The Warren Report Issue 3: Blazing Combat! Creepy! October-December 1965

The Critical Guide to 

the Warren Illustrated Magazines

1964-1983

by Uncle Jack

& Cousin Peter

Frazetta

Creepy #5 (October 1965)

"Family Reunion!" ★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Joe Orlando

"Untimely Tomb!" ★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Angelo Torres

"Sand Doom" ★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Al Williamson

"The Judge's House!" ★★
Story by Bram Stoker
Adapted by Archie Goodwin
Art by Reed Crandall

"Grave Undertaking" ★★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Alex Toth

"Revenge of the Beast!" ★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Gray Morrow

"Family Reunion!"

When Pa passes, the three Cartwright boys (not Hoss, Little Joe, and Adam... the other Cartwright boys) find themselves with a heapin' helpin' of farm land to take care of. Aaron and Horace want to continue in the footsteps of their father, who made the land pay off for him, but third brother Jack wants to dump the dump as quick as possible. When Old Man Fisk makes the three brothers an offer, a seed is planted in Jack's diseased brain and Jack murders his brother via wheat thresher. Aaron and Horace are so mangled that their remains are buried together in one casket and Jack wastes no time selling the farm to Fisk. On the night Fisk is to drive out to the farm, Jack is visited by the two-headed remains of his brothers, both understandably upset by their brother's betrayal. When Fisk arrives at the farm, he finds what remains of Jack (the brothers are a trio once again!) in the well. "Family Reunion!" is a run-of-the-mill revenge tale, the gist of which we've seen countless times before in EC, Harvey, and Atlas horror funny books. Joe Orlando does the rote script no favors, though; this is just about the weakest Orlando we've seen yet (the only exception being Joe's spooky two-headed man intro). The whole thing smacks of the Myron Fass Eerie Publications rags that were introduced (and would multiply half a decade later, thanks to the success of Warren) not too long after this issue went on sale. Cliched plots and ugly art.

"Untimely Tomb!"

Dr. Beamish has a trigger-finger when it comes to pronouncing Stanford's sister dead. When Stanford hears moaning from the family crypt, he calls Beamish and the two enter the mausoleum, only to find the girl risen from her casket and dead on the floor... this time really dead. Stanford wigs out and swears he'll ruin the good Doctor's name and, after a heated discussion, Beamish conks Stanford on the noggin, killing him. But Stanford must have been prescient since his last wishes are that he be buried in the graveyard next to the Doctor's home. Now it's time for Beamish to wig out. When he imagines hearing noises from Stanford's crypt, he investigates. Bad idea.

Though Archie may have dipped a little too much into the Poe bag for "Untimely Tomb!," it does have its share of creeps (the final panel is a keeper). It also has its share of head-scratchers. When Beamish and Stanford enter the tomb, the Doctor remarks that he certified the girl was dead so breaking the lock on the casket will do them no good. Stanford then points at the casket and remarks, "Look at the lock, doctor! It's already broken!" How the heck did little Sis manage to pick a lock that was on the outside of her coffin? Good trick, that! Angelo Torres's art is atmospheric and typifies how good the old EC artists can look, even in black and white, a decade later.

"Sand Doom"

"Sand Doom" has some incredible art by Al Williamson, but the script (about a double-crossing arms dealer who stumbles into a sand storm and the treasures of the Goddess Nepthy) is hum-drum and meandering. The same can be said about Archie's adaptation of Bram Stoker's "The Judge's House!," a quaint chiller about a man who moves into the estate of a long-dead hanging judge. The story will never be accused of being Stoker's best (there's no reasoning given for the resurrection of the Judge--it just happens), but at least Reed Crandall was assigned the job of distracting us while we turn pages. Crandall might be the one EC artist who actually got better as the decades passed.

Peach and Thwackum, two very English undertakers, are experiencing a bit of a lull in business. People have stopped dying. Enter Dr. Ryder, a surgeon who needs fresh corpses to dissect and study, with a rich proposition for the two morticians: ten pounds for each body delivered, the fresher the better. With no one coming in the door, Thwackum and Peach must visit the local graveyard for stiffs and, when a grave-digger interrupts their work, they find that murder can fill a coach just as well.

"Grave Undertaking"

When the boys get wind of a village nearby where folks are dropping like flies, they sneak into town only to discover all the residents hidden behind boarded-up windows. The graveyard is theirs to pilfer. That night, they bring their booty to Dr. Ryder, who enthusiastically gives thumbs-up until he discovers the origin of the bodies, and only has time to squeak out the word "Vampires!" before he and the two grave-robbers are surrounded. Of all the stories presented so far, "Grave Undertaking" has the closest feel to an EC story, with its grave-robbing premise, its clever twist and, most of all, its exquisite art. Toth's design, shading, and angles are all top-notch, giving the story the kind of flair found in noir films.

If "Grave Undertaking" reminds one of EC, then the silly Native-American-revenge/monster-thriller, "Revenge of the Beast!," brings to mind the softer, code-approved pablum found in the Charlton horror titles. I appreciated the wild west setting but Gray Morrow's work almost seems lost in too much whites (though his final panel of battling werewolves is a stunner). On the letters page, a 17-year-old Bernie Wrightson begs for more full-length Frazetta just a few years before he'd start down a path that would see him become just as respected and imitated as Frazetta himself. And, for the first time, readers could join the Uncle Creepy Fan Club for the princely sum of a buck. That pittance would grant you a lifetime membership and you would receive a pin, membership card, and a portrait of Uncle Creepy, painted by Frank Frazetta. Sign me up! -Peter

Jack: I'm a bit worried that Creepy is already this bad after only five issues. "The Judge's House!" is the only story that was even close to interesting, and it was an adaptation from Stoker. Poor Archie Goodwin was overworked and underpaid and the repetitive tales bear that out. One question: with all this great art, why put the Joe Orlando story first in the issue? It's easily the worst drawn. I'm with Peter on loving the pages by Toth, but the surrounding stories feature some pretty fine art as well. If only the writing held up.

Frazetta

Blazing Combat #1 (October 1965)

"Viet-Cong!"★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Joe Orlando

"Aftermath!"★★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Angelo Torres

"Flying Tigers!"★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by George Evans

"Long View!"★★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Gray Morrow

"Cantigny!"★★★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Reed Crandall

"Mad Anthony!"★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Tex Blaisdell, Russ Jones, & Maurice Whitman

"Enemy!"★★★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by John Severin

"Viet Cong!"

First Lieutenant Dave Crew is in Vietnam as a U.S. Army advisor to a South Vietnamese infantry battalion. They retaliate for a "Viet-Cong!" attack by raiding a village controlled by the enemy; though they find two men hiding and the South Vietnamese torture them, nothing is learned. It's hot and smelly in the jungle and Dave is not happy about having to stand by and witness torture, but all he can do is advise. He avoids mortars, bamboo spikes, a mine, and a charge by enemy soldiers and realizes that this is a new kid of war, unlike any the U.S. has fought before. He hopes we learn from our mistakes before it's too late.

In October 1965, the U.S. was getting bogged down in Vietnam but it was still early days, and the population as a whole had not yet started to engage in mass resistance and protests. DC War Comics were focused on WWII and, while the comics that month were very good (see our review here), they were not taking the same anti-war perspective that this first story in Blazing Combat asserts. Goodwin is no Harvey Kurtzman, and Joe Orlando is still not my first choice for anything, but the story is ahead of its time.

"Aftermath!"

During the Civil War, a rebel sharpshooter picks off a Union soldier and then helps the dead man's comrade bury the body so wild pigs don't feast on it. The two enemies become friends temporarily in the "Aftermath!" of violence, but it's not long before an argument breaks out and they end up killing each other, providing plenty of food for the marauding animals.

Torres is just right for this very EC-like story of the foolishness of war. At first, it seems to be going down one path, with the soldiers getting along, but I liked how the disagreement between them sprang almost from nothing and escalated quickly to a fatal finish. So far, Goodwin's war stories are impressing me more than his horror stories.

"Flying Tigers!"

The "Flying Tigers!" were a group of star American pilots recruited to defend the Chinese against the invading Japanese on the eve of WWII. The brainchild of General Claire Chennault, the Tigers engage the enemy successfully in air battle, but a pilot named Dallas complains that the people in charge are more concerned with shipping supplies than with sending spare parts to fix damaged aircraft. When Dallas is killed in a battle whose goal is to protect a supply plane, his friend Rick complains about the futility of war, but it turns out the supply plane that was saved carried none other than General Chennault!

I do like when a comic book story inspires me to go online and learn a little bit more about history, as this one did. George Evans's art is flawless, and he is the go-to guy for stories involving air battle, whether they are in the 1950s at EC, the 1960s at Warren, or the 1970s at DC. I'm happy to report that the decline in his work we are seeing in the '70s is not apparent as of 1965.

"Long View!"

It's hard to take the "Long View!" of war when you're on the front lines of battle. During WWII, the battle for the Marianas comes down to Hill 208, which a tired company of Marines is ordered to take on its own, despite heavy Japanese resistance. This hill is the key to breaking through enemy lines and, when battle comes, all of the Marines in the company are killed except for one, who sits alone on the hill, mumbling the names of his dead comrades, unable to see how this senseless slaughter helped advance the Allied cause.

More so than "Viet-Cong!," this story reminds me of something Kurtzman might have written at EC during the Korean War. Gray Morrow's art doesn't feel exactly right for a war story, but the narrative is strong and the message is clear. The fighting is depicted more violently than it was at DC in the fall of 1965.

American soldiers like George and Kansas arrived in France in June 1917 but didn't see combat for almost a year. While digging trenches outside "Cantigny!" they are summoned to attack Germans in the village. They make their way through fog and smoke, following a French tank into Cantigny, but all they find is a town that has been destroyed by shelling. Looking for a quiet spot to write a letter home, Kansas wanders into a gutted building and comes face to face with an injured German soldier. The two trade fatal gunshots and, later, George takes Kansas's letter book in order to complete the letter his dead friend never got to write.

"Cantigny!"

Every story Reed Crandall draws is a treat, and this is no exception. There is a wonderful sequence where Kansas is nearly buried under a pile of dirt after an explosion that foreshadows his death a few pages later. Once again, Goodwin successfully conveys the futility of war and the way it never seems to go as planned.

"Mad Anthony!"

A 1771 battle between the Colonists and the British at Paoli, Pennsylvania, turns into a rout when the British massacre the Colonists. The young general in charge of the losing side was none other than "Mad Anthony!" Wayne who, two years later, is summoned to New York by General Washington to attack the British at Stony Point. One of the soldiers on patrol comments that a British soldier attacked him after the Colonists had surrendered and cost him his right eye. The Colonists attack the British and this time are successful. The soldier who lost his eye at Paoli happens to come face to face with the British soldier who took out his eye; General Wayne insists that prisoners be taken alive, and is lauded for that, but no one said anything about foregoing an eye for an eye!

The art by the trio of Blaisdell, Jones, and Whitman looks out of place in this issue next to the work of Torres, Evans, Morrow, and Crandall, but somehow by the end of the story it works, perhaps because we've grown used to tales of the American Revolution being told in an old-fashioned way. The story is entertaining and the revenge carefully measured out. At five pages, it's the shortest story in the magazine ("Viet-Cong!" and "Enemy!" are seven pages and the others all run six), and the length seems just right for the content.

"Enemy!"

It's 1943, and the American Army is working its way up through Italy as the Nazis retreat. In one village, G.I.s find that Germans massacred an American patrol by herding them into a ditch and shooting them where they stood. As the G.I.s search the village, sniper fire opens up and soldiers are shot. A sergeant and another soldier locate the German sniper and the sergeant beats him to death, thinking the German was involved in the earlier massacre of American soldiers. The other soldier tells the sergeant he's as guilty as the Germans, but the sergeant is unrepentant and says that no one cares what happens to the "Enemy!" The Americans leave the German's corpse behind, and atop its chest is a wallet, open to a photo of the man's wife and baby.

That last panel really got me in the gut! John Severin is certainly among the best artists at drawing war stories--he can draw battle action and pathos equally well. I thought this gritty tale was the best of the bunch in an excellent issue and I'm looking forward to reading more Blazing Combat!-Jack

Peter: In the Jon Cooke/David Roach-edited The Warren Companion (TwoMorrows, 2001, page 40), Jim Warren declares that he was prouder of Blazing Combat than anything else he had ever published. It was ground-breaking; the first comics title to tackle the Vietnam war when it was a big no-no to do so. Warren also reveals that the short run of the title had to do with distributors cutting the title out due to its controversial view that our involvement in the war was wrong. Given that it's the pride of the publisher and under the watchful eye of super-editor Archie Goodwin, I'm surprised at how cold it left me. Archie does his best to get the "War is Hell" message across in each and every one of the seven tales but, to me, it comes off as preachy, something that Harvey avoided most of the time in Frontline and Two-Fisted. Only "Aftermath!" and, to a lesser extent, "Enemy!" come across as well-told tales that just happen to be about the horror and futility of war. It's nice to see that Archie was able to round up several of the Two-Fisted/Frontline gang, but perhaps what's needed is a bit of a helping hand in the script department. Don't get me wrong; my disappointment comes in comparing Blazing to the earlier EC titles. It's still miles above most of the pablum that was being presented by DC and the other code-approved publishers. Let's see how things shape up next issue.

Frazetta

Creepy #6 (December 1965)

"The Thing in the Pit!" ★1/2
Story by Larry Ivie
Art by Gray Morrow

"Thumbs Down!" ★★★
Story by Anne T. Murphy
Art by Al Williamson

"Adam Link in Business!" ★
Story by Otto Binder
Art by Joe Orlando

"The Cask of Amontillado!" ★★★
Story by Edgar Allan Poe
Adapted by Archie Goodwin
Art by Reed Crandall

"The Stalkers" ★★★
Story by Archie Goodwin
Art by Alex Toth

"Abominable Snowman!" ★★★
Story by Bill Pearson
Art by John Severin

"Gargoyle" ★1/2
Story by Archie Goodwin & Roy Krenkel
Art by Angelo Torres

"The Thing in the Pit!"

Ted White is on the run; he's just stolen a bag of cash from the boss's safe and he's speeding down a Tennessee backwoods road when he loses control of his car and crashes. Someone (or something) lifts him out of the car and carries Ted back to its lair. There, Ted is introduced to his saviors, a grotesquely mutated woman and her equally-skewed son, who invite the frazzled man to stay the night. Once he gets settled into his room, Ted hears a piercing scream emanating from the basement and is told by the woman that the sound came from her daughter, a girl so frighteningly ugly she's been kept in a pit in the cellar. Obsessed with viewing this unspeakable sight, Ted follows the woman's son down into the basement and is startled to see that "The Thing in the Pit" is a gorgeous (though obviously insane) dame. With visions of romance in his mind, Ted overpowers the son but is pushed into the pit by "Maw." Luckily, Ted is not hurt in the fall and he quickly locates a rope in the dark hole. Unluckily, Ted discovers the rope is actually a tentacle attached to his dream girl. We've seen dozens of variations on this plot and Larry Ivie's take is certainly nothing special. He takes the set-up from Psycho and then adds a dash of The Munsters for flavoring but no one's fooled. We all saw the reveal coming a mile away. The tentacles are a nice touch, though. Morrow's art is supremely Creepy, with his "Maw and son" looking like they'd just risen from the grave. Our hero's name is a tip of the cap from Larry to his buddy, Ted White, a head honcho in 1950s' science fiction fandom and, later, editor of Fantastic digest.

"Thumbs Down!"

In the ancient Roman city of Mithras, Cassius is the champion gladiator of ruler Bracchus, but Cassius has grown weary of the fight and asks his master to grant him freedom. Instead of freedom, the ruler gives his prize fighter a match in the arena with a bull. Cassius is gored and killed and Bracchus pays him no mind, already moving on to his next grand match: the Christians versus the lions. Drunken and wandering the arena one night, Bracchus hears a commotion and looks up to see the cage doors being lifted and the lions entering the pit. The doomed ruler looks up into his box and is terrified to see the decaying corpse of Cassius, who gives the classic "Thumbs Down!" sign when his former master begs his help. As with "Grave Undertaking" last issue, "Thumbs Down!" just vibrates with EC atmosphere; had Valor allowed horror stories, this one would have fit very comfortably between its covers. Yep, it's another simple revenge story, and perhaps it would not have had the requisite effect had it not been for the exquisite work of Valor vet Al Williamson, who penciled gladiators and their bloodsport better than any other artist of the era.

Reed Crandall's insanely detailed splash
for "Amontillado"

One of the easiest (and most boring) gigs in comic history, the re-re-telling of the Adam Link series by author Otto Binder and artist Joe Orlando (the same pair responsible for the EC "Link" series a decade before), continues with Chapter 3: "Adam Link in Business!," wherein the titular man of steel is saved from the electric chair and finds love in the form of the gorgeous Kay Temple. Adam thinks better before consummating his passion with Kay and, at story's end, he's a lonely robot again. The script, aside from a few minor tweaks, is the same as that of its first incarnation back in Weird Science-Fantasy #29 (June 1955). I didn't like the EC version (though at least it was presented in color) and I really don't like the Warren version. It's a downright dirty shame I'll have to read five more of these things before the editor wises up and pulls the plug. Yeccch.

The adaptations continue, but Reed Crandall's "The Cask of Amontillado!" is fine wine compared to Adam Link's Dr. Pepper. It's the classic tale of Montresor and Fortunato and the shenanigans they get up to over family pride and a fine wine. Of the handful of artists who would visualize Poe's terrors for us in the pages of Creepy and Eerie, none were as detailed and painstaking as Reed Crandall (though Bernie Wrightson may be "1B" to Reed's "1A"). Just gaze upon his splashes for evidence. The story would be dusted off and re-imagined by Martin Salvador in #70 (the second-part of a two-issue "All Edgar Allan Poe" special), but there's no comparison in quality.

Alex Colby imagines that a squad of alien beings is stalking him, showing up at the most inopportune times to ruin his social life. Alex finally decides to see a psychiatrist but it doesn't go well when the shrink transforms into one of "The Stalkers" midway through the session. Colby awakens from the madness to discover he's actually one of the aliens who's been on Earth too long and can't mentally shirk his human guise. A nice twist in the tail and some fabulous Toth art. Alex Toth was a lot like Will Eisner in that he wasn't comfortable with the typical six- to eight-panel page layout and always managed to pull off something memorable. In fact, the splash for "The Stalkers" reminds one of Eisner's classic Spirit intros, with the title almost becoming part of the scene.

John Severin joins his old company-mates at last with "Abominable Snowman!," a literally chilling adventure with a nifty twist in its finale. A group of Yeti-hunters are picked off one by one by what most perceive as "dumb apes," but the furry creatures are proving they may be more intelligent than their human stalkers. Severin still applies that strong, square chin to every character he draws, which is appropriate here since the group is made up of machismo-oozing dolts. So, what had "Jovial" John been up to in the decade since EC closed its doors? Like Joe Maneely and Russ Heath, Severin bounced back and forth between Atlas/Marvel and a heck of a lot of work for the chief MAD rip-off, Cracked (a magazine which begs a second look, if only for the quality of its contributors).

The last story this issue, "Gargoyle," is a lackluster affair, with a boring script and so-so art by Angelo Torres. Gerba, the dwarf, seems to know the power of turning stone into gold. He can also bring gargoyles to life to do his evil bidding. But the latter is not as important as the former to alchemist, Valdeux, who ingratiates himself into the dwarf's life and then betrays the little guy, only to discover the true secret of the gargoyle. A limp climax to a strong issue. On the letters page, future Warren contributor Frank Brunner weighs in on issue #5.  -Peter

More Crandall...
just because we can!

Jack: Now, that's more like it! I liked "The Thing in the Pit!" though I would have been hightailing it out of there as soon as Maw and Sonny Boy were out of sight. I always enjoy an Ancient Roman setting, so "Thumbs Down!" worked for me, especially with the fine art by Al Williamson. The Adam Link story was the best yet and Orlando's art didn't bother me as much as usual, though I think the story would've fit better in a DC Comic of the era. "The Cask of Amontillado!" is the best piece in this issue, in my opinion, with Reed Crandall at the top of his game. Goodwin's story in "The Stalkers" is weak but Alex Toth's art is amazing, as are his layouts and lettering. He may be the most unique creator working in the Warren line. "Abominable Snowman!" bored me, even though I like John Severin's work and think he was equally strong in the '50s, '60s, and '70s, unlike, say, George Evans. Finally, despite impressive art by Angelo Torres, "Gargoyle" was only so-so. Creepy #6 was a big improvement over #5.

Next Week...
The Boys are Back in Town
But can they recapture the old magic?

And in two weeks...

Journey Into Strange Tales! Atlas/ Marvel Horror! Issue 29

The Marvel/Atlas 
Horror Comics

Part 14

February 1952 Part I

Adventures Into Terror #8

"Enter... the Lizard" (a: Harry Lazarus) ★★★★
(r: Weird Wonder Tales #9)
"The Parasite"  (a: Bill Walton) ★★
"You Can Only Die Once" (a: Manny Stallman) ★1/2
(r: Beware #5)
"The Miracle" (a: Bill LaCava) ★ 
(r: Dracula Lives! #1)
"The Ones Who Laugh" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★

Doctor Charles Barris leads an expedition, which includes his fiancé, Kim, and (unbeknownst to Charles) Kim's lover, Brad Colton, into deepest, darkest Africa in search of the deadly Devil Lizard of Buango. Does the lizard actually exist? Good question. Legend has it that these creatures secrete a "weird" poison and the Doc just has to examine these secretions and share with the medical world his important findings. The crew come across the track of a giant lizard and, in true Atlas femme fatale fashion, Kim shrieks and grips tightly to Brad. The cat's out of the bag and Charles pulls his rifle on the couple, threatening to kill them for their adultery, but before the crazed man of medicine can get off a shot the trio are attacked by the giant Devil Lizard of Buango! Brad is bitten by the reptile and the Doc shoots it with a tranquilizer, then tells Kim (who's nursing the badly-injured Brad) that he's leaving them here to fend for themselves. Good luck!

Months later, as Dr. Barris sits in his lab, beaming with pride over the progress he's made in studying rare giant lizard spit, when the door flies open and in walks a badly-mutated and very perturbed Brad (who leaves a layer of skin on the knob as he closes the door!). The semi-Alligator man explains that Kim was eaten by a lion but that he managed to escape the fetid hell and make his way back to civilization, but now he's cursed with shedding his skin several times day and crawling on his stomach all day is getting him down. Barris explains that he understands the properties of the venom and that he can cure Brad but the witch doctor pulls a fast one on the naive young man and gives him an overdose of Buango Juice and Brad becomes a full-fledged Devil Lizard for the Doc's collection. Even as Barris smiles and pats himself on the back for getting full revenge, Buango Brad flicks his tongue and muses that someday Dr. Barris will be careless and when that day comes...

First of all, let me explain that four-star rating. Most of the Atlas yarns I read have very little enthusiasm behind them or derive the bulk of their plot line from some other source, be it Universal monster movies or Ray Bradbury tales, but "Enter... the Lizard" seems to be fueled more by either alcohol or a really good joke. The natural inclination, when thinking about inspiration, is to point to The Alligator People, the wretched but beloved low-budget SF flick starring Lon Chaney, but that flick didn't come out until 1959. "Enter... the Lizard" is a compact and never-less-than-enjoyable five pages of pure wack, perfectly visualized by Harry Lazarus, an artist I'm usually not all that fond of, but whose style perfectly meshes with the loony-tunes script. We don't want Graham Ingels for this job, no sir.

So many great moments: the doc whirling on the young lovers, rifle in hand, suddenly forgetting he's here to land the big lizard ("So, this is what's been goin' on while I was busy with my research!"); the crawling alligator-like Devil Lizard of Buango suddenly standing on two feet and launching itself at Brad like a jr. T-Rex; the revolting, but hilarious scene where Brad leaves a layer of skin (like a full-hand glove) on the Doc's door handle; Brad's hurried expository about Kim's run-in with a jungle king ("She was clawed by a lion, and when I felt this coming on I left her to die in the jungle and hurried back to civilization... forget about her... will you help me!"); and, last but not least, Brad's gradual descent into lizard life and speedy loss of gorgeous red hair. The last panels explain that Brad has lost every human memory except that of getting even (that one "revenge" cell in your brain is really strong, I guess), putting to bed five fabulous pages of bonkers storytelling and, again, reminding me why we love(d) these things so much. Oh, and I wouldn't doubt for a second that Stan remembered this story when he needed a new villain to fight his Amazing new superhero in 1963

"The Parasite"

Nothing in the four stories this issue that follow can even come close to matching the sheer joy I felt reading  "Enter... the Lizard" but there are snippets of interesting material scattered to and fro. "The Parasite" has some creepy Bill Walton noir art (similar in style to early Gene Colan) and an offbeat plot (prisoner tells guards his cellmate has an extra head sticking out of his torso that wants him to commit murder) but the dopey climax (the extra head is an emissary from Mars, here to lead an invasion, so of course he picks an inmate??) ruins whatever suspense the first two acts build. "You Can Only Die Once" loses any surprise by giving away its twist in the title (guy keeps botching his suicide but that's because... surprise!... he's already dead!) and its Manny Stallman art is hard to look at without skimming. "The Miracle" wastes creepy LaCava art on a two-pager about a dope who changes places with a ghost. Joe Sinnott reminds us why he's one of the favorite Marvel artists with his work on "The Ones Who Laugh," an otherwise forgettable variation on the overworked "man notices everyone else around him acting strange and then discovers it's because they are all aliens" motif. The story does reward the patient reader with a shocking, downbeat climax (knowing he's the last man on earth and the aliens are going to breed him to be food for their invasion, the protagonist leaps off a cliff) but then there's the problem of staying awake through the first five-and-a-half pages.

"The Ones Who Laugh"

Heath

 Astonishing #9

"The Little Black Box" (a: Bob Fujitani) ★★1/2 
"Who Dares to Enter?"  (a: Joe Maneely) ★1/2
"Where is Death?" (a: Don Rico) ★★
"The Luck of Louis Nugent" ★
"The Scientists" (a: Harry Lazarus) ★★★

Meek-as-a-mouse Gerald must deal with a monster of a wife and a dead end job and the pressure is mounting. Now he's dreaming of tying Belinda to the railroad tracks. Then one day a strange little package comes to him at work in the Post Office's "dead letter" office, a "Little Black Box" that somehow seems to change colors every now and then. Gerald becomes fascinated with the package and hides it in his overcoat to study at home. Unwrapping the package, he finds a curious camera-like gizmo that has the ability to duplicate objects Gerald points it at. Our hero gets the idea of cloning himself and then running away from Belinda to parts unknown with duplicated cash. Just then, the rightful owner of the contraption, Astro, from the year 2000, enters and tells Gerald he must get his invention back to the future but he has to take all the duplicates with him. Both Gerald claim they're the original so Astro picks at random and the real Gerald disappears into a void, musing that at least he doesn't have to deal with Belinda anymore. "And wait'll that guy I left in my place meets Belinda... Hah!"

"The Little Black Box" is a light-hearted little fantasy, the kind that Robert Bloch used to conjure up in his spare time for Imaginative Tales, with some primitive, but pleasing, art by Bob Fujitani. It's a nice change of pace that Gerald doesn't get to follow through on the murder of wife, Belinda, though he does contemplate it quickly near the climax. The final panel, a white space save for Gerald's proclamation about getting the better end of the deal, is pretty darn funny.

"Who Dares to Enter?," another three-pager that wastes the talents of Joe Maneely, tells the story of yet one more reporter who stumbles onto a haunted house. "Where is Death?" is another shorter piece, this one about sadistic seaman Kim Larsen, a sailor who has no problem killing or stepping to the front of the line for lifejackets when the ship is going down. Larsen's rep grows very strong after he's the sole survivor of the wreck of the Bengal Queen and his services come at a high fee. The captain of the Eastern Moon hires Larson but a few days out Satan appears before his favorite son and warns him that the ship will crash and Larson needs to get off. Larsen scoffs at the Prince of Darkness but, sure enough, the boat strays into the Sargasso Sea and Larsen is doomed to drift forever. A meandering 4-pager that doesn't seem to know where it's going; the funniest bit is when Satan (completely red, with horns, a cape and, ostensibly, a tail) confronts Larsen and the dopey tar asks, "Who the blazes are you to talk to me like that?" I like Don Rico's work; it's moody and noir-ish and (I've probably already stated this but...) it looks a lot like early Colan to me.

"The Luck of Louis Nugent" has been nothing but bad since his mother died in childbirth at the base his father was stationed at. Let's see, there was the train accident on the way home that left dozens dead, Louis' best friend who accidentally shot himself to death, the college dorm fire, and I'll bet you can guess where Louis was on the morning of December 7th, 1941! After months of disaster follow Louis and his platoon, a bright idea hits him and he deserts to the Nazis. Only Louis' C.O. and father know the truth. Well, you and I know as well. I'm not sure I've read a dumber story and feasted my eyes on blander and more boring art but the damn thing has a sly, parodic charm to it. I can almost see this as a skit on Saturday Night Live, with Dan Ackroyd narrating. The escalating disasters will cause you to giggle endlessly. How could our writer have missed the perfect final panel, that of Louis' body in Hitler's bunker?

In the finale, three scientists discuss how traveling back in time could affect the outcome of our present and future. Professor Green isn't buying the "butterfly effect" and sends a small brass ball hurtling 200 years in the past before his colleagues have time to halt him. The ball disappears and flies through time, eventually hitting an 18th-Century tailor on the head and killing him. The ball returns and Green offers proof that nothing has changed (well, except for their Victorian dress). Excited by his success, Green sets the way-back machine for 330 BC and the ball flies again, this time cutting in half the idol of Athena in Greece and halting the war with Babylon. The ball returns and the boys are, again, flush with success and exclaiming that nothing has changed (well, except that "The Scientists" are now dressed in togas and work near the pyramids. One final experiment for the day finds the ball hurtling through space to the dawn of time and cracking the first reptile to step out of the sea across the noggin. Reptiles become gun-shy and never again leave the safety of the water. When the ball returns, all three scientists observe it from the safety of their swamp. Direct from his success with "Enter. The Lizard!," Harry Lazarus gives us another five pages of sheer joy and laughter. Yeah, sure, Bradbury did it first (and better), but Ray's version was about as funny as a blind date with Charlie Sheen, so this particular variation sits just fine with me. According to GCD, Satn re-used this plot for "Those Who Change" in Amazing Adult Fantasy #10 (March 1962). I'll let you know what I think when we get to that issue in about ten years.

 Adventures Into Weird Worlds #2

"The Iron Door" (a: Joe Maneely) ★★★★
"The Eyes!" (a: Werner Roth) ★1/2
(r: Chamber of Chills #15)
"The Thing in the Bottle!" ★
"When a World Goes Mad!" (a: Al Hartley) ★★1/2
(r: Weird Wonder Tales #1)

In 4467 AD, man no longer has to worry about mundane chores like turning on the light switch or rising from your La-Z-Boy to visit the men's room. Thank Karra, the Mechanical Brain operates everything, from the underwater train trestle to the ships that take vacationers to Mars or Venus. An absolute paradise. Then one day it happens. The Brain shuts down and the couch potatoes begin to drown or perish without oxygen. Mass panic ensues, until a man named Vashto steps forward and tells the government leaders he's been off in a faraway land learning mechanics and he's certain he can fix the problem if he can get behind "The Iron Door." At first hesitant, the leaders eventually give in and open a portal which hasn't been cracked in the 2000 years since Karra built the Mechanical Brain and sealed it away from prying eyes. Vashto enters and finds an old man standing before the machine. He blasts the stuffy old codger and then exits the building, explaining to the government leaders that the saboteur has been eliminated. But, with his dying breath, Karra explains that the assassin was actually an emissary from Saturn, sent to kill him and pave the way for an invasion.

A wildly imaginative and (unfortunately prescient) science fiction tale, "The Iron Door" features groovy Maneely graphics and a whole lot of nice touches. The uncredited writer (Stan?) subtly alludes to the future with Karra's final monologue ("Vashto was our enemy, but you hadn't the brains to see it! I'm responsible! Karra made you give up thinking! This then is the price we must pay for making the machine our God... extinction") as well as to the past (the government symbol looks suspiciously like a Nazi logo), all the while taking stock in the growing trend of laziness and religious fanaticism ("Praise be to Karra, who invented the Mechanical Brain which feeds us and clothes us, warms us, cleans us and heals us! Through it we speak to one another! We have no existence without it!"). I complain about the really bad horror tales Atlas was pumping out by the tons but, when you stop to think about how many titles were being published (a mere 8 at this time but, within a year, that number will jump to 13!), it's a wonder a gem like this was even possible.

Coming back to Earth, we have the utterly predictable "The Eyes!," about a man who discovers a race of mutants living amongst us, who possess eyes in the back of their heads. When the creepies give chase, the man finds sanctuary at his best friend's house until... you guessed it, he discovers his bosom pal is one of them! Rinse. Wash. Repeat.

In "The Thing in the Bottle," a tough guy on the lam rents a room in a flophouse and discovers a bottle in his closet that comes equipped with a wish-granting genie. His first two wishes make him a handsome and wealthy man but his third, to be a genie, makes him miserable. This guy has to be the world's stupidest man, not taking into consideration that genies live in bottles! Some really rough art here. Finally, we get "When a World Goes Mad," a decent "what-if" about a science professor trying to teach his thick-headed students the theory of relativity and using a story about a giant monster in space who uses planets as snacks. The gargantuan cloud beast is eaten by an even larger creature in the end, thus supporting the egg-head's theory that there's always something bigger out there. The students laugh it off until the head out of class to discover a giant hand reaching for them. Despite the inevitable and utterly predictable final panel, I liked "When a World Goes Mad" and Al Hartley cooks up a goofy cloud-monster (think The Old Witch with a vapor trail) that keeps those pages turning and the smiles coming.

Heath

Marvel Tales #105

"The Spider Waits!" (a: Fred Kida) ★1/2
(r: Fear #11)
"In Little Pieces" ★
(r: Monsters on the Prowl #21)
"The Red Face" (a: Harry Lazarus) ★★
(r: Where Monsters Dwell #18)
"The Drop of Water" (a: Gene Colan) ★1/2
(r: Monsters on the Prowl #21)
"The Man Who Vanished!" (a: Joe Sinnott) ★★★
(r: Where Monsters Dwell #18)

Neither "The Spider Waits" nor "In Little Pieces" mine new ground. The former concerns a man who is deathly afraid of spiders but just loves to kill them. He meets a gorgeous dame in a bar and... I'll let you guess the rest. Fred Kida's art is easy on the eye and the obligatory "giant spider with a woman's head" panel is pretty creepy but Heath's fabulous cover promises terror that's never delivered. Ben Maijus discovers he has the power of life and death in his hands when he rips up photos of business rivals and they drop dead within 24 hours. Now on to that nagging wife.

Maurice Vallou has just been told by his sweetheart, Cecile,  that she's going to marry Maurice's cousin, Claude, instead. Maurice is a wealthy man and anything can be bought at Mardi Gras time in New Orleans so he hires a well-known assassin named Raveau to murder Claude. Raveau tells Vallou that he'll be dressed as Satan at the Mardi Gras and for Maurice to nod in the general direction of the man he wants killed but, come parade time, Claude and Cecile don't show up to the designated spot. Maurice bumps into his assassin and the man offers him a ride in his carriage. Once on board, Maurice discovers he's bumped into the real Satan and earned himself a fast track to hell! "The Red Face" has a very obvious twist but the story's humor (the panel where Stan loses his balance onboard the carriage and his hooves are revealed to Maurice is a hoot) and great Lazarus art make this an enjoyable read.

A scientist discovers that the tear drop he collected from a statue in the park, thirty years before, is a universal solvent. He's ecstatic beyond measure until he realizes he can't find anything to hold the substance, which eats through everything. Eventually, the scientist theorizes, it will dissolve the Earth. There's not much rhyme or reason to the three-page quickie, "The Drop of Water" (if the substance eats through everything, how is the professor able to capture it in a test tube and keep it there for decades?), but it's got the quickly-evolving art of Gene Colan, who's transforming his style right before our lucky eyes.

Willis Striker takes a fishing vacation the same time every year and stays at the same cabin every year. This year, though, when he shows up, the manager tells him there's an evil old man staying in the cabin and he can't get rid of him. His groundskeeper, Jud, went up to evict the old codger and never came back. Now, the manager is convinced the creepy old guy is in league with the devil. Willis heads up to the cabin and confronts the (admittedly homely) dwarf (albeit, dressed in his Sunday best) and, after a few cross words, the hunchback scampers off. Willis notices a nasty tree growing in front of the cabin and decides he's going to take it down but, after chipping a few pieces off and noticing the sap looks like blood, he leaves well enough alone.

But, then again, maybe he didn't. Striker discovers the sap has infected his arms, giving them a nice green tint. Promising himself he'll see a doctor the next day, Willis hits the sack but can't get to sleep so he rises for a smoke, only to discover he's entirely covered with green foliage and his limbs have become... limbs! Thinking that if he destroys the other tree outside, he'll revert back to jolly old Willis Striker, the half-crazed tree-man grabs an axe and heads out the door. Once he hits the ground though he becomes rooted and realizes the other tree must be groundskeeper Jud! As the transformation into gruesome tree concludes, the creepy hunchback returns to tend to his garden. Brilliantly gross and extremely disquieting, "The Man Who Vanished!" (a really dumb title) is a Joe Sinnott masterpiece. Striker's quick transmutation is so effective, we've forgotten al about the fact that we have no idea why this is happening or how long the cabin manager will wait to call the police. He's going to run out of paying customers eventually, you'd think. Who is the nattily dressed hunchback and why does he reserve his powers for that particular cabin? I want to know more! Stephen King tried a variation on this theme a couple decades later in "Weeds" (later filmed for the awful Creepshow), but that's not nearly as much fun as "The Man Who Vanished."

In Two Weeks...
Stan Lee beckons you...

Star Spangled DC War Stories! Special 150th Issue! July 1974

The DC War Comics
1959-1976
by Corporals Enfantino and Seabrook

Dominguez

Weird War Tales 27

"Survival of the Fittest!"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Frank Robbins

"The General"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Alfredo Alcala

"The Veteran"
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Paul Kirchner & Tex Blaisdell

Peter: A blood-thirsty Nazi sea captain enjoys sailing the seas and blowing defenseless ships out of the water, but when he destroys the Althea on December 7, 1941, he sets a strange space/time continuum vortex into motion. He discovers he'll spend the rest of eternity torpedoing the Althea and being saved by her in a loop. While Frank Robbins's art for "Survival of the Fittest!" really doesn't bother me (say, as much as the tired plot does), his layouts make me want to retch. You can't tell, from panel to panel, what the hell is going on and, by the last couple pages, you'll have given up anyway.

Frank Robbins goulash

"The General"

In the distant future, war has destroyed all but a few bands of marauding humans, one of which is commanded by a mysterious man known only as "The General." The commander of a rival gang makes it his life's work to seek out and destroy the General, even if it means forfeiting the lives of all his men. After torturing a prisoner, the Commander discovers the hideout of the General and invades the village, but what he finds will be fatal. Another of those 1970s' "the computers will someday rule the Earth" stories that became old very fast. "The General" climaxes with the reveal that the titular being is actually a General Electric digital computer. What a surprise. A seven-page tale that seems to last seventy. This is not one of Alfredo's standout jobs but then he wasn't given much to work with, since most of the story is talking heads.

In 2060, rocket ship commander Col. Corbin has been told by his doctors he's getting too old for space flight, but "The Veteran" feels he's still got what it takes, so he takes his ship (which is as close to resembling the Enterprise as is legally possible) for one more ride. Unfortunately, Corbin has to turn the reins over to his second-in-command when the flight does indeed get too hairy for him. After landing, the morose rocketeer reflects on a glorious career and considers retirement at the ripe old age of fifteen. "The Veteran" isn't a great story (the climax is a bit of a surprise but then there's no context to the reveal) but it sure beats the first two stories and it's nice to have a protagonist who isn't as comically sadistic as the Captain or the Commander. The Kirchner/Blaisdell art is pretty amateurish; the pair had pumped out the Little Orphan Annie syndicated strip since 1968 and that type of comic seems more suited to the pair's strengths than a SF space-opera.

"The Veteran"

Jack: Didn't we read another story with the same plot, perhaps in an EC comic? I'm sure I remember another one where the space pilot was washed up and at the end turns out to be a teenager. In any case, this issue was awful! I knew it had to be only a matter of time before we were subjected to art by Frank Robbins, since he's been doing some writing for the DC War books for a while. I can't figure out what editors at DC and Marvel saw in him in the '70s. He ruined Captain America and The Invaders. Oleck's story is a mash up of a few Rod Serling scripts, including "The Time Element," "Judgment Night," and "Lone Survivor." "The General" is a pretty weak effort by Alcala, but I admit I got a chuckle out of the General Electric logo--I did not expect it, despite the title.

Frank Thorne

Our Fighting Forces 149

"A Bullet for a Traitor!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by John Severin

"Trial by Combat"
Story and Art by George Evans

Jack: Still wandering in the desert, the Losers spot Ona riding in a Nazi jeep, cozying up to an officer! Before they have time to consider what this means, they witness a Nazi tank destroy a British jeep that is part of a convoy. The Losers help the rest of the British troops blow up the tank and are taken under the wing of British Col. Harcourt Allison, accompanying his troops back to headquarters.

From a nearby hill, Ona sees the Losers marching with the British and recognizes them. Five days later, Allison tells the Losers that they have been attached to his command for a special assignment: attack the Nazi camp as a distraction while Allison's troops target an ammo dump 18 miles away. At the Nazi camp, an officer named Johann professes his love for Ona, whom he met in Norway before the war, but Ona is stringing him along while she cares for her real love, a blinded soldier named Lars.

"A Bullet for a Traitor!"

The Losers succeed in their attack on the camp, but during the fighting Gunner discovers Ona in a tent with Johann. Gunner wants to give Ona "A Bullet for a Traitor!" but his feelings for her get in the way and he runs off, back to the Losers, who remain unaware that their former female member was found.

What a contrast between this enjoyable, well-illustrated story and the dreck found in this month's issue of Weird War Tales! Kanigher's soap opera/battle story held my interest but Severin really sells it with his skill at just about every aspect of comics. Of course, his Ona is not quite as va-va-voom as Frank Thorne's Ona, whose bust strains against her khaki shirt on the cover.

In the late spring of 1914, Baron von Eisen visits Craigh Loche in Scotland, intent on buying it and certain that Germany will soon conquer all of Europe. Pat and Angus, the feisty Scots who live in the castle, vow that not a single grain of earth there will be taken by force. Soon, war is raging and von Eisen becomes a zeppelin commander while Jock, who brought von Eisen to Craigh Loche, becomes a biplane pilot. In a terrible storm, the zeppelin sets out to bomb Scottish targets and Jock takes to the skies to defend his homeland. Jock manages to destroy the zeppelin and von Eisen's body falls to Earth on the grounds of Craigh Loche, where Pat and Angus refuse the dying man's command to bury his body on their land and instead throw him off the edge of a cliff into the sea below.

"Trial By Combat"

Whew! Nice to see George Evans still had it in 1974! This is a terrific story that rewards careful, close reading. His art is the best I've seen in some time and the plotting is perfect, putting the dying German in the hands of the vengeful Scots for a final act of rebellion. "Trial By Combat" is a candidate for my list of best stories of the year!

Peter: Ona's bumping into all sorts of men she knew before the war; makes you realize just what a small war it was. This was a bit of a 'tweeter to me, as if Big Bob were spinning his wheels a bit to s-t-r-e-t-c-h this saga out a couple more issues. Gunner finds Ona but he won't let the other Losers know, so ... what?, he's going to lead them on a wild goose chase trying to find her? Doesn't make much sense to me. "Trial by Combat" was a few pages too long for my tastes but at least it spotlights better art by George, who'd been slipping the last several months. His art here very much resembles that of John Severin. Archie doles out the good news on the letters page that he and Alex Toth (with whom he'd teamed up on the triumphant "Burma Sky" a few months before in OFF #146) have a story coming up set at Midway. Can't wait for that!

Kubert

Our Army at War 270

"Spawn of the Devil"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by George Evans

"Lifeless!"
Story by Robert Kanigher
Art by Ric Estrada

Jack: From out of a dense fog comes the latest member of Easy Co.: a soldier named Havok, who feels no remorse when a grenade he throws kills an innocent farmer and child. Nazi soldiers attack and Havok is killed by a grenade blast--or is he? Though he was left for dead, he catches up with Easy Co. a few minutes later, seemingly in good health. Another skirmish ensues and, once again, Havok is killed, this time by a bullet through his helmet. Not long after that, Havok is back, appearing unscathed. Havok is pinned under a beam when a farmhouse is destroyed in battle. He begs Rock to finish him off, but when the farmhouse is engulfed in flames, the men of Easy Co. see a demonic figure rush into the sky holding Havok. Rock tells everyone to forget what they just saw.

"Spawn of the Devil"

At least, I think that's what happened! I guess Weird War Tales must have been selling well enough, despite its uneven quality, to influence Our Army at War. It's hard to understand how George Evans's art can be so uneven in two books released around the same time. The art for "Spawn of the Devil" is certainly below average, though better than what we got from Frank Robbins this month. Were there uncredited inkers helping out? It's hard to believe the folks behind the Grand Comics Database would not have uncovered them, if so.

A spaceman from Earth is exploring the universe, looking for signs of life. He lands on a planet that appears to be "Lifeless!" He encounters an alien spaceman and the duo shoot and kill each other with their ray guns, leaving the home base for both the Earthman and the alien unaware that there is life anywhere but on their own planets.

Ric Estrada will never be the solution to an issue with bad art, since his pages are simplistic and tend toward the Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic. This is an unusually poor entry in Kanigher's Gallery of War series, which could be so much better if drawn by someone like Heath, Severin, or Kubert.

"Lifeless!"

Peter: Trying to slip one of those supernatural sagas into our regular diet of new recruits, Big Bob instead serves up a half-baked pan of gobbledygook that had me scratching my head repeatedly throughout its interminable twelve-page life. What's Kanigher's point? Is there a deep underlying message here I'm not getting? What is the purpose of Havok (subtle!) gunning down innocents? To remind us that war is hell? "Spawn of the Devil" is one dumb Rock tale. "Lifeless!" is an apt title for Big Bob's latest Gallery of War story, a pointless SF saga that proves Kanigher should have kept his excellent series stocked with down-to-Earth war stories rather than jumping on the latest fad. Not a good issue of Our Army.

Next Week...
In the 3rd Issue of the Warren Report...
EC-style battle tales!