The Undead Thread: Pre-Code Horror 21 21

[Jayman]

Having a bad day in Ohio? Can't be worse than this guy's day!

Hope things get better!

 

No day could be worse than splitting in two while preparing to inject your groin with a needle filled with mystery drugs.

 

Well this guy picked the wrong day to join the car pool!

 

[precodekeith]

... mystery drugs.

 

Well, that part doesn't sound half bad right now ...

[Fantastic Thor]

Working on my sub-genre of "People caught in spiderwebs" covers...

Two new additions!

 

Nice. Spiderwebs

 

 

both very nice books!

The # 8 is wonderfull !!

 

T

[precodekeith]

I'm partial to that Marvel Tales... (thumbs u

[dannyboy]

 

 

 

Man, I thought my MT 105 was nice - but this one is stunning. Very sharp.

 

 

[Jayman]

Just added to my spiderweb covers!

 

[Mio]

Just added to my spiderweb covers!

 

 

Sweet! I've never seen that one before.

[TheShadowKnows]

Nice books Jayman!!

 

I too have that sub collection of giant spider covers going. There are a ton of them!!

 

Here's my list. Can you add any?

 

Ace Web Of Mystery #8

ACG Adventures into the Unknown #33

Atlas Adventures Into Terror #15

Atlas Marvel Tales #105

Atlas Uncanny Tales #26

Avon Witchcraft #3

Harvey Witches Tales #12

Standard Out Of The Shadows #10

Star Publications Startling Terror Tales #11

Weird Comics #18

 

Ah......I can! You left out one of the best! My first PreCode book....

Startling Terror #11

 

 

Nope, I had that listed and already have that covered!

 

Which book do you like better this or the suspese 8?

[shiverbones]

For me I like the Startling better then the Suspense, but I love them both.

[Jayman]

Which book do you like better this or the suspese 8?

 

That's a tough one as I never had a Suspense #8 and the ST #11 is in a slab.

But based on cover alone I think the Suspense is better!

[rjpb]

Suspense #8 has a moodier cover and the lack of text makes it very appealing - but the prominence of the spider skull and the bloody teeth give the Startling an edge when it comes to selling the horror.

 

At the end of the day, I prefer the Suspense because in general I like the mid 40's continental stuff more than the 50's Star books.

[Jayman]

Believe me I'm a horror guy through and through but I actually think the skull spider looks more menacing on the Suspense along with the cover layout being designed better. The stiff male figure on the ST #11 kinda bugs me too compared to the more dynamic poses on the suspense.

[rjpb]

Neither of the human figures on the Startling are among Cole's better work. While he did do some phenomenal covers for Star - some of the output looks rushed - which is not surprising given the sheer volume he did. Has anyone added up how many covers he produced in 1952-53?

[Scrooge]

Received a copy of Battle 23 today and noticed an ad for Menace 7 but the image looked off, not quite what I remembered ... sure enough after a quick check, there are differences as commonly there are between the ad version and the final published version.

 

In the ad version, the man's face and fingers are melting whereas the published version sticks with a human representation. This is bizarre since the Code wasn't yet breathing down their necks yet

[shiverbones]

those melting fingers are CREEPY!

[shiverbones]

Believe me I'm a horror guy through and through but I actually think the skull spider looks more menacing on the Suspense along with the cover layout being designed better. The stiff male figure on the ST #11 kinda bugs me too compared to the more dynamic poses on the suspense.

 

I feel the same way about the face on the Suspense, it looks a bit stiff to me.

[*paull*]

I prefer the Suspense 8 cover to STT 11. In my opinion, STT #11 is a bit overrated compared to the Sci-Fi classic trio and his better Star covers. Cole's Star output ranged from stellar to sub-par. Thrilling Crime #49 and Startling Terror Tales #5 (Gruesome Demon of Terror) is a killer Star cover while others such as Startling Terror #14 aren't so hot.

[Scrooge]

those melting fingers are CREEPY!

 

I hope they are not going to creep you out for the night in the house as the owner

 

[rjpb]

Received a copy of Battle 23 today and noticed an ad for Menace 7 but the image looked off, not quite what I remembered ... sure enough after a quick check, there are differences as commonly there are between the ad version and the final published version.

 

In the ad version, the man's face and fingers are melting whereas the published version sticks with a human representation. This is bizarre since the Code wasn't yet breathing down their necks yet

 

Interesting - though Atlas wasn't known for having the most horrific covers, they usually didn't shy away from that sort of thing. I wonder if the change was last minute because someone thought it looked kind of goofy with the melting face?

[precodekeith]

Received a copy of Battle 23 today and noticed an ad for Menace 7 but the image looked off, not quite what I remembered ... sure enough after a quick check, there are differences as commonly there are between the ad version and the final published version.

 

In the ad version, the man's face and fingers are melting whereas the published version sticks with a human representation. This is bizarre since the Code wasn't yet breathing down their necks yet

 

Interesting - though Atlas wasn't known for having the most horrific covers, they usually didn't shy away from that sort of thing. I wonder if the change was last minute because someone thought it looked kind of goofy with the melting face?

 

So cool. Looks awesome with the white cover, too! (I'm sure it was never intended to be white, though.)