Thanks to Charlie Horse 47 and Killdumpster for their sponsorship of this post, via the magic of Patreon.
Greetings, my fellow traveller in the Darkest Realms of the Human Soul. Has there ever, in the entire history of humanity, been a genre worse suited to comics than that of horror?
All wise readers cherish it, hugging it to their bosom, like the teddy bear they were once inseparable from but, bearing in mind that the British and American comic book has traditionally been aimed at children - and there is, by law, a limit to what you may inflict upon those of an immature leaning - launching a horror comic is, it seems, an act of madness itself.
But then again, could we truly expect horror comics to be frightening, even when aimed at adults?
After all, if we peruse Hollywood, its horror output is routinely aimed at adults and, having studied the form for lo these many decades, I always insist the only film of that genre I've ever encountered which is capable of eliciting a sense of dread in even the timidest of viewer is Trilogy of Terror. And, even then, only when one is twelve years old.
Still, despite the limitations placed upon them by the authorities, the big publishers of our youth all produced comics in that genre.
While DC largely concentrated upon the production of similarly-styled anthologies such as Weird War Tales, The Unexpected, The Witching Hour and the Houses of Mystery and Secrets, not to mention a Forbidden Mansion, Marvel settled its gaze upon transforming horror stars into defacto super-heroes, thanks to the likes of The Son of Satan, Ghost Rider, Werewolf by Night and the Monster of Frankenstein engaging in often feeble battles with the forces of malice. Why, even that scoundrel Dracula managed to battle evil in his Marvel days, despite being, himself, always more evil than the evil he was fighting.
Charlton in the 1970s seemed to barely supply us with anything but horror tales. Who can forget the thrills of The Many Ghosts of Dr Graves, Ghost Manor, Haunted and Ghostly Haunts?
Then again, for those with more grown-up tastes, Warren gave us Vampirella, Eerie and Creepy.
In its brief existence, Atlas Seaboard bequeathed upon us Devilina and Tales of Evil - books which bore no detectable resemblance to any ever produced by other companies.
But there was, before even any of that, the legendary venture known as EC whose titles were so extreme that the Comics Code had to be invented in order to reassure reader's mothers that, from now on, the horror comics their children read would be as devoid of horror as was humanly possible.
But choices must be made. And I am, thus, going to have to announce that Weird War Tales was my favourite of DC's horror titles. Perhaps it was its range of exotic artists, perhaps it was merely the indefatigable parade of skeletons which adorned its covers but the book managed to make even I enjoy war stories, despite my habitual antipathy towards the field.
Meanwhile, for my love of the Son of Satan's first two adventures, Tomb of Dracula was the Marvel horror book that most often drew my gaze towards the spinner racks.
Midnight Tales, however, was my Charlton supernatural epic of choice, with its host Professor Coffin, his theoretically beautiful niece Arachne, and its tongue embedded firmly within its cheek.
Tragically, the only Atlas Seaboard horror book I ever read was issue #1 of Tales of Evil. Therefore, in the absence of any competition, I must, perforce, nominate that as my favourite from that company.
As far as I can recall, the only Warren book I ever read was issue #30 of Vampirella which I remember mostly for a magnificently coloured strip by Richard Corben. Thus, I must select that as my favoured Warren book.
The only one of Skywald's horror offerings that I ever read was Nightmare #17. Frankly, it was not to my tastes, featuring the eating of human flesh far too often for a man of my distinction to appreciate. But it did feature a woman being turned into a naked bee queen, which is a thing that appealed to me greatly.
Despite their decades of notoriety, I must confess to never having read any EC comics. I cannot, therefore, nominate a top pick from that bunch.
Nor, as far as I'm aware, did I ever read an issue of Misty, Fleetway's legendary late-1970s horror anthology for girls. I do feel as though I should, though, in the interests of filling the gaps within my knowledge.
There was also, of course, Dez Skinn's House of Hammer, the only issue of which I ever encountered being that which adapted the cinematic delight Twins of Evil. That must, therefore, be my favourite from the series.
But what of you? Which horror comics have most readily floated your boat across the River Styx? You are, as always, free to expand upon the subject, below.
That is, provided the chill hand of fear does not prevent you moving your pen across the paper.
And, while you're at it, feel free to share any thoughts you may have upon the subject of Halloween. My first memory of it is of wandering around a back garden, sometime in the late 1960s, armed with a blazing turnip and a sense of northernness, thus sinking the myth that Halloween did not exist in England until ten years ago. I remember thinking at the time, "Look at me! Here I am, deft master of horror, in the late 1960s, sinking the myth that Halloween did not exist in England before 2012!"
Posts
