Tuesday, February 28, 2023

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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Tuesday, February 21, 2023

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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Tuesday, February 14, 2023

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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