Reading Room / Tales Twice-Told TERROR TALES "Horror Bugs"

Last Tuesday, We Presented a Frightening Future by Simon & Kirby HERE!
Now, We Present Another Artist's Version of That Same Story!

Illustrated by Antonio Reynoso, this retelling from Eerie Publications' Terror Tales V5N6 (1973) of Simon & Kirby's "Slaughter-House" shows the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) of editor Carl Burgos.

• Find an old story from a now-defunct publisher that hadn't been reprinted since the 1950s.
• Use the original script almost verbatim, usually making a couple of changes in the opening and closing narratives and assigning it to one of the team of talented South American artists hired to work at rates lower than US illustrators!
• "Update" it, making technology and aliens look like what tv/movies were currently showing.
• And, in this case, making one of the primary characters in the originally all-White cast a Black guy!

Curiously, though most of these reworked versions were reprinted throughout the publisher's various titles, usually a year after the previous publication, this story was only run once!

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The Worst of Eerie Publications

Monday Moon Madness ASTONISHING "Menace from the Moon!"

We're planning to send humans back to the moon in the next few years.

Is that really such a good idea???

OK, this tale from Atlas' Astonishing #5 (1951), written by Hank Chapman and illustrated by Cal Massey is a tad silly.

They claim the ship was lost five years earlier, yet speculate the crew was still alive and coming home?
C'mon, even a kid in the 1950s would find that concept...well...DUMB!!!
(And that's being polite!)

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Reading Room WORLD OF SUSPENSE "Men in Glass"

This tale is about a recent immigrant to our shores...

...and how his actions have consequences for both the United States...and the entire Earth!

The Star Spangled Banner has always been a difficult tune to sing, but who knew it could be used as a weapon?

Illustrated by Don Heck, this never-reprinted tale from Atlas' World of Suspense #5 (1956) takes the "high note can shatter glass" trope to a whole new level.
OTOH, if the aliens' helmets had been made of plastic or "transparent aluminium" or some such instead of glass, we'd all be chanting "Hail Zarki!"

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Monday Madness BEDLAM "Earth Invasion"

Trumpanzees and other conspiracists should read this kick-butt piece...

...and then we'll witness if they feel like going out and shooting someone!

Well?

Ready to grab those AR-15s and slaughter the local populace?

Why not, kids?

Wackadoodles have used the "pop culture" causes violence trope for over a half century, from the "comics cause teen crime" insanity of the 1950s to the "violent videos" of the 80s and 90s, to the video games of today.

Think About This: If violent video games (supposedly) cause people to become insane killers, why do countries like Japan, with far more violent video game content, have far less crime (including shootings) than America?

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Video Game Debate

Unravelling the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects of Digital Games

Reading Room WORLD OF FANTASY "Frightened Ones!"

Ever hear the phrase "It's all a matter of perspective"?
This never-reprinted tale from Atlas' World of Fantasy #4 (1956) validates it!

Penciled (and possibly inked) by Mike Sekowsky, this short proves "there's always someone bigger than you"!

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Science Fiction Comics

Taylor History of Comics

Vol 3

Reading Room ALIEN ENCOUNTERS "Invasion!"

Hostile, technologically-advanced aliens are coming our way!

Can we defeat them in only two pages?

The "menacing aliens are no threat because they're too small" trope is an old one, going back to golden-age comics.

My personal favorite, because of its' simple, effective storytelling by one of my all-time favorites, can be found HERE!

This never-reprinted Tim Truman written/illustrated "sci-fi Western" tale is from Eclipse's Alien Encounters #4 (1986).

There's a wealth of material from 1980s anthologies that has not seen the light of day since publication, and we will dip into this treasure trove of material as we find/acquire them!

BTW, "Fer SRB" on page 1 refers to fellow writer/artist Stephen R Bissette, presumably because the aliens resemble his creature designs.

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Scout

Volume 1

by Timothy Truman

Reading Room UNUSUAL TALES "Man Who Could Paint on Air"

With an intriguing cover like this...

...how could I resist running this rarely-seen tale by writer Joe Gill and artist Steve Ditko!

This story of artistic alien assassins and poisonous pigments appeared in Charlton's Unusual Tales #7 (1957) during one of Steve Ditko's most prolific periods as he freelanced for several companies including Atlas (later Marvel), Charlton, and St John doing a little in every genre...even romance!

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Creativity of Ditko

Reading Room VANGUARD ILLUSTRATED "Guest"

I love alien invasion stories...

...but, no matter how well humans prepare or how lucky we Earthlings are, not all of them have a happy ending.

E.T. the Extraterrestrial had come out over a year earlier, creating a new genre of "cute/cuddly/harmless alien visitors" that made unwary humans complacent.

Writer/artist Darren Auck's never-reprinted cautionary tale from Pacific's Vanguard Illustrated #2 (1984) was one of several rather...visceral...responses to it.

Enjoy.

BTW, Darren Auck is best known as a humor artist, writing and illustrating a number of tales for Marvel's What the--? (a humorous version of What if...?) and Ren & Stimpy!

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Vanguard Illustrated #1-6 Set

There's only one set available...and it's at a bargain price!

Reading Room SENSATION MYSTERY "Vengeance of the Invisible Men!"

Here's a kool, never-reprinted, 1950s sci-fi tale...

...using a combination of different genre cliches!

Illustrated by the legendary Murphy Anderson, this story from DC's Sensation Mystery #110 (1952) combines the following cliches:

Glasses that enable somone to see things nobody else can see!

Creatures from the center of the Earth rising up to attack up!

A heroic human in alien/creature form stopping the enemy from destroying/enslaving humanity!

All of which leads me to believe the unknown writer of this tale is Gardner Fox, who was also working for DC as well as being well-versed in such concepts because he was both an established pulp and paperback novelist and an avid sci-fi fan!

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Mysteries in Space

The Best of DC Science Fiction Comics