet, pick out a few titles and throw a few bucks their way. I have never been disappointed with any of their products and would hate to see them fold up their tent.

Here is the bulletin they just issued. You can reach their site by clicking on the banner under this blog's title.

IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB COMING IN JANUARY

Due to be in stock this coming January from Two Morrows Publishing is Peter Normanton's second collection of pre-code horror comics, IT CREPT FROM THE TOMB. Pre-order info is HERE.

192-page Trade Paperback with COLOR - Edited by Peter Normanton
Just when you thought it was safe to walk the streets again, From The Tomb (the UK’s preeminent magazine on the history of horror comics) digs up more tomes of terror from the century past. It Crept From The Tomb (the second “Best of” collection) uncovers atomic comics lost to the Cold War, rarely seen (and censored) British horror comics, the early art of Richard Corben, Good Girls of a bygone age, Tom Sutton, Don Heck, Lou Morales, Al Eadeh, Bruce Jones’ Alien Worlds, HP Lovecraft in Heavy Metal, and a myriad of terrors from beyond the stars and the shadows of our own world! It features comics they tried to ban, from Atlas, Charlton, Comic Media, DC, EC, Harvey, House of Hammer, Kitchen Sink, Last Gasp, Pacific, Skywald, Warren, and more from the darkest of the horror genre’s finest creators!