{"id":19,"date":"2013-08-07T16:05:01","date_gmt":"2013-08-07T14:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/?page_id=19"},"modified":"2013-09-25T17:49:20","modified_gmt":"2013-09-25T15:49:20","slug":"thing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/?page_id=19","title":{"rendered":"THING"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chronological listing of all issues \u2013 with comments and annotations. We mention date of publication, cover motive and cover artist (if identified). Every issue has been indexed on the Grand Comics Database \u2013 the link will show you all available data, including cover shots and story descriptions.<\/p>\n

Just click the underlined issue labeling.<\/p>\n

\u00a0A miniature splash page indicates that you can find this entire story in our \u201cStories\u201d section. <\/em>Just click to read it.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/h1>\n

THE THING\u00a0 –\u00a0 17 issues<\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/h3>\n

THE THING #1
\n<\/strong><\/a>February 1952 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Man lying in gutter, scared by floating green heads) \u2013 Albert Tyler & Bob Forgione, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Creature From Dimension 2-K-31\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cGrunwald\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cNightmare\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cHellfire of Doom\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)<\/p>\n

\"Thing#1cover\"<\/a>

The strange first cover<\/p><\/div>\n

Please note some very interesting details<\/strong> about that first cover. First the title logo \u201cconsisting\u201d of ghoul faces, skeletons and fright scenes \u2013 there\u2019s even an eyeball in the exclamation mark\u2019s dot.
\nSecond, the subline (or \u201caboveline\u201d if you will) reads \u201cWeird Tales of Fantasy and Horror! A Songhits Comics Publication\u201d. Songhits?!<\/strong> That\u2019s what it says in the indicia on page 2 as well: \u201cSong Hits, Inc.\u201d. Charlton, you see, started out in 1935 by reproducing song lyrics in magazines as HIT PARADE and SONG HITS.
\nNow Charlton is going for a completely different kind of tune<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

As the cover picture bears witness to: A man being frightened by three flying green shrunken heads (and mind you, GIANT shrunken heads, a contradiction in itself). So far so good. And so conventional.
\nBut! Big but. That man there is sweating profusely and he is lying helplessly in a gutter! A pipe pouring water upon him. That is somehow disturbing and previously unseen<\/strong>. Will CHARLTON HORROR be \u201cdirty\u201d horror?! Is that an omen? Let\u2019s go inside, shall we?<\/p>\n

The silly sounding \u201cThe Creature From Dimension 2-K-31<\/a>\u201d is actually a wild tale taking many turns, blending \u201cHeap\u201d-like monster horror with the Korean War \u2013 and resulting in a \u201chaunted tank\u201d. Go read it on \u201cThe Crypt of The Cramps\u201d blog!<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear if \u201cThe Creature From Dimension 2-K-31\u201d is supposed to incorporate the title-giving THING. The story\u2019s open-ended and will be continued in THING #2. There it is not referred to a \u201cThing\u201d anymore.<\/p>\n

\"Nightmare1\"<\/a>However, in THING #1, this issue\u2019s 2-page text story is called \u201cThe Thing\u201d<\/strong>. Herein a sailor shares with us readers the secret of his cursed family. \u201cThe Thing\u201d is a vampire ghost rising from a \u201cbluish mist\u201d and murdering everyone close to the narrator. In the end it comes to attack\u2026 the reader himself! (Clich\u00e9-ridden cheeeeesecake!)<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGrunwald\u201d proves to be a first-person narrative survivor\u2019s tale about a lighthouse being besieged by hungry rats. Not that bad.<\/p>\n

\u201cNightmare\u201d is another twisted tale of the police bringing down (by sheer coincidence, though) a head-hunting killer. The strangely drafted story jumps from character to character and even finds the time to come up with an artists\u2019 in-joke on page 5. Magnify the scan and you will see that the paper hanging from the newsagent\u2019s reads: \u201cExtra! Forgione and Tyler going steady \u2013 Wives leave town\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHellfire of Doom\u201d is not a horror story, but a crime case in which a blackmailer burns innocent people with \u201ca portable set of infra-red rays\u201d. Quite shocking nonetheless.<\/p>\n

THING #1 is a collaboration between the artists Tyler and Forgione, from first to last page!<\/strong> Strikes me as quite unique. I can\u2019t think of any other pre-code horror comic book (except THE PURPLE CLAW) filled by just one (or a team of two) artist\/s. It won\u2019t happen again.
\nCorrecting myself very hastily here: Ditko will be filling THE THING #14 & #15 all by himself, of course!<\/em><\/p>\n

Summing up that first issue of CHARLTON HORROR, I have to say it\u2019s\u2026 well, peculiar. I\u2019m talking about the writing now. Their stories not only pack a twist, they\u2019re packed with twists!<\/strong> All the stories are zig-zagging like a rabbit. Have a look at the one we posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section: in \u201cNightmare\u201d the presumably harmless man finding the bodies is not only the killer (as it turns out), but he\u2019s living with a detached head!
\nYou don\u2019t need that second twist; it\u2019s more of a nuisance. A disturbance to our logic (what happened to that immortal man after the police got hold of him?). But CHARLTON HORROR seems to work exactly that way. They give you more than you have asked for<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Clever tactic? Or over-the-top madness? We\u2019ll see, stay tuned. And Charlton will be the house for show of violence<\/strong>. Graphic depictions of gratuitous mayhem and terror will be the rule. Please keep that in mind when we reach issue # 13 and upward.
\nWe start with a sample from \u201cHellfire Of Doom\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"fryalive\"<\/a><\/p>\n

THE THING #2
\n<\/strong><\/a>April 1952 <\/strong>
\nCover: (King fleeing from medieval castle, threatened by giant red spectre) \u2013 Bob Forgione, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Red Death\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cEl Toro Diablo\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cThe Creature\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cThe White Rat\u201d (Albert Tyler + Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cImpossible ?\u201d (John Belfi, signed) \u2013 one-pager<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a nice leadoff with \u201cThe Red Death\u201d, Forgione\u2019s first solo piece (he\u2019\"RedDeath1\"<\/a>s doing quite well).
\nThe Poe-influenced story about a \u201cred plague\u201d ravaging a pompous and uncaring king\u2019s land foreshadows<\/strong> what EC will do half a year later by presenting its famous \u201cGrim Fairy Tale\u201d<\/strong>.
\nAnd after that straight story we\u2019re back with Charlton craziness: \u201cEl Toro Diablo\u201d is a winding tale which keeps you guessing where it will end. The horned child becoming a bullfighting matador sounds promising, but waters down to a \u201cI-feel-ugly-but-wanna-be-loved\u201d theme. Disappointing.<\/p>\n

Following is part two of last issue\u2019s \u201cThe Creature From Dimension 2-K-31\u201d, simply abbreviated to \u201cThe Creature<\/a>\u201d. Continuing to be nothing but weird.
\nEarth has been befallen by a space plague causing cancerous growths everywhere. The creature rises to heaven and battles an evil planet (\u201cfor three days and nights\u201d). Returning to earth it\u2019s pinned down by a passing meteor (think of that exquisite \u201ctiming\u201d!) and gets buried in the sands of a desert. Fin. What kind of mythological hogwash<\/strong> is that?! Space Jesus hitches a ride?!
\nThis story feels like a leftover from an unpublished superhero book. Wacky. Go read it on Karswell\u2019s fantastic blog \u201cThe Horrors Of It All\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Wrapping the second issue up is \u201cThe White Rat\u201d, a conventional retaliation story with a twist. But it\u2019s always odd with Charlton<\/strong>. Here it\u2019s the characters: a scientist and doctor is bullied by his strongman assistant (!). The doctor takes revenge by inventing a muscle growth serum and giving the bully a whipping in the wrestling ring. Very improbable if you ask me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #3
\n<\/strong><\/a>June 1952 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Green-headed fiend in white cloud form strangling man in foreground) \u2013 Albert Tyler, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWeird Wonders\u201d (John Belfi, signed) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cThe Clutch Of Doom\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cThe Strange Riddle Of The Ghost Town Ghost\u201d (John Belfi + Dick Giordano, signed)
\n\u201cThe Marching Dead Men\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cCrypt Of The Vampire\u201d (? Martin, signed)
\n\u201cMirror, Mirror, On My Wall\u201d (Albert Tyler, signed)
\n\u201cThings You Should Know\u201d (John Belfi, signed) \u2013 half-page filler<\/p>\n

\"BodilessHost\"<\/a>

„The Thing“ begins talking to us!<\/p><\/div>\n

Enter Charlton\u2019s bodiless host, \u201cThe Thing\u201d.<\/strong> Without ever explaining WHO \u201cThe Thing\u201d might be or WHAT it looks like the first story \u201cThe Clutch Of Doom\u201d is introduced by IT.
\nSee splash for first \u201cappearance\u201d. Or rather non-appearance.<\/p>\n

Run-of-the-mill horror story about a family curse and a murderous detached skeleton hand. Fun in-joke<\/strong> on page 8: the inscriptions on the gravestones read \u201cAl Fago\u201d and \u201cBelfi\u201d, the names of Forgione\u2019s editor respectively colleague.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Marching Dead Men<\/a>\u201d presents a weird, wacky and thus enjoyable blend of horror with the Korean conflict<\/strong>. A silly story through and through \u2013 from the hilarious prom night opening to the hotel of the living dead (standing room only) to the zombie attack on the Korean patrol. Read it in our \u201cStories\u201d section<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cMirror, Mirror, On My Wall<\/a>\u201d is a nice job by Albert Tyler, corresponding to this issue\u2019s cover. A fog-demon does the murderous bidding of its master. And again, Charlton writers go for a very special mixture \u2013 blending a demon-plot to the criminal business of a dope-running ring. Find this story posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section, too.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Rest of the stories are lame, crude and negligible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #4
\n<\/strong><\/a>August 1952 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Man in torn shirt stumbling through wilderness, scared by giant white-bearded head in thunderstorm) \u2013 Al Fago, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThings You Should Know\u201d (Dick Giordano, signed) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cI Was A Zombie\u201d (Al Fago, signed)
\n\u201cThe Promise Of Ying Ko\u201d (Albert Tyler, signed)
\n\u201cThe Petrified Ghost\u201d (???)
\n\u201cPartners In Death\u201d (John Belfi, signed)
\n\u201cTwins Of Doom\u201d (???)
\n\u201cThings You Should Know\u201d (???) \u2013 half-page filler<\/p>\n

This issue features the only horror work (cover + lead story) by THE THING editor (!) Al Fago<\/strong>!
\nBefore that he drew funny animal stuff for books like FRISKY FABLES and ELSIE THE COW COMICS. After \u201cI Was A Zombie<\/a>\u201d Fago turned to Charlton\u2019s own ATOMIC MOUSE.
\nThe splash page is a reworking of the cover. The story itself is fairly entertaining and can be found on Karswell\u2019s fantastic blog \u201cThe Horrors Of It All\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"IwasZombie\"<\/a>

Brutal detail from „I Was A Zombie“<\/p><\/div>\n

Last Tyler with \u201cThe Promise Of Ying Ko\u201d. He will remain to contribute the odd job for Charlton\u2019s crime books, but his further horror work (just 6 more stories, mind you) will pop up in Trojan\u2019s BEWARE and St. John\u2019s STRANGE TERRORS and WEIRD HORRORS. The story seems to be out of place, because it feels and looks like a 1940s pirate adventure story<\/strong> in \u201cAsiatic waters\u201d (tagged with a ghost twist at the very end).<\/p>\n

Mystery artwork in \u201cThe Petrified Ghost\u201d, an amusing baddie about a statue coming to life after having absorbed human blood. The professor character is clearly swiped from Johnny Craig.<\/strong> First Charlton horror story to be done with Leroy lettering (a kind of typeset lettering done with stencils; Ace used these exclusively in all their titles from autumn of 1952 on).<\/p>\n

As is \u201cTwins Of Doom\u201d, the other mystery artwork story. I believe this to be the same artist (story is executed in the same laughable vein, too). Both are Leroy lettered. Which will only happen once again in the run of CHARLTON HORROR <\/strong>(namely the next issue). I think we\u2019re dealing with an outside job, bought in addition to Charlton\u2019s own material to fill up this issue.<\/p>\n

\"Waterglub\"<\/a>\u201cPartners In Death<\/a>\u201d introduces as to the horror art of John Belfi.<\/strong> Having done \u201cfillers\u201d in the previous two issues, he\u2019s now allowed to a long story. Belfi will become a CHARLTON HORROR regular (but only from THE THING #8 on!).
\nThe story rotates around a business man being haunted by the ghost of the partner he murdered. Standard fare all in all \u2013 as is this whole issue.
\nFun part about \u201cPartners In Death\u201d is how Belfi works in the bodiless narrating THING<\/strong>. Its text scroll creeps out of a file cabinet, an ink bottle, a pill box and even bubbles in a water dispenser (see picture<\/em>).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"MurderersRow1\"<\/a>THE THING #5<\/a>
\n<\/strong>October-November 1952 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Woman visiting dungeon is frightened by wax exhibits, beheaded fat corpse lurks over her from behind) \u2013 Lou Morales, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cCurse Of Karnak\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cHarmony Of Horror\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cMurderer\u2019s Row\u201d (Tex Blaisdell)
\n\u201cThe Tavern Of Terror\u201d (Collier, signed)<\/p>\n

Great sick cover by Lou Morales<\/strong>. Reminds me of his infamous title page art for the sister series LAWBREAKER\u2019S SUSPENSE STORIES (#11 respectively) \u2013 a crime book yet missing on the internet. Someday I\u2019ll get my hands upon you\u2026<\/p>\n

First person narrative by Mona Davis (\u201cfrom the Bronx\u201d) in \u201cCurse Of Karnak\u201d. I am very much surprised that this story is again done with Leroy lettering<\/strong>. This will be their very last try (were they emulating Ace or Story horror comic books ?). The story is as clumsy as Forgione\u2019s artwork. Enjoyable baddie.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarmony Of Horror\u201d follows suit in the same vein. Inventive murder scene on page 3.<\/p>\n

The fun even cranks up a gear with \u201cMurderer\u2019s Row\u201d, another crude run-of-the-mill story about horror in a wax museum<\/strong>. They leave out no clich\u00e9 in this issue.
\nSome garish panels of gratuitous violence grace this inane tale, which is partly ironic, I believe (have a look at panel 3 on page 6<\/em>). We post it in our \u201cStories\u201d section.
\nThe woman character stays astonishingly passive \u2013 concerning the obnoxious mayhem happening all around her<\/strong>.
\nFirst and only horror art by Tex Blaisdell, by the way.<\/p>\n

\"murderersRow\"<\/a>A guy named Collier (no first name known) signed responsible for \u201cThe Tavern Of Terror\u201d. Collier seems to have worked around Charlton\u2019s crime and horror titles. Cruel story, cruel artwork. Fun part is the oil painting of the (ugly!) vampire lady posing lasciviously amidst her victims. Go look for it on the Digital Comic Museum, I uploaded the whole issue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #6
\n<\/strong><\/a>January 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Native tribesmen conducting fire dance under full moon, giant shrunken head floating in the sky) \u2013 Bob Forgione, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Thing#6cover\"<\/a>\u201cThe Tale Of A Salem Witch\u201d (Art Capello + Dick Giordano, signed) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cThe Weird Tale Of The Rock Bound Ghost\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cVengeance Will Be Mine\u201d (Dick Giordano, signed)
\n\u201cThe Warlock Of London\u201d (Collier, signed)
\n\u201cAn Ancient Ghost Story\u201d (Dick Giordano, signed) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cJibaro Madness\u201d (Bob Forgione ? \/ Seymour Moskowitz ?, signature \u201cRF\u201d?)<\/p>\n

The natives are restless on a nice Forgione cover.<\/p>\n

Frankly, I don\u2019t go for seaside \/ lighthouse horror yarns, which \u201cThe Weird Tale Of The Rock Bound Ghost\u201d absolutely fits. Boooooring.<\/p>\n

Enter Dick Giordano<\/strong> at CHARLTON HORROR. After having contributed fillers to THING #4, he\u2019s allowed his first long story: \u201cVengeance Will Be Mine\u201d \u2013 a crime \/ horror drama with nonsensical overtones (people falling unintentionally out of windows and such).
\nGiordano will be staying for just this issue<\/strong>! \u2013 then gets assigned to sister titles like SPACE ADVENTURES, LAWBREAKERS, HOT RODS and so forth. He will return to do STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES in 1954<\/strong>, though!<\/p>\n

The fluctuation of employees continues. Next up is another Collier contribution: \u201cThe Warlock Of London\u201d is about a gang of ghouls posing as members of the high society<\/strong>. That\u2019s quite wacky, but Collier\u2019s bland artwork lets it look run of the mill. Although we get a nice lot of bloody fencing<\/strong> on the final pages (see picture<\/em>)!<\/p>\n

\"bloodyfencing\"<\/a>What struck me in this story is an eerie resemblance of one of the Ghouls (Garth) with a character from \u201cHunger\u201d (MISTER MYSTERY #16, published over a year later).
\nThe sadistic dungeon keeper Cochon seems to be modeled after him. The crude artwork could never be identified. I wonder if Collier tried a comeback at Gilmor\/Key\u2026<\/p>\n

The THING #6 highlight for me is the zany headhunting story \u201cJibaro Madness<\/a>\u201d. A classic \u201cbaddie\u201d which I relished posting and commenting on my German website.
\nA party of adventurers is shrunk to miniature size and has to battle a guillotine-wielding madman called Maximo. That is only how it starts out. In the end giant spiders attack. You gotta see this to believe it.<\/p>\n

Another madness begins with this issue. The typographic tic to letter any combination with \u201cthing\u201d in another style<\/strong>. Let me show you what I\u2019m talking about:<\/p>\n

\"ThingTypoTic\"<\/a>They will continue to use this kind of special lettering as a trademark for THE THING. I think it\u2019s irritating as hell<\/strong>! It\u2019s needless, disturbing and pathetic. They\u2019ll hang on to it until THING # 14, though. From time to time, coming back to haunt me…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #7
\n<\/strong><\/a>March 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Bird-Man-like creature scratching out the eyes of middle-aged bald man with its claws) \u2013 Lou Morales, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

This issue was missing! Isaw it auctioned on Ebay in March 2013 and being sold for over 150 dollars; I backed out at 50\u2026 Anyhow, I managed to take photographs of this book from German pre-code horror collector „whitewolf61“ and now I, too, know what’s inside:<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Page01_Thing007\"<\/a>

Gorgon attack cover<\/p><\/div>\n

„Hell Ship“ (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n„Spiderman And His Web Of Doom“ (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n„Give The Devil His Due!“ (John Belfi, signed)
\n„The Gorgon’s Claw“ (John Belfi, signed)
\n„The Ghosts Of Gombi!“ (Lou Morales, signed) – one-pager
\n„Haunt Of The Vampire“ (Collier ?)<\/p>\n

Infamous „Injury-to-the-eye“ cover<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Three bank-robbers make their escape on a haunted vessel in „Hell Ship“. Don’t ask why. Probably to show us scenes of cruel torture at sea. Not a good story; and not gory enough to rate it as over-the-top display of violence.<\/p>\n

Fun returns with „Spiderman And His Web Of Doom<\/a>„. A young couple move into a house with a haunted attic. There waits Mr. Nemo to drain their blood! It’s a standard vampire tale, but with a giant „spiderman“ instead of a bat-like creature. And I prefer any pre-code „spiderman“ to Peter Parker<\/strong>!
\nSee it posted in our „Stories“ section.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

It’s a three-page PUN story with „Give The Devil His Due!“. A farmer makes a pact with the devil. When time comes to pay the devil his „due“, said farmer gives the devil some „dew“ from the fields – because there was a typo in the contract. Ha-haw!
\nInteresting satirical horror story<\/strong>, though. And one of the very few ones in which the devil turns out to be the loser.<\/p>\n

\"GorgonInside\"<\/a>

Corresponding Gorgon attack panel<\/p><\/div>\n

„The Gorgon’s Claw<\/a>“ is the inside story referring to the grisly cover<\/strong>. If you ever wondered what’s happening on that title page, well… It’s a gorgon attacking the dean of Carlton (sic!<\/em>) College, Prof. Thaddeus. The attack looks likes this, by the way (see picture<\/em>). Entertaining story about a salacious professor who goes on a killing spree pretending to be a gorgon – just to make out with lovely co-eds! You can guess where this is going…<\/p>\n

Will present whole story on my German website in the next days – link is now in place… done.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

„Haunt Of The Vampire“ is signed with stylized initials which might read „TC“. This may well be a certain guy named „Collier“ who contributed to THING #5 and #6, but signed there with his full family name. Here he’s doing a lot of swipes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A „swipe“ is a copy, a rip-off of a motif someone else has done before<\/strong>. Just to give you a sample from that story, here’s the splash and the model – Johnny Craig’s cover to VAULT OF HORROR #28 (published just weeks before!).<\/p>\n

\"VaultSwipe\"<\/a>

Have a look at the three natives in the foreground – and find them in our splash on the right!<\/p><\/div>\n

Craig’s cover story from the above shown VOH #28 is called „Till Death…“ – and „Haunt Of The Vampire“ looks shockingly like „Till Death…“ all over again! Hilarious swipe art<\/strong>! Will show you for the sheer hang of it two more comparisons.<\/p>\n

\"BroomOrnoBroom\"<\/a>

This panel on the right doesn’e even make sense: Where’s the broom?<\/p><\/div>\n

And here we see how meticulously the artist really worked. You hardly notice the difference on a first glance. Okay, I’m flattering. I almost wonder that no one credited „Haunt Of The Vampire“ to Johnny Craig!<\/p>\n

\"twicerunman\"<\/a>

Is that body double on the right running over the water?!<\/p><\/div>\n

The story itself is a really really BAD one. Bad not in a fun way, but bad in a shake-your-head-in-sad-belief way. Annoying hodgepodge without any sense to it. Prime example for amateurish work all over!<\/strong> I’ll upload the whole issue in the next days. Have a look.
\nPostcript:<\/em> Book now uploaded to the Digital Comic Museum<\/a>!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"VeinOfIrony1\"<\/a>THE THING #8<\/a>
\n<\/strong>April 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Man and woman in attic flinching from magic mirror out of which supernatural figures are emerging) \u2013 Bob Forgione, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghost Of Abbey Playhouse\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cA Grave Situation\u201d (John Belfi, signed)
\n\u201cThe Riddle Of Glamis\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cVein Of Irony\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cThe Haunted Bridge\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cDeath Has Deep Roots\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed \u201cBF\u201d)<\/p>\n

This issue is a grave disappointment. Pun intended. The artwork\u2019s grubby and the stories don\u2019t surprise<\/strong> or astonish (or even alienate the readers, like Charlton writing so far did).
\nWe just chose to post \u201cVein Of Irony\u201d, a five-page vampire \u201cquickie\u201d.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s as flimsy as it\u2019s brutal. Watch out for the gratuitous violence against women<\/strong> on the first pages and the outrageously bad finale on the last. Your typical pre-code \u201cyecch\u201d kind of horror story.<\/strong><\/p>\n

A dying man tell us his tale in \u201cA Grave Situation\u201d \u2013 and bleeds a lot from the mouth.<\/p>\n

\"throatWound\"<\/a>

You’re not Dr. Feelgood, are ya?<\/p><\/div>\n

Posting you this a yet another example of Charlton brutality<\/strong>. They weren\u2019t squeamish. As is the good doctor, calmly describing his patient as \u201ca goner\u201d<\/strong>. Thanks, doc.<\/p>\n

By the way: I\u2019m not sure if the signature \u201cBF\u201d stands for Bob Forgione or for Belfi & Forgione. Stories signed this way could be a collaboration\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #9
\n<\/strong><\/a>July 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Dr. Jekyll-type man carrying blonde half-naked woman through dungeons) \u2013 Bob Forgione, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMardu\u2019s Masterpiece\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cThe Road To Madness\u201d (Bob Forgione + Vince Alascia, signed)
\n\u201cOperation Massacre\u201d (John Belfi, signed)
\n\u201cThe Dead Man\u2019s Hand\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed \u201cBF\u201d)<\/p>\n

The issue leads off with (hooray!) a story about an art painter! You have not published horror comics if you haven\u2019t at least ONE tale about mad painters dabbling with the forces of evil<\/strong>. So what\u2019s the Charlton touch to this charming subgenre?
\nAs a real Parisian bohemian Etienne Mardu talks of himself in the third person. His art is no good \u2013 until he starts painting with blood. Voil\u00e1. First his own, then the blood of his models. But the life-like pictures come alive on canvas and put an end to Mardu\u2019s sorry career. No real impact in this story, how about the next?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Road To Madness<\/a>\u201d is an extremely violent treasure hunt tale<\/strong>. Francisco de Cobra (nice name there<\/em>!) seeks to own the world\u2019s largest diamond. To that avail he stabs his partner, burns his guide with a flame thrower<\/strong> and sets rabid dogs on a rival. Stiff and awkward artwork (Alascia\u2019s heavy inks!) bring no glamour to a crime story with an arbitrary twist.<\/p>\n

\"killnative\"<\/a>

\u201cThe Road To Madness\u201d is plastered with bad intentions<\/p><\/div>\n

All hopes lie with \u201cOperation Massacre<\/a>\u201d, which is a bit of a Belfi classic.<\/p>\n

We welcome back Charlton cheekiness<\/strong> \u2013 only they dared to pull off hair-raising stuff like this.<\/p>\n

A power-mad villain controls an army of robots by pure thought. But a funny thing happens on the way to world domination.
\nA stupid slip of the tongue finds Marko under the foot of his own killer robots. Hilarious.<\/p>\n

Note that they have not only robots, but also mind control.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s jumping ahead centuries in science-fiction terms! But it\u2019s obviously 1953.<\/p>\n

Delectable nonsensical wackiness<\/strong>, probably by the same author who brought us \u201cJibaro Madness\u201d three issue before. Find it posted on my German website.<\/p>\n

Please note also Charlton\u2019s full frontal graphic cruelty: There\u2019s an iron hand ripping out the throat of a hapless male victim (just at the bottom of the splash, on the left) and of course, the finale \u2013 Marko\u2019s arm is being ripped out of the shoulder (last panel on page 5) and his face is stepped upon (page 6) with a sickening and blood-red \u201cCruunch!\u201d. Jeez.<\/p>\n

CHARLTON HORROR is often enough going for \u201cshock value\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A fiery death, a hand cut off and multiple murders by mentioned bodiless hand are the gruesome ingredients<\/strong> for \u201cThe Dead Man\u2019s Hand<\/a>\u201d \u2013 another typical pre-code no-brainer. See it posted on Karswell\u2019s fabulous blog \u201cThe Horrors Of It All\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"handslither\"<\/a><\/p>\n

THE THING #10
\n<\/strong><\/a>September 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Display of frightened faces, a werewolf and a devil looking menacingly in between them) \u2013 ???<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"IntoTheFire1\"<\/a>\u201cFlower Of Evil\u201d (Bob Forgione, signed)
\n\u201cInto The Fire!\u201d (Stan Aschmeier)
\n\u201cRain Of Terror\u201d (John Belfi ?)
\n\u201cDeath Has Three Fingers\u201d (Bob Forgione + Vince Alascia, signed)
\n\u201cMark Of Violence\u201d (John Belfi ?)
\n\u201cThe Devil\u2019s Kiss\u201d (??? + Vince Alascia)<\/p>\n

Breaking it to you ungently: Though the story titles sound promising (and some panels certainly look that way), this is a lame issue<\/strong>. Violently weak plots without any edge. We were quite disappointed when we unearthed this book in autumn 2012.<\/p>\n

Most interesting are \u201cMark Of Violence\u201d and \u201cInto The Fire!\u201d. Latter one\u2019s artist burrows definitely from early Jack Davis. Have a look at the first, fourth and last panel on page 3.<\/p>\n

This may be the work of one Stan Aschmeier. I found his signature \u201cStan Ash\u201d while rummaging\/researching Charlton\u2019s LAWBREAKER\u2019S SUSPENSE STORIES #13. That\u2019s the same artist. Says my art spotting capabilities \u2013 and ten bucks!<\/p>\n

Again one of those rare issues in which the 2-page text story (\u201cDarkness\u201d) proves more gripping (a breathless depiction of humankind\u2019s apocalypse<\/strong>) than the rest of the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cInto The Fire!\u201d is posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section (please note grimly humoristic bludgeoning of a man with a skull on page three of story); \u201cMark Of Violence<\/a>\u201d on our German website. And here\u2019s just a graphic violence teaser<\/strong> from that story (to make sure you go there):<\/p>\n

\"dreadfulCompany\"<\/a><\/p>\n

THE THING #11
\n<\/strong><\/a>November-December 1953 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Ghoul swinging cleaver over blonde woman begging to frightened man amidst little devils and a pipe-smoking skeletal figure reading in book) \u2013 Bob Forgione<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Thing#11cover\"<\/a>\u201cHansel And Gretel\u201d (Bob Forgione + Vince Alascia, signed)
\n\u201cThe Glitter Of Evil\u201d (Sid Check, signed)
\n\u201cBeyond The Past!\u201d (Lou Morales, signed)
\n\u201cDeep Freeze\u201d (Bob Forgione + Vince Alascia, signed)
\n\u201cBlind Vengeance\u201d (John Belfi, signed)<\/p>\n

Wild Forgione cover fraught with details<\/strong>. The man\/victim looks like he\u2019s thinking \u201cO no. What have I stumbled upon? Do I HAVE to be here? Can I go now?\u201d.
\nWhat the man actually thinks is: \u201cI\u2019ve made a noise and\u2026 and\u2026 s-she\u2019s seen me! Lord, what am I going to do now?\u201d \u2013 as the splash of the first story reveals. The splash is used for this issue\u2019s cover. Strange thing is, it\u2019s NOT exactly the same drawing. Has this been drawn twice?<\/p>\n

\u201cHansel And Gretel<\/a>\u201d is yet another rip-off\/homage of\/to EC\u2019s \u201cGrim Fairy Tale\u201d feature<\/strong>, founded in autumn 1952 with \u201cMarriage Vows!\u201d in HAUNT OF FEAR #15. The famous grim fairy tale called \u201cA Grim Fairy Tale\u201d was the second installment and followed suit a month later in VAULT OF HORROR #27.
\n\u201cHansel And Gretel\u201d plays nicely with the fairy tale pretense, presenting a very clever tale about ghouls \u2013 old and modern ones. To say more would be spoiling all the fun. Read it on Karswell\u2019s fantastic blog \u201cThe Horrors Of It All\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Glitter Of Evil\u201d is more crime than horror. A greedy pearl diver getting too greedy and robbing natives until he meets his more than deserved fate\u2026 spare me.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeyond The Past!<\/a>\u201d is one of my favorite horror \u201cquickies\u201d<\/strong> (sporting only 4 pages). And it\u2019s only because of the artwork! That page four by Lou Morales is just sen-sa-tio-nal!
\nGotta show it you \u2013 here and NOW:<\/p>\n

\"page4past\"<\/a><\/p>\n

A lovely girl in a flimsy nightgown flashing a shapely leg (the prominent and dominant size of that panel!<\/em>) contrasted to the gory remains of a man brutally slaughtered by a demon! Pin-Up and horror have never been combined better than in this ingenious composition<\/strong> \u2013 have a look at the whole story on my German website.
\nHats off to Lou.<\/p>\n

One of those artists you instantly want to see more of, but he didn\u2019t do much. Some crime for Charlton, just one more horror story (a one-page filler in THE THING #7) \u2013 and that hideous cover for the infamous LAWBREAKER\u2019S SUSPENSE STORIES #11<\/a><\/strong> (a book I\u2019d love to get my hands on, no one knows about the contents of that particular issue). Surely one of the most sought after crime-horror books ever.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDeep Freeze\u201d is uninteresting monster horror. \u201cBlind Vengeance\u201d is formula haunted murderer fare. CHARLTON HORROR keeps presenting itself in a zig-zag of stories worth reading and stories to forget about. Hmmm.<\/p>\n

Note: Last appearance by Forgione!<\/strong> The artistic mainstay of CHARLTON HORROR so far will be replaced by a certain Mr. Ditko\u2026
\nChange of guard with the advent of 1954. Belfi will be leaving as well, making way for Dick Ayers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #12
\n<\/strong><\/a>February 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Vampire ladies descending flight of stairs and attacking women in medieval dresses) \u2013 Steve Ditko, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Cinderella1\"<\/a>

Sorry for the sub-par quality, there is no other available<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cCinderella\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cMelvin Comes Home!\u201d (Dick Ayers, signed)
\n\u201cThe Mummy\u2019s Curse!\u201d (John Belfi, signed)
\n\u201cFood For Thought!\u201d (???) \u2013 one-pager
\n\u201cThe Sound Of Death\u201d (??? + Vince Alascia ?)
\n\u201cGreed\u2026\u201d (Anthony Tallarico, signed)<\/p>\n

We are entering the year 1954 and things change dramatically at Charlton<\/strong>. The month before saw their continuation of Fawcett\u2019s STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES (#16). And now a thrilling new artist joins the club: Steve Ditko starts working on CHARLTON HORROR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Shout it from the mountain top: First Ditko!<\/strong>
\nDue to the occasion, let me first list some websites dealing with Ditko art<\/strong>:
\nDitkocultist
\n<\/a>Ditkomania Yahoo Group
\n<\/a>Ditko Fever Compendium
\n<\/a>With its very own \u201cThe Thing\u201d section<\/a> \u2013 no comic stories posted, though \u2013 but the blog features an extensive listing of all of Ditko\u2019s work.
\nSteve Ditko Comics Weblog
\n<\/a>And out there is a website called \u201cThe Charlton Comics Reading Library<\/a>\u201d\u00a0\u2013 where you\u2019ll find tons of stuff posted. For example the whole issue of THE THING #12<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cCinderella\u201d is Ditko\u2019s first job for CHARLTON HORROR \u2013 and it is pure dynamite.
\n<\/strong>A gripping and suspenseful (and truly horrifying) reworking of the fairy tale. A cruel, senseless, depressing and bloody adventure into imagination. EC\u2019s \u201cGrim Fairy Tales\u201d are looking almost small in comparison. What a dazzling debut for Ditko.<\/p>\n

I tried to improve one of the two existing scans on the internet, but to no avail (scanning resolution was probably quite low and printing seems to have been dismal in the first place). Could always use a better one, though…<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Ayerswoman\"<\/a>

This must be a „wasp waist“, Mr. Belfi<\/p><\/div>\n

A comical story is \u201cMelvin Comes Home!\u201d wherein a miserly rival gets his payback. A first story by Dick Ayers<\/strong> for CHARLTON HORROR, welcome aboard. He obviously can\u2019t draw women (not in a realistic fashion, anyway, see for yourself), but who wants to see women drawn in a realistic fashion in comics?!<\/p>\n

John Belfi<\/strong> signed responsible for the artwork in \u201cThe Mummy\u2019s Curse!\u201d \u2013 and he should be ashamed. Not only are his drawings more than inane, he is deftly swiping from Rudy Palais<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to compare, look at his story \u201cCrypt of Death\u201d (posted HERE <\/a>on my German website<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Ditko\u2019s very first contribution to this issue, of course, is his cover. His depiction of a powerful and strangely compelling vampire attack is just gorgeous to look at \u2013 and a classic pre-code horror masterpiece.<\/p>\n

\"belfi+palais\"<\/a>

Belfi (left) „burrowing“ from Palais (right)<\/p><\/div>\n

In our „Stories“ section we post the 2-page-shortie \u201cGreed<\/a>\u201d \u2013 an interesting \u201cfiller\u201d which ends on a strictly Darwinian note. I love this kind of Charlton nonsense.<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #13
\n<\/strong><\/a>April 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Giant demon faces springing from magic book and leering down at shocked reader) \u2013 Steve Ditko, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLibrary Of Horror\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cDie Laughing!\u201d (Steve Ditko + ?)
\n\u201cA Tisket A Casket!\u201d (Anthony Tallarico, signed)
\n\u201cAvery And The Goblins\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cPoor Fish!\u201d (??? + Chic Stone ?)<\/p>\n

Giant Ditko issue \u2013 three stories plus cover!<\/strong><\/p>\n

His lead story \u201cLibrary Of Horror<\/a>\u201d is one of those delectable \u201cinsider\u201d stories: Burnt-out writer for CHILLING MYSTERIES, Ken Rolland, dabbles with real black magic to get new inspirations. Get ready for a first flight into Ditko phantasmagoria!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"ditkodetail\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Nice catch by a previous GCD-indexer: \u201cThe Executive editor of the fictional \u2018Chilling Mysteries\u2019 is named Allen Fargo, similar to real Charlton editor Al Fago.\u201d Find the story posted on the \u201cSteve Ditko Comics Weblog\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Next up is \u201cDie Laughing!<\/a>\u201d, a terrible clich\u00e9 story about a group of boys daring to enter a haunted house for their initiation into a college frat. Utterly repetitious, foreseeable and plain right stolen from an old EC story<\/strong>: \u201cHouse of Horror\u201d by Harvey Kurtzman in HAUNT OF FEAR #15 (May-June 1950). The impudence, the impudence!<\/p>\n

Third entry is \u201cAvery And The Goblins<\/a>\u201d, an interesting tale of a treasure hunt in a castle brimming with evil, cannibal goblins<\/strong>! It\u2019s weird, all right, and awards us with a panel of exquisite shock value<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"cannibalditko\"<\/a>

A first glimpse of Charlton cruelty<\/p><\/div>\n

Charlton will be probing even deeper into the realms of cruelty and graphic violence.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The art in \u201cPoor Fish!<\/a>\u201d looks stunningly like Chic Stone\u2019s work for ACE HORROR. Doesn\u2019t strike me as a solo job, though. Guess he\u2019s inking. I bet Stone\u2019s involved, because he\u2019s credited for Charlton\u2019s TV TEENS. \u201cPoor Fish!\u201d is an enjoyable four-page \u201cquickie\u201d (or \u201cshortie\u201d, as fellow blogger Karswell once suggested<\/em>). I guess \u201cquickie\u201d is more sexually connotated, but four pages are consumed just as fast\u2026 We post this fishy tale in our \u201cStories\u201d section.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"EvilEye1\"<\/a>THE THING #14<\/a>
\n<\/strong>June 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Man-Bats attacking townspeople in street, giant blue-haired bat-head hovering in background) \u2013 Steve Ditko, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cRumpelstiltskin\u201d (Steve Ditko)
\n\u201cThe Evil Eye!\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cDoom In The Air\u201d (Steve Ditko)
\n\u201cInheritance!\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)<\/p>\n

This is the mother lode: Ditko from cover to cover. <\/strong>Will happen with issue #15 again. Nevermore.<\/p>\n

Grim(m) fairy tale, Charlton style, the second: \u201cRumpelstiltskin<\/a>\u201d is a nice double feature with \u201cCinderella\u201d from THING #12. The hairy, wild-eyed demon Rumpelstiltskin is quite an unforgettable Ditko character. The story has been expanded in a beautiful, dark way.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Evil Eye!\u201d is one of the most vicious pre-code horror stories ever!
\n<\/strong>Warren Cairo puts his crippled wife Gerda in a car and drives her over a cliff. But Gerda\u2019s a witch and takes revenge by not only branding her husband with a red-hot iron, but setting rats upon him to eat him alive.<\/strong> The poor sod is finally thrown into the sea and drowns.<\/p>\n

\"charltonbrutality3\"<\/a>The image of a man whose extremities have been chewed off by giant rats<\/strong> is nothing less but shocking \u2013 and nowhere mentioned in horror literature! In his \u201cTerrology\u201d-feature about Charlton comics, George Suarez shows the picture of the man floating to the bottom of the sea. We post the whole story in our \u201cStories\u201d section (click miniature splash to get there<\/em>).<\/p>\n

\u201cDoom In The Air<\/a>\u201d starts out as a western tale and becomes a story about a corpse awakened by an atom test bomb, stalking his wrongdoers and leaving a trail of radiation poisoning behind him. Interesting radiation horror!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last entry is \u201cInheritance!<\/a>\u201d, a construed story about two archeologists and an Egyptian curse. It\u2019s rather run-of-the-mill, very wordy \u2013 but offers a satisfying twist.<\/p>\n

The first two stories from THING #14 make this book a classic.<\/strong> Let\u2019s see if all-Ditko #15 can live up to that standard.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"IfLooksKill1\"<\/a>THE THING #15<\/a>
\n<\/strong>July-August 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Giant metallic looking worm crushing buildings and setting city on fire) \u2013 Steve Ditko, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Worm Turns\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cDay Of Reckoning!\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cComeback!\u201d (Steve Ditko)
\n\u201cIf Looks Could Kill!\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)
\n\u201cFamily Mixup\u201d (Steve Ditko, signed)<\/p>\n

We have the next wild and weird cover by master Ditko: that saliva-dripping mechanical looking monster worm is something to dream about. Last THING with Ditko stories<\/strong>, by the way.<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t really know WHY Norman Thoma creates an invulnerable super-species \u2013 and why has he moved into a Frankenstein-like castle on the hill? Just to make our spines shiver, of course! \u201cThe Worm Turns<\/a>\u201d is fantastic fever dream of a story with a philosophical twist.
\nCharlton wackiness rules the earth again \u2013 not unlike the monster worm, feeding on our BRAINS!!! <\/strong>(Sorry, got carried away there\u2026)<\/em><\/p>\n

A next unpleasant scene awaits the reader in \u201cDay Of Reckoning!<\/a>\u201d, wherein an old man gets his mouth sewn shut<\/strong>. An otherwise bland seafaring tale of murder and ghostly revenge.<\/p>\n

\"Charltonbrutality4\"<\/a>\u201cComeback!<\/a>\u201d feels a bit like \u201cThe Evil Eye!\u201d from last issue. An evil man murdering a woman (equipped with magical powers). Never a good idea. Because the lady will come back and have her revenge \u2013 in this case: You\u2019re toast, buddy! Good, clean and brainless fun.<\/p>\n

\"Charltonbrutality5\"<\/a>

Got a light? More brutality, this time the melting of Flexo (\u201cThe Rubber Man\u201d)<\/p><\/div>\n

I love \u201cIf Looks Could Kill!<\/a>\u201d \u2013 this is CHARLTON HORROR at its worrisome finest<\/strong>. The plot is pure lunacy, plain folly: A surgeon (called \u201cGustave Savage\u201d by all means!) gets kidnapped (by a hypnotist called \u201cMerlin\u201d). Merlin has strange powers and blinds the poor doctor. Robbed of his eyesight Savage goes savage and strangles the fiend. Then he transplants Merlin\u2019s eyes for his own in a five minute ad-lib operation!
\nSavage is able to not only see again (see?), but now his looks can kill<\/strong>. As on onwalking hunchback and the doctor\u2019s treacherous wife soon find out. Story is posted on the net (click title) and in our \u201cStories\u201d section as well (go there to find a new edit<\/em>).<\/p>\n

Matrimonial alienation is its own sub-genre<\/strong> in the cosmos of pre-code horror. But hardly has it been as delightful and head-on as in \u201cFamily Mixup<\/a>\u201d. It\u2019s cruel and sadistic and brutal\u2026
\nDid I say brutal? Let\u2019s have a picture here \u2013 of a woman who\u2019s going to be pumped to death with air directed into her stomach.<\/p>\n

\"Charltonbrutality6\"<\/a>Why don\u2019t you people just get a divorce?!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The stories \u201cWorm Turns\u201d and \u201cFamily Mixup\u201d are presented on a blog called \u201cThe Time Bullet\u201d. Just to show you how many comics blogs are out there. Go have a look.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #16
\n<\/strong><\/a>September 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Big-eyed and fanged ghoul storming through graveyard) \u2013 Steve Kirkel ?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"thing16graphViol1\"<\/a>

Cannibal nightmare in „Nothing He Couldn’t Do!“<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cNothing He Couldn\u2019t Do!\u201d (Dick Ayers, signed)
\n\u201cDeath Of A Gambler!\u201d (Joe Shuster & Vince Alascia, signed)
\n\u201cPicture Of The Future!\u201d (Seymour Moskowitz, signed)
\n\u201cMental Wizard!\u201d (Bill Molno? \/ Joe Shuster ? \/ Ray Osrin ?)
\n\u201cThe Crusher\u201d (??? + Jack Abel ? or Bernard Sachs ?)<\/p>\n

Interesting and disturbing cover scene (have a look by clicking the underlined issue number<\/em>). Who did this? It seems not to be Ditko. On Grand Comics Database an indexer suggested Steve Kirkel, because \u201cthe cover art is similar to the Jack Davis-esque art signed by „Kirk“ in „Through the Looking Glass“ in The Thing # 17\u201d. Good point, valid point, I accept this guess.<\/p>\n

Charlton goes big time for shock value with this issue. THE THING #16 is one of the most violent comic books of its time.<\/strong> And next to Moskowitz it\u2019s now Dick Ayers joining in!
\nAs usual I\u2019ll post you proof of the gratuitous violence.<\/p>\n

Ayers by the way continued his grisly career years later in the infamous magazines coming from Eerie Publications. There he relished in depictions of ripped-out eyeballs flying through the air.<\/strong> I direct potential voyeurs to this blog, sadly no more active: \u201cThe Bloody Pulp<\/a>\u201d.
\nAnd may recommend Mike Howlett\u2019s excellent book<\/strong> about this crazy enterprise: \u201cThe Weird World of Eerie Publications: Comic Gore That Warped Millions of Young Minds<\/a>\u201d. Reviewed on said blog HERE<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"thing16graphViol2.jp\"<\/a>

Brutal stabbing in \u201cDeath Of A Gambler!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

But back to the matter at hands: \u201cNothing He Couldn\u2019t Do!<\/a>\u201d is a bit of a classic atrocity story<\/strong>. Four shipwrecked men are stranded on a cannibal island and captured immediately. While three of them have high hopes of surviving for some days, the natives torture the ship\u2019s handy mechanic Jonesy. Sickening twist (spoiler, don\u2019t read if you want to know the ending): All men will be fabricated into canned meat (at once!), because Jonesy told them how to do it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeath Of A Gambler!\u201d is a run-of-the-mill (nah, that\u2019s unfair, but it didn\u2019t grip me) story about a careless wealthy playboy type getting addicted to gambling and ending in the gutter.
\n(THE THING #1 just springs to mind, the cover depicting a man lying in the gutter\u2026)<\/p>\n

\"thing16graphViol3\"<\/a>

Gross butchering in \u201cPicture Of The Future!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cPicture Of The Future!<\/a>\u201d is the next vehicle for violence. A magic scroll shows the future of two murderous thugs \u2013 step by step, death by death. Scenes of murder: 6. Body count: 4.<\/strong> Very bloody last page. See whole story posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section.<\/em> And here\u2019s the fierce finale shown in the picture…<\/p>\n

Mystery artwork in \u201cMental Wizard!<\/a>\u201d \u2013 seems familiar if you look at STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES #21 & #22. It\u2019s possibly Molno or Shuster with Osrin (just guessing here).<\/p>\n

Blogger \u201cPappy\u201d introduced his scan to this story with the following words:<\/p>\n

\u201cTHE THING #16, a Charlton horror comic from late ’54, is notorious for having some sort of gory violence in every story: a spear through a guy’s throat, a guy stabbed in the chest, a spike through a guy’s cheeks. Kind of a one-note comic book! This story, „The Mentalist,“ has a spear thrown into a guy’s eyeball. It’s what Doc Wertham called „the injury to the eye motif.<\/strong>“ Whatever, this is one gruesome comic book.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\"thing16graphViol4\"<\/a>

Horrid injury to the eye in \u201cMental Wizard!\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Go read the story, and of course, here\u2019s the most vicious panel to \u201cogle\u201d (sorry) up front:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Crusher<\/a>\u201d features similar artwork. Art spotting wizard Jim Vadeboncoeur, Jr. suspected inkwork by Jack Abel or Bernard Sachs. Did not dare to put a name to the penciller. Too many artists used that style of drawing\u2026<\/p>\n

The story itself sports pure terror in the jungle!<\/strong> Barney Tragg is now the name of the sadistic plantation owner who catches his wife and her lover red-handed. Like last month\u2019s sadistic plantation owner Hugo von Mohl (in STRANGE SUSPENSE STORIES #20) Tragg likes to swing his whip. He flogs the lover to death and stalks his wife in the jungle. But the dead foreman appears and drags the \u201cCrusher\u201d into quicksand mire. Justice served. In a pre-code horror kind of way\u2026<\/p>\n

\"thing16graphViol5\"<\/a>

Sadistic whipping in \u201cThe Crusher\u201d<\/p><\/div>\n

Boy, this is some mayhem-packed issue.
\nMade Dr. Wertham\u2019s day.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

THE THING #17
\n<\/strong><\/a>November 1954 <\/strong>
\nCover: (Sorcerer in alchemist\u2019s chamber summoning demon-like creature) \u2013 Steve Ditko, signed<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThrough The Looking Glass!\u201d (Steve Kirkel, signed \u201cKirk\u201d) \u201cBad Blood!\u201d (Dick Ayers, signed)
\n\u201cWishful Thinking!\u201d (Steve Kirkel, signed \u201cKirk\u201d)
\n\u201cWeird Legend Of Trelawney\u201d (Bob Powell) – reprinted from BEWARE! TERROR TALES #1<\/p>\n

Last issue, sadly. Comes with a last Ditko cover, though (no story inside).<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t know that Steve (or Stephen) Kirkel<\/strong> could look like Jack Davis, but he does here!
\nInteresting artist with only 39 spottings, Kirkel did mostly western stories for Youthful \u2013 before contributing 8 (maybe 9) pre-code horror tales. THING #17 is Steve Kirkel\u2019s comic book (double feature)!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThrough The Looking Glass!<\/a>\u201d confronts us with a perverted version of the children\u2019s book classic. Alice is a mean and sadistic girl who runs amok in Wonderland<\/strong>. What\u2019s missing in this story is that we don\u2019t feel for anyone because it\u2019s all arbitrary violence. Interesting, nonetheless. Posted in our \u201cStories\u201d section<\/em>. Some faces are deliberately copied from Jack Davis, by the way.<\/p>\n

Dick Ayers goes to town in \u201cBad Blood!<\/a>\u201d, providing us with an ultra-violent fight scene on page 2:<\/p>\n

\"badblood\"<\/a>Else it\u2019s a wonderful clich\u00e9d straight horror story! A gem of a no-brain shocker: Murder, greed, walking corpse, cruel vengeance. Perfect. Read it on our website FIFTIES HORROR.<\/p>\n

\u201cWishful Thinking!\u201d feels like a collage from other horror stories from other companies. Emil Barto is a vampire aboard a ship and gets stranded on an island. One by one the party dies, and in the end Barto, too, by the hands of another vampire! That is quite lame and in no way logical. The last line \u201cIt takes a vampire to recognize a vampire!\u201d sounds eerily familiar. I\u2019m almost sure to have read this in another story! Do you know where? Drop us a line by e-mail.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"WeirdLegend1\"<\/a>

This has got to be the most close-up splash page in pre-code horror…<\/p><\/div>\n

In general is \u201cWishful Thinking!\u201d a variation of EC\u2019s \u201cNo Silver Atoll!\u201d (HAUNT OF FEAR #23, January 1954), wherein a werewolf on a plane gets stranded on the island and starts killing the party of survivors.
\nKirkel\u2019s swipes of Jack-Davis-characters look lackluster in this story, maybe he was rushed into delivering the pages of his second contribution for THING #17.<\/p>\n

\u201cWeird Legend Of Trelawney<\/a>\u201d was originally published under the title \u201cGhost Hounds Of Trelawney\u201d in Fawcett\u2019s BEWARE! TERROR TALES #1 (missing on the internet). It\u2019s great Bob Powell artwork<\/strong> (as usual). The story sports a breathless and breathtaking man-and-dog chase over 12 pages.
\nSince it seems not to have been shown online up to now, we chose to post it in our \u201cStories\u201d section.<\/p>\n

So we say farewell to the Thing (whatever it may have been) and bow to Bobby. Powell is one of my favorite five fifties artists. Before you ask, it\u2019s Kurtzman, Craig, Krigstein, Crandall and Powell.
\nThis is all very subjective<\/strong>, yeah. No Ditko?, you might complain. He has impressed me very much with his work for CHARLTON HORROR, but he drew too little pre-code horror to make my day. Okay, Kurtzman as well, but I fell in love with EC a loooong time ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So here\u2019s the THING \u2013 our artists\u2019 assignment count for THE THING:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Bob Forgione<\/td>\n21<\/td>\n(4 with inks by Vince Alascia)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steve Ditko<\/td>\n13<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
John Belfi<\/td>\n12<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Albert Tyler<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n\u00a0(7 with inks by Bob Forgione)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
unknown artwork<\/em><\/td>\n5<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Dick Ayers<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n\u00a0(2 with inks by Ernie Bache)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
„Collier“<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Steve Kirkel<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Anthony Tallarico<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Each 1: Dick Giordano, Stan Aschmeier, Lou Morales, Seymour Moskowitz, Bill Molno + Ray Osrin, Joe Shuster + Vince Alascia, Al Fago, Tex Blaisdell, Sid Check, \u201cTC\u201d, Chic Stone, Bob Powell (reprint) and a guy who signed by \u201cMartin\u201d.<\/p>\n

This count does NOT include one-page \u201cfiller\u201d features!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chronological listing of all issues \u2013 with comments and annotations. We mention date of publication, cover motive and cover artist (if identified). Every issue has been indexed on the Grand Comics Database \u2013 the link will show you all available data, including cover shots and story descriptions. Just click the underlined issue labeling. \u00a0A miniature […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":75,"parent":0,"menu_order":8,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1101,"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/19\/revisions\/1101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/75"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/charm-of-charlton.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}