favorite bronze horror stories/themes?

[bronze_rules]

Here's an attempt to expand on bronze horror (and certainly there's opportunity for other genres). But how about discussing some favorite stories in bronze. I hear a lot about the aparo story from HOM where the kid turns into a monster. But I don't hear of many others.

 

One story that I really liked (and darnit for the life of me I can't recall the exact issue), was the one where this sales guy makes a wrong turn and ends up finding this house where an old man makes those little snow balls that you can shake around, often seen at xmas.

The sales guy gets greedy and kills the old guy because he won't sell it. Then some children find a ball and shake it, and the greedy salesman is trapped inside.

 

There were a lot of derivatives of the same theme. The sales guy who wanted the train engineer's toys and he wouldn't sell, so he killed him for them. The sales guy who wanted the lifelike toy bears, so he killed for them. So many reused themes in bronze, and likely extend back to golden age. Anyone think there were (are) an infinite number of archetypal plots, or are there a finite set with only derivatives?

 

What other prevalent themes did you find recurring, and what were some of the best?

 

[bronzilla]

Howzabout the Arrogant Blow hard that was allways spending the night "on a dare" usually in a haunted house?

He allways had a hot Babe with him, and he was allways stupidly in denial as all kinds of Ghostly things were going on around him!!

[bronzilla]

Over all my favorite Horror of the Bronze Age was the Gothic Romance type that was in Sinister House Of Secret Love, Dark Mansion Of Forbidden Love,Haunted Love, and the few DC horror Comics that that theme ran in Breifly!

The Whole Gothic thing died out too rapidly for me!

I loved that stuff!!

[bronzilla]

"Crickets chirping"

[bronze_rules]

Yep, saw that a lot in both marvel reprints as well as DC. Thanks for chiming in. For a minute there, I thought this thread was DOA just as other posters wondered why there were no more topics in bronze age to be discussed. There's got to be more to bronze love than just artwork and covers... As a kid, I fell for both the art and story-lines.

[Zonker]

I lost the links to my "Overlooked Bronze Age Readers" thread of a few years ago once I changed ISP, but just now retrieved the scans from my hard drive.

 

I think Jack Oleck revisited the technique of twisting the reader's expectations of who's the devil / who's the angel, but none better than in this short story with Wally Wood art (HoS #96)

 

 

 

 

[Jayman]

Nightmare from HoM #186 was one of my favorites!

 

Other recurring themes were:

Those meddlesome kids on the early Adams HoM covers!

The hunter/explorer ignoring tribal laws or killing to obtain treasure/jewels and end up getting cursed.

I seem to remember a few that had the ghost of an animal come back for vengence, ie. haunted hound.

[bronze_rules]

That's amazing! I was just thinking of this one. It actually reminds me of a famous twilight zone episoe, where the patient was normal and all the doctors/nurses were monsters. "Eye of the beholder," I believe it was. I think TZ came much earlier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eye_of_the_Beholder

 

 

I lost the links to my "Overlooked Bronze Age Readers" thread of a few years ago once I changed ISP, but just now retrieved the scans from my hard drive.

 

I think Jack Oleck revisited the technique of twisting the reader's expectations of who's the devil / who's the angel, but none better than in this short story with Wally Wood art (HoS #96)

 

 

 

 

[shiverbones]

a lot of the Fleischer/ Fradon or Fleischer/ Alcala stories from around #219-#240 or so are actually really dark and very well done. The Worm in 224, or the one with the old lady planting the body parts, I forget the issue.

 

Ghosts #63 has an awesome burning ghost bride story

[bronze_rules]

a lot of the Fleischer/ Fradon or Fleischer/ Alcala stories from around #219-#240 or so are actually really dark and very well done. The Worm in 224, or the one with the old lady planting the body parts, I forget the issue.

 

Ghosts #63 has an awesome burning ghost bride story

 

For some reason, I never really liked ghosts as much as the other house type mysteries.

I think for me personally, it felt like all of the ghosts stories had practically identical ghost themes, whereas the house titles and some others had more diversity in theme.

 

Only when I returned to collecting years later, did I really appreciate the ghosts artwork as much.

 

Yes, I really like all of the alcala stories.

[JohnT]

One story that I really liked (and darnit for the life of me I can't recall the exact issue), was the one where this sales guy makes a wrong turn and ends up finding this house where an old man makes those little snow balls that you can shake around, often seen at xmas.

 

Just read that story in the last few weeks. Must have bought that issue recently...can't think what it was...gonna drive me crazy.

[shiverbones]

a lot of the Fleischer/ Fradon or Fleischer/ Alcala stories from around #219-#240 or so are actually really dark and very well done. The Worm in 224, or the one with the old lady planting the body parts, I forget the issue.

 

Ghosts #63 has an awesome burning ghost bride story

 

For some reason, I never really liked ghosts as much as the other house type mysteries.

I think for me personally, it felt like all of the ghosts stories had practically identical ghost themes, whereas the house titles and some others had more diversity in theme.

 

Only when I returned to collecting years later, did I really appreciate the ghosts artwork as much.

 

Yes, I really like all of the alcala stories.

 

same here, as a kid, I hated ghosts. It was much later I started to appreciate them There was an era between #40-#70 or so which was really well done.

[Zonker]

I always considered Ghosts 2nd rate compared to HoM / HoS. I think it was because for the 1st half of its life, Ghosts was edited by Murray Boltinoff, instead of one of those great DC artist/editors Orlando or Giordano. As a result, you have almost every issue with a story drawn by John Calnan The writers in Boltinoff's stable were a notch below Orlando's as well: guys like Leo Dorfman, George Kashdan, Boltinoff himself (sometimes under a pseudonym).

 

I feel the same way about Boltinoff's Unexpected. Once you got past the beautiful Cardy covers, you were usually disappointed.

 

Once Boltinoff retired and Orlando got promoted around 1980, the former assistant editors Levitz, Harris, etc. took over and all the titles became pretty interchangable. My favorite issue of Ghosts from that period is #88, with an early Michael Golden story.

[bronzilla]

I remember reading the Monster Years ago, Its a classic!!

I love the Moral Theme and the Twist ending. It definitly reminds me of the old ECs in that Regard!

Thanks for Posting it Zonker and bringing back a fond memory!!

[Kree_boy]

For me...its anything with Werewolves...for some reason I like those stories over all others.

 

In Secrets of Sinister House #16

Theres a story that starts off about a dog being left in the woods by his owner...the father explains to he son that he had only let him keep him for the summer...and that the dog would find food on its own..

 

After being attacked by a pack of dogs...he earns his place in the pack..

then they cut away to the pack of dogs running thru the small nearby town...and mauling a guy thats shooting at them...

 

The Local Sherrif Follows the tracks to an old abandoned shack...to find an old man living there with his dog.

Sherrif wants the dog..old man says no...Sherrif says he will be back with a warrent to take the dog.

After the Sherrif leaves the old man turns to the dog and says we cant let that happen..

 

Cut away to the Sheriff sitting on his bed...a large dog crashes thru the window...the Sherrif fights it off...and the dog runs with the towns people in pursuit....

 

They follow the dog all the way back to the old shack...and see the dog in the window and shoot..

 

When they reach the house..they find the old man on the floor...and the towns people blame the Sherrif for shooting the old man...untill they look at his hands and instead of hands see paws...and realize he was a Werewolf...

 

the Werewolf twist endings are always great...

 

MAN...that would have been easier to scan the pages...but my scanner isnt large enough for that.

[Jayman]

 

Killer Croc origin?

 

From Wikipedia:

Waylon Jones is born with a medical condition that caused him to grow progressively more like a crocodile. In the comics his intelligence level has varied from competent schemer to berserk monster.

[Jayman]

For me...its anything with Werewolves...for some reason I like those stories over all others.

 

An old purchase but since I'm into horror titles and monsters I couldn't pass this page up that has roughly 27+ werewolves on it! It's an Unexpected page by Jess Jodloman from a story entitled "Moonlight and Laughter". As a bonus it includes Madame Xanadu in two panels!

 

[Kree_boy]

For me...its anything with Werewolves...for some reason I like those stories over all others.

 

An old purchase but since I'm into horror titles and monsters I couldn't pass this page up that has roughly 27+ werewolves on it! It's an Unexpected page by Jess Jodloman from a story entitled "Moonlight and Laughter". As a bonus it includes Madame Xanadu in two panels!

 

 

 

[bronze_rules]

nice page jayman.

 

So far we have

1) Greedy people who kill toy inventors and get their comeuppance.

2) Kid who is dared to go in haunted house that really is haunted.

3) Gothic Romance (usually mystery murder love drama type?).

4) Greedy explorer/archaeologist that ignores villagers and gets retribution

(Indiana Jones anyone?).

5) werewolves ...

 

p.s. one werewolf story I really loved was (gasp a marvel) from crypt of shadows 8, which in turn was completely reprinted from uncanny tales (I have a photo comparison somewhere on the horror thread). It was about a werewolf who offered the town's best rower to take him across the river, and he would pay him in gold. The only catch was that the rower couldn't let a drop of water fall on the werewolf, or else the werewolf would lose his rational behavior and kill the man. The man took the deal and made it all the way across.. until... just at the shallow end of the destination, it started to rain.

 

One other theme I haven't seen mentioned is the well known archetype of the Faustian bargain. Very predominant in bronze horror.

 

Let's get some others!

 

 

[precodekeith]

A favorite story besides "The Demon Within" would have to be "Hoppin' Down the Bunny Trail" from Unexpected 202.

 

As for themes, I LOVE the snoopy kids who are always spying on some sort of sinister activity. A predominate theme on DC BA covers.