Christmas Creepyness MARVEL TALES "Third Ghost"

This is basically Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"...

...but with a plot twist you'll never see coming!

Written by Carl Wessler and illustrated by Larry Woromay, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Marvel Tales #112 (1953) turns the classic Yuletide ghost story on it's ear with the Scrooge surrogate triumphing over the specters!

Humor in a Jugular Vein CRAZY "Tales from Aesop's Stables"

Here's a Halloween treat: a never-reprinted example of horror humor...

...from one of Atlas' numerous MAD clones, Crazy V1N7 (1954)!

Despite the title, this piece written and illustrated by Howie Post was not part of a series!

Well, perhaps it was intended to be the premiere installment for one, but since this was the last issue of one of Atlas' three simultaneous MAD rip-offs, no other installments were ever seen!

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Humor in a Jugular Vein: CRAZY "Wolf Man"

It's almost Halloween

Is it gonna be trick or treat for...

...in this never-reprinted story from one of Atlas' numerous MAD-clones, Crazy #5 (1954)

Dick Ayers rendered this tale in a style quite dissimilar from his usual Western or horror material.
The writer, though, is unknown, but may be Stan Lee, who was the editor of the line, and wrote a lot of the stories...

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Humor in a Jugular Vein: CRAZY "Drag-ula!"

As Halloween draws ever closer, let's look in on the original "bat man"...

...in this...unusual...tale from Atlas' CRAZY #2 (1954)

As was usual with the lead tale in CRAZY, it's lovingly-rendered by the amazing Bill Everett!

Heck, Bill might even have written it, since he already had a number of scripting credits!

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Humor in a Jugular Vein: CRAZY "Zombie!"

After Frank N Stein, you'd probably expect us to post Drag-Ula!

Nope!

I'm in a "shambling undead" mood, so here's a tawdry tale about...you know...

Veteran Bill Everett seemed to enjoy going from his usual realistic style to a more-detailed variation of Bill Elder's work on EC's MAD and Panic, as this story from Atlas' Crazy V1 N4 (1954) shows.

Heck, Bill might even have written it, since he had a number of scripting credits already!
Next up...Drag-Ula!

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Humor in a Jugular Vein: CRAZY "Frank N Stein"

For the Halloween season, we're gonna tickle your funny bone...

...with a bunch of rarely (if ever) reprinted horror-themed humor strips from the 1950s!

If imitation is truly "the sincerest form of flattery", then Atlas Comics was easily the most sincere company in comics with no less than four MAD / PANIC imitations; Crazy, Riot, Snafu, and Wild between 1953 and 1956!

Besides humor specialists like Dan DeCarlo, the sheer volume of Atlas humor titles gave the opportunity for artists who usually did Westerns or horror or romance or sci-fi to expand their range, like this tale illustrated (and possibly written) by veteran Bill Everett, who proved more than up to the task with this spoof from Crazy V1 N1 (1953).

Note: Marvel's reincarnated the title several times including a long-run b/w magazine in the 70s-80s.

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HeartBreak Horror / Tell a Tale of Terror Thrice WEIRD MYSTERIES "Easy Dies It!"

You've seen two earlier versions HERE and HERE!

Now read the final...AFAIK...variation on a theme...

Writer Carl Wessler really knew how to milk a plot to death (pun intended)!

This never-reprinted Carl Burgos-illustrated, tale from Pastime Publications' Weird Mysteries #1 (1959) didn't have to stick to strict Comics Code standards since the periodical was a b/w magazine, and the Code only applied to four-color comic books!

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Gothic Tales of Haunted Love

HeartBreak Horror / Tell a Tale of Terror Thrice WORLD OF FANTASY "If...!"

Ever think men and women are from totally-different worlds?

This reworking of last week's story proves you right!

Writer Carl Wessler had already used the basic plot for this story twice before:

1. "If!" in Atlas' Suspense #27 (1953), with the girl and her family being werewolves and vampires (talk about a blended family) as you saw last week!
2. "Out Cold" in EC's Haunt of Fear #25 (1954), with the girl and family shown to be ghouls!

But, by the time this never-reprinted story in Atlas' World of Fantasy #2 (1956) was published, the Comics Code had been implemented, banning "creatures of the night", except in humor titles.

So Wessler went with aliens.

Sci-fi was experiencing a resurgence, so it was the logical way to go.

The illustrator was Jay Scott Pike who ended up specializing in romance comics.

Look for the final version of this terrifying tale in baleful black-and-white from Pastime Publishing's Weird Mysteries #1 (1959)...

Next Tuesday!

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HeartBreak Horror / Tell a Tale of Terror Thrice SUSPENSE "If!"

Here's a Valentine's Day present...a little tale about a guy and a gal from different worlds...

...and we mean that literally!

Written by Carl Wessler, illustrated by Fred Kida, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' Suspense #27 (1953) shows off panache and style close to the legendary EC Comics horror titles of the era.

In fact, Wessler reused the plot (with the variation of the girl and her family being ghouls, not vampires) the next year in EC's Haunt of Fear #25 as "Out Cold!".
(Since that's been reprinted numerous times, and is still under copyright, we aren't going to run it here.)

Even after the Comics Code forbade werewolves, vampires and ghouls, Wessler managed to get another version of the story into print, this time making the girl and her family aliens in Atlas' World of Fantasy #2 (1956)!

You can see that story here, next Tuesday!

But, wait!
We promised you "Tell a Tale of Terror Thrice", right?

Well, Carl reused the concept one last time, returning to horror in a b/w magazine, which wasn't restrained by the Comics Code Authority!

So look for the final version of this terrifying tale in baleful black-and-white from Pastime Publishing's Weird Mysteries #1 (1959) in two weeks!

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Gothic Tales of Haunted Love