Halloween's the Time for HORROR! (Horror COMICS, that is!)

Before videogames came along, comics (and tv...and movies) were said to be the contributing factors to...gasp...
JUVENILE DELINQUENCY!

I say...CELEBRATE the stuff your grandparents said would warp your parents' minds!

After all, they turned out OK, didn't they?

Didn't they?

Oh, well...

What could be more appropriate for Halloween than the frightening images of Horror Comics of the 1950s on t-shirt, hoodies, mugs, and other kool kollectibles?

Are you ready to be scared? Click Now...if you dare!

Space Hero Saturdays SPACE DETECTIVE "SpaceShip of the Dead!"

We're about to join Avenger (aka Space Detective) and Teena...

...as they begin their final published adventure, fighting crime in a future time!

Don't worry Teena, you'll meet up with Beast Man and Vulcan Woman sooner than you think...like NOW, by clicking HERE for Part 2 and HERE for Part 3!

Though the writer and inker are unknown, the penciler of this kool 3-part tale (and the b/w inside front cover synopsizing this tale) from Avon's Space Detective #4 (1952) is Gene Fawcette.

Blending the hard-boiled gumshoe, sci-fi and superhero genres, Space Detective burst onto the comics scene in 1951.

Future-era wealthy philanthropist Rod Hathway and his secretary Dot Kenny fight interplanetary evil and helped the innocent as Avenger and Teena using the methods of 1940s gumshoes combined with the technology of the far future!

Blasters instead of revolvers!

Personal jetpacks instaed of taxis!

Stories, whose titles included "Opium Smugglers of Venus" and "Bandits of the Starways", delivered fast-paced action.
And you can read the complete four-issue Space Detective saga by clicking HERE!

Weird Trivia:

1) Despite the fact that neither character wore a mask, nobody ever commented "hey, ain't you that famous Hathway guy?" or somesuch.

(Maybe they were too busy looking at Teena's cleavage?)

2) Nobody ever calls Rod "Space Detective"! He's always called "Avenger".

3) The original user of the name "Avenger", a Doc Savage-style pulp/comic character, hadn't been published since 1944.

The trademark had lapsed, so it was used on this unrelated character from a different company.

This sort of thing is far more common in comics/pulps than you might think.
In fact, only a few years after the final issue of Space Detective, a new Avenger (a Russkie-smashing superhero) popped up, as shown HERE!
And, in fact, Rod Hathaway wasn't even the first "Space Detective"!
There was another one, Lance Lewis: Space Detective, published by Nedor Comics, a few years earlier, as shown HERE!

However, he was only a back-up strip, and never had his own book, though he was featured on the cover of Startling Comics for a while!

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Taylor Illustrated History

Science Fiction Comics 

Friday Fun CALLING ALL KIDS "Twinkle...Helps on Halloween"

Here's a character you've likely never heard of....

...in a tale from Parents Magazine Press' Calling All Kids #13 (1947).

And, yes, he's an actual star, like our own Sun, except he's now manifesting as a humanoid with limited mystical abilities.

Just go with that...

Debuting in the second issue of Calling All Kids, Twinkle not only ran for the remainder of the book's existence, but was reprinted in the same publisher's Childrens' Digest and Humpty Dumpty Magazine in the 1950s and 60s!
Once the Halloween season is over, we'll re-present his "origin" story!
BTW, despite the indicia above saying Quality Comics was a subsidiary of Parents Magazine Press, it wasn't.
Quality was only the editorial content packager and printing agent for Parents' comic book line, nothing more.

Haunted House Reading Room TORCHY "Haunted House Party"

We end this week's Haunted House Reading Room-fest with one of the most popular...

..and politically-incorrect female characters of the Golden Age!

Torchy Todd wasn't quite a stereotypical blonde bombshell!
She did have a brain, and could extricate herself from most situations!
But her main attribute was how often she could end up in "cheesecake" poses, usually showing off her legs!
Created by noted good-girl writer/artist Bill Ward, Torchy had a long career during the Golden Age as a back-up strip in Quality's Modern Comics, Doll Man Quarterly, and her own 10-issue title!
Eventually, Ward moved away from the strip and others (including Gill Fox, who wrote and illustrated this never-reprinted tale from Modern Comics #98 [1950]) tried to fill his high-heeled shoes!

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Glamour Girls of Bill Ward

PG-13/NO Nudity

Wednesday Worlds of Wonder WALKING DEAD "Beginning of the End" Conclusion

When Last We Left the Former Law-Enforcement Officer Battling Zombies in a Post-Apocalyptic World...

...no!
Not that LEO..

...this LEO!
Mortally-wounded Sgt Joe Barker faces off with zombie leader (Yes, the zombies in this universe have a leader!) Jak...

The final scene of the final issue of Aircel's Walking Dead (#4 in 1990) truly defines "apocalyptic" as everyone (live and undead) is now kaput!
There are two more short tales involving different groups of characters than the main series.
You'll see them over the next few weeks.
Created by writer/artist Jim Somerville and published by Malibu/Aircel in 1989, it was vastly-different from the 2003-present graphic novel series created by writer Robert Kirkman, and artists Tony Moore & Charles Adlard..
For collectors, there's good news and bad news...

Good news: There's only a four-issue mini series and a one-shot Special to collect!

Bad news: Because it didn't sell well (and has never been reprinted), it's HTF (hard to find) and expensive!

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Mammoth Book of

Zombie Comics