"Over Her Dead Body" & "Death Trap"

Two more deadtime fables from Terror Tales Vol. 2 No. 6, November 1970. First, a real treat featuring art by the great Larry Woromay in a story of a man extremely dedicated to his craft. "Over Her Dead Body" is a redraw of "While the Iron Was Hot," which appeared in Weird Mysteries No. 3, Feb. 1953. It proves useful (not to mention fun) to have a peek at the original posted over at Karswell's The Horrors Of It All. The contrast will serve as a fine example of how Eerie Pub. artists (and Woromay in particular) liked to gore up a story for bloody, little urchins, like me who treasured each new issue. The writing was jazzed a bit as well. Please compare ". . . a tale that'll snap your spine and make your skin crawl" (Eerie Pub.) to ". . . a torturous tale about a tailor" (yawn - Weird Mysteries ).

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I wonder sometimes if our fate is determined neither by predetermination or free will. Perhaps our entire lives are prescribed by our surnames. Most of us have names that are simple sounds by which we are called - letters that we learn to string together to sign our last will and testaments. Our names suggest nothing; promise nothing beyond what Thoreau called our "quiet desperation."

Now, consider a name like Charlie Starkweather. Is it any wonder that the young, scruffy Nihilist roamed the desolate, hardscrabble plains of Nebraska and Wyoming like a feral mongrel grafted to a 12-gauge shotgun? Can one ever imagine this persona smiling at sunny skies? Bearing this self-evident theory in mind, lets move on to the Ajax/Farrell story of one Adam Monny.

Until next time, dear ones. when we'll dredge up two last tales from the same (as Stan Lee used to say) "iss;" "Broom For A Witch" & "Bedeviled Puppet." Until then, if you can't stay safe, at least stay sound (the original title of that last story of the doomed Mr. Monny was "Safe, But Not Sound." I'm so clever I could just turn around three times and crap on my own shoes!).

Guy Bell's Cult of Horror! (and Merry Xmas!)

I received a Christmas card the other day, done specifically for The Bloody Pulp by our friend, Guy Bell. I'll be switched if it hasn't put me in the Christmas spirit! Allow me to share:

Mr. Bell is a true believer in Eerie Pub. artwork and the array of great horror mags celebrated at this blog. Guy is also a very fine artist in the grand tradition. I flat love his work.

How good is Mr. Bell? He's this good:

"Claws Of The Werewolf" is an original story, written and illustrated by Guy, who inks his stuff old-school with a brush. Please visit Guy Bell at his blog Cult of Horror.

OK, curse your eyes, I'll say it! Merry Christmas to all the readers of The Bloody Pulp!

"The Thing" & "Werewolf"

Well, it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, curse the luck. But don't worry, you wretched urchins, the spirit of love and giving has no sway here. Never has, never will. Here, we will always see through the glass darkly regardless of any temporal holiday. Here storm clouds swell like black, angry souls; the very wheel of Heaven groans like old timber twisted to cracking, and the center will never hold. If that doesn't make you feel safe and sound, nothing will.

Our first story today is all abut doom, fate, and the eternal atonement of a sin unforgivable (I knew I could make you feel all warm and cozy). The artwork is by Oscar Fraga, who did a ton of work for Eerie Pub. (about 80 stories). Virtually nothing is known about Fraga, and where Eerie Pub. artists are concerned - that's just the way I like it. I really love this tale, which was originally "The Thing On The Broken Balcony," appearing in Strange Worlds No. 8 (1952) before Fraga gave it a redraw. I sort of envy Pete Larkin in this story. I am a creature of routine and, as routines go, Mr. Larkin's eternal evening is not without its bleak, Yeatsian romance. Download THIS POST!

Next up is a straight reprint of an extremely wordy Iger Shop tale from the 1950s. This one meanders a bit and curls itself up into a very sudden knot at the end, but at least the artwork has those beauteous Iger Shop blacks.

Well, on we go into to-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow. When shall we meet again? In thunder, lightening, or in rain? Forgive the Shakespeare references, but there's just something about the holidays that makes me think of the murdering king, Macbeth. Next up? A bit of my favorite Eerie artist, Larry Woromay, with "Over Her Dead Body" plus "Death Trap." Please stop in again soon. Don't make me send the St. Nicholas zombie after you.

"The Bloody Ax" & "The Glass Corpse"

Hear that evil hiss? That's the pestilent rush of fumes and vapor mixing with air after cracking the crypt seal on Terror Tales Vol. 2 No. 6, November 1970. Do you smell the decay that is centuries older than death itself? Rather like the very death of death, isn't it? Let's see, what sort of corpse-shaped dust do we find inside. Let's begin by exposing to the light two tales by artists Cirilo Muñoz and Oswal. But first, we can't ignore this cover: Download THIS POST!

With regard to the above, it appears we have stumbled upon the very moment of betrayal, wherein our screaming, green imp/werewolf is literally stabbed in the back by the blue-haired vampire bat creature-ette (who took the trouble to wear a pair of nice hoop earnings for the occasion). The two must have been partners in killing the gray, demon red-head there on the floor of Hell (and Hell it must be, judging by the eruption of flame and fire from the fissure just behind them); but our treacherous femme fatale/thing has decided to go alone into whatever cursed future awaits her. My favorite part? The way the severed head in the foreground reveals a body as hollow as a gray vase broken at the neck, spilling only a thin seepage of silvery sludge.

Our first story, "The Bloody Ax" comes with artwork by Cirilo Muñoz, including loads of his trademark feathering and crosshatching. I thought this story brilliant and Muñoz' final panel hits like a ton of bloody bricks.

Finally we have the stunning art of Oswal featured in "The Glass Corpse." Oswal was born in Argentina and created the first Argentinian superhero, Sónoman (who had the power to control sound and music). Oswal contributed six stories to Eerie Pub., "The Glass Corpse" being the first. His use of spotting and shadow is amazing.

Now that we've broken the seal on this issue, soon other maggots and stories will come slittering out. Next, look for "The Thing" and "Werewolf." Until then, make sure you give someone who is down a brisk kick in the slats (it will make them get up faster).