DEATH FLOWER!

Man-eating plants were a mainstay in the pulp magazines of the 30's an 40's and it's not surprising they found their way into comic books. "Death Flower" appeared in TALES OF HORROR #11 (A Minoan Magazine/Toby Press, Inc., June 1954). It was reprinted from THE PURPLE CLAW #3 (Toby, May 1953). Art is by Ben Brown and David Gantz.

The editor of this title, Elliot Caplin, was also the owner of Toby Press. The art director was "Mel" Lazarus and readers may recognize the name. Mell Lazarus created the newspaper strips MISS PEACH (1957) an MOMMA (1970).

HAPPILY EVER AFTER . . . AND DEAD!

During a routine check-up, Harry Bates is in for a surprise: his doctor declares he's dead! To say this complicates poor Harry's "life" is an understatement and he spends the middle-part of the story running away from the law, thinking all the while they want to bury him.

He finally meets a friendly woman and after a brief romance he asks her to marry him. He can't believe she says "yes" without batting an eye. The reason will surprise you at the end.

"Happily Dead" was published in Superior Comics' MYSTERIES ("WEIRD AND STRANGE") #8 (July 1954, around the same time the Senate Hearings were in session). Superior's parent company, Randall Publishers Limited, was located and the their books printed in Canada. It is believed that they hired "stringer" artists and writers for the States, making it essentially an American horror comic. No writer or artist(s) have yet been identified for this interesting little story.

BEWARE THE EYES OF MARCH!

What a pretty girl like Laura Duncan is doing with a toad like Nicholas March is beyond me, but apparently the two have been married for a while. But Laura has fallen for young Johnny Franklin and the jilted March hypnotizes Laura into jumping off a cliff!

In a fit of rage, Johnny confronts March and strangles him to death. But March isn't finished yet; he goes after Johnny next and the result is a classic revenge from the grave story.

"The Eyes of March" (a clever turn of the phrase, "The Ides of March", coincidentally appearing in the March issue) was published in Harvey's TOMB OF TERROR (March 1963). Pencils are by Manny Stallman and inks by John Giunta.

IT'S ALL IN THE HANDS

The word for today is "vestigial", meaning "an organ or part of the body degenerate, rudimentary, or atrophied, having become functionless in the course of evolution". In Tom's poor case, he is tormented by a twisted version of this, courtesy of his twin brother. "Hand", drawn by Ross Andru and Mike Esposito appeared in MISTER MYSTERY #1 (Stanley Morse, September 1951).

There's also a scene in this story that you won't see these days: Tom and his doctor light up and have a smoke while the doc discusses his case!

NEVER TOUCH A WITCH!

In this cautionary tale the message is to, whatever you do, never touch a witch! This is the first story that I have come across so far in THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED where the title's host, Dr. Death plays a more integral role. Usually, he introduces the story and pops up once or twice to comment during the proceedings. In "Touch of Death" from #11 (Fawcett, June 1953) he is drawn multiple panels by the more than capable Bob Powell. Oh, and the warning about witches? Read on to find out!

TWO GHOSTS HAPPIER THAN ONE?

Hot on the heels of last week's post is this, another tale of marital strife, with yet another milquetoast, wife-hating husband (appropriately named Henry Meeks) who hatches a plan to end his spouse's constant nagging. The ending is heavy with the kind of irony we see often in horror comics from the 50's. "Television Ghost.." is from Stanley Morse's first issue of MISTER MYSTERY (September 1951).

The person behind the "cartoony" Kurtzman-esque art has yet to be positively identified, but there are several interesting possibilities that have been tossed around:

• One source claims the artist is Charles Stern, who was a former roommate of Kurtzman's.
• Another source claims that the artist is Ross Andru.
• Still another claims the art is actually by Kurtzman himself and the story is referenced from "The Mysterious Ray From Another Dimension" (misidentified as "The Mysterious Ray From Another Planet" at the GCD) in EC's WEIRD FANTASY #16 (November-December 1950) and reprinted in Russ Cochran's WEIRD FANTASY #4 (July 1993). If so, then this could be cited as a "lost Kurtzman story".

After looking at a few more stories from MISTER MYSTERY that have been identified as by Stern (without any dispute), I'm putting my money on him under Kurtzman's influence.

EC OLD WITCH STATUE

Here's proof that the original EC Comics is still alive and well with another release of what is likely to be just the first of the new, limited edition Ghoulunatics statues: the EC Comics "The Old Witch" Creep-tastic Statue.

From Retro-A-Go-Go:

Join me, kiddies as we climb down into the dark, damp bowels of the crypt to dig up a new creation! Light a candle so we can gaze our bloodshot eyes over the latest addition to the Creep-tastic line of 5.5” highly fascinating masterpieces! Behold: it’s the “Old Witch”, a nauseating tribute to our favorite GhouLunatic from the classic EC Horror Comics of the 1950’s- (but have almost never been out of re-print!)

We’ve captured the “Old Witch” in all her bewitching glory: moth eaten robe, stringy, greasy hair, a rope belt at her waist and she even has glossy touches on her bulging eyes and (nearly) toothless mouth. Close inspection will reveal that her cauldron has an embossed EC logo on it. She’s brewing up a sickening vile and vulgar concoction that will put you under her spell! She’ll keep your EC-related books company and will ward off any evil spirits that threaten your collection!

We chained up our lead designer and EC comics fan, Doug P’gosh until he created the perfect “Old Witch” made famous by artist Graham “Ghastly” Ingels. We think you’ll agree that he did a masterful job of capturing her rotten essence.

Any EC comics, horror or Halloween collector will be thrilled to add her to the collection. Don’t wait- only 800 or less of the “Old Witch” will be created to truly make this a collector’s item.

Available from MONSTERS IN MOTION or RETRO-A- GO-GO.

Details:

• Approx. 5.5”H

• Sculpted and cast to bring out every rotten detail

• Cast in durable poly-resin

• Hand-painted with a mix of flat and glossy finishes to bring the old witch to life

• Packaged in full color collector’s box

• Production run limited to less than 800 pieces!