NEW ARTICLE COMING SOON!

As you may know, this blog is intended as a supplement to my series, "Fear In Four Colors: The Hideous History of American Horror Comics", currently being published regularly in Dead Letter Press' NIGHTMARE ABBEY.

The image above is for the upcoming "Special Issue" of CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN (#41, Spring 2025). So, what's so special about it? Well, my 9,000 word article, "Ten-Cent Terrors! The Horrifying History of EC Comics" is the cover story! Needless to say, I'm thrilled about it, not only because of that, but also because it keeps the legacy of the great EC comics alive, and better yet, perhaps will introduce a few more readers to this legendary comics publisher.

While some of the content may be familiar to EC Fan-Addicts, I've tried to avoid the usual rehash of what's already available all over the 'net, and instead have concentrated on distilling the information into a behind-the-scenes story of how this remarkable company came to be. Plus, you'll get an extra-special bonus of plenty of chewy monster goodness in the rest of the issue! The cover art is by Scott Jackson and he does a bang-up job illustrating the Ghoulunatics (and Drusilla, too!).

I'm sure you're aware that print 'zines are struggling these days, notwithstanding the recent collapse of Diamond Comics Distributors (read about that HERE) where many genre mags relied on this outfit to boost their product circulation in the U.S., the UK, as well as other markets. So, if you can spare a few bucks by purchasing not only CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN, but DARK ABBEY, too, you'd be doing them a huge favor by rewarding the heart and soul they put into their work.

Here's the publisher's info on CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN:

Castle of Frankenstein #41 enters the crypt to tell the fascinating history of EC Comics, profiles the films of Lionel Atwill, revisits an interview with sultry Tandra Quinn of Mesa of Lost Women, hears from the son of House of Frankenstein’s mysterious Peter Coe, examines a favorite scene from The 7th Voyage of Sinbad, and takes a drive in classic cars from Universal Monsters movies" and more! Plus, Baron von Neck’s Mad Movie Reviews, Castle Book Critiques, and Slaymate of the Month. Classic pulp pages loaded with some never before seen fantastic photos!

You can order both of these excellent magazines through the links on the sidebar of this page.

Thanks for your support!

Castle of Frankenstein, front and back covers.

Pre-colorized draft cover.

ONE SECOND TO LIVE!

The scriptwriters and artists for this issue of Superior's STRANGE MYSTERIES are . . . well, a strange mystery, because as of yet, not one has yet to be verified. Superior was based in Canada, but their intended audience was larger American readership. It is also known that American artists, either independently or from comics packaging shops were funneling their work across the border as work for hire.

In any event, this was published at just about the tipping point of the Pre-Code horror comics boom and it contains a few doozies that include hangings, violent beatings, grave-robbing, murder and just generally gag-inducing creeps. In other words, it's marvelous!

STRANGE MYSTERIES

Vol. 1 No. 12

July 1953

Superior Publishers Ltd. (Superior Comics)

Editor: ?

Cover: ?

Pages: 36

Cover price: 10 cents