The Undead Thread: Pre-Code Horror

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wow, that 5 through 10 would look like most peoples 1-5!

I really am enjoying this, I may be tempted to do one for overlooked gems. Love the format too!

OK my guess for your top 5

1. Tomb Of Terror #15

2. Haunt of Fear #12 or 17, tough call

3. Weird Tales of the Future #3 or Maybe Beware #10

4. Spellbound #17

5. Weird Tales of the Future #8/ Voodoo annual #1 tough call

on "The Horror! The Horror!" I have been reading it more, and while there is not much text, he does have a lot of interesting things to say. He really digs into the meanings of the cover images further than I have. Maybe he reads too much into them sometimes, but I do like his approach.

#7

Weird Mysteries - no.5

 

You knew this list wasn’t complete without this one right?

Here we go with another heavy hitter! Even though this scene is disgusting, it appears to of been drawn with care. The rendering of the face, brain and the stipple-like hatching on the inside of the head, Bernard Baily gave this drawing a lot of love!

 

It seems to be an ongoing debate whether this is a human or a primate. I think it is the “cut-off” nose that makes it look possibly like a gorilla? Who knows? I bet the publisher and artist would think it was crazy that we are actually giving it this much thought. Whatever is going on here, this is one of the best (and expensive ) Precodes out there!

don't forget the rainbow colored bubbles, I love that part!

wow, that 5 through 10 would look like most peoples 1-5!

 

I really am enjoying this, I may be tempted to do one for overlooked gems. Love the format too!

 

OK my guess for your top 5

 

1. Tomb Of Terror #15

2. Haunt of Fear #12 or 17, tough call

3. Weird Tales of the Future #3 or Maybe Beware #10

4. Spellbound #17

5. Weird Tales of the Future #8/ Voodoo annual #1 tough call

I'm thinking...

1. Tomb of Terror #15

2. Haunt of Fear #17

3. Beware #10

4. Haunted Thrills #5

5. Strange Tales #28

Tomb of Terror 15 will be in the top 5, but what else? Maybe Venus 19? Weird Tales of the Future 3? Beware 10? Startling Terror 11?

 

Three of my personal top 6 have already been shown, so the top five will be interesting.

Not sure if Christian is willing to include Venus in this list as it didn't start out as a horror book (but I would include it!)

wow Christian- a nicely produced event! won't comment on choices till 1-5 are up, but on 6-10 let me just say I'm happy to see 3 titles using my favorite word for this glorious genre! Pat

Tomb of Terror 15 will be in the top 5, but what else? Maybe Venus 19? Weird Tales of the Future 3? Beware 10? Startling Terror 11?

 

Three of my personal top 6 have already been shown, so the top five will be interesting.

 

Not sure if Christian is willing to include Venus in this list as it didn't start out as a horror book (but I would include it!)

Wouldn't that discount Haunt of Fear as well, as it started as Gunfighters? Maybe because Venus is a superhero it doesn't count? Hard to draw the line on some of these!

I think Thing! 12 should be on this list. It is possibly the one book that got me back into the pre-code genre after staying away from it for almost 20 years. First published Ditko cover.....and I think his best horror cover. The looks of fear on the victim's faces are ones of pure terror. Love it.

Are contents horror or crime stories?

But it's funny, some people get stuck on what's "first" and have a hard time changing.

Archaeological discoveries near Clovis, New Mexico seemed to show people lived there about 11,000 to 11,500 years ago. It was called the earliest human settlement in the Americas. In the years since the discovery, informal but effective resistance to evidence of earlier settlements formed what is called "The Clovis Barrier." Even though there have been several finds that are clearly earlier than the site in Clovis, some experts just wouldn't acknowledge the new finds. Evidence has been ignored or even tampered with to prevent breaking the Clovis Barrier. Several new discoveries have resoundingly broken the Clovis Barrier, providing proof of human settlement thousands of years earlier.

There's a lot of resistance in some parts to pushing back dates of "earliest" and "first." Some around here still think comic books started with Action 1. I hope Eerie #1 isn't horror comic books' "Clovis Barrier."

Front Page has a mix of horror stories and a brutal crime story.

The first story features The Man In Black, Bob Powell's personification of Fate, or in this story, Death. The story features the evil deeds of a Nazi pilot. The climax of the story features Death itself reaching right into the pilot's chest to grasp his heart and take his life.

The second story (with art by Joe Kubert) shows a giant man-eating octopus, skulls and other bones of its victims in a pile below its deadly beak.

The third story tells of a brutal gang of spies/criminals that blow up their victims with dynamite.

Labels can be tricky, and some say Front Page is not a "horror comic" because its stories are not entirely "horror."

Are the later issues of Tomb Of Terror with science fiction stories not "horror comics"?

How about Quality's Web Of Evil? Most of what appear to be monsters and ghosts in their stories turn out to really be crooks or scheming relatives, like in Scooby Doo stories. So are they not really "horror comics"?

Or what about Star's comics with the great L.B. Cole covers? Many of those have one original horror story with the rest being Fox crime reprints. Are those not "horror comics"?

How about the cover of Black Cat Mystery #50? You could say it's not really "horror", more like an industrial accident.

There is some denial about Front Page Comic Book. Maybe it's because the title itself doesn't scream "horror."

But just look at that cover. In the background, a grave lies open, the corpse within exposed. In the foreground, a grave robber sprawls on the ground, his hands clutching, his head bleeding from a fresh wound. Above him, a vengeful ghost scowls down in anger as she holds a spectral knife.

That cover wraps around stories featuring the figure of Death reaching into a man's chest to squeeze out his life, a monstrous man-eating octopus, and people being blown to bits. Sure it's a horror comic!

And it was published in 1945. Not saying it's the first horror comic book (there may be some earlier), but it is definitely two years earlier than Eerie #1.

pretty compelling case I must say

Thanks for the great comments gang! Lots of good guess work as to what the Top 5 Terribles are but I'm not saying who's close or who isn't!...... Let's wait til tomorrow!

BOOT: That is an excellent argument about Front Page Comic Book being the first "Horror" comic. It could very well be depending on whose point of view it is. And your absolutely right about people sometimes not willing to budge once something has been declared "the first". This is the problem with labeling things.

I think it all depends on the collector's definition of a horror comic. The only thing to be done is for fans to read the books themselves and make their own decision.

These types of things are tough to define because so many books/titles around this time were hybrids and publishers were throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick. They certainly didn't care if books fell perfectly into horror, crime, and superhero genres. Thus, SO much output was gray. To me, this is what makes collecting GA fun.... so many oddball titles to discover, many of which have been forgotten due to scarcity.

wow Christian- a nicely produced event! won't comment on choices till 1-5 are up, but on 6-10 let me just say I'm happy to see 3 titles using my favorite word for this glorious genre! Pat

 

Thanks Pat!

Tomb of Terror 15 will be in the top 5, but what else? Maybe Venus 19? Weird Tales of the Future 3? Beware 10? Startling Terror 11?

 

Three of my personal top 6 have already been shown, so the top five will be interesting.

 

Not sure if Christian is willing to include Venus in this list as it didn't start out as a horror book (but I would include it!)

 

Wouldn't that discount Haunt of Fear as well, as it started as Gunfighters? Maybe because Venus is a superhero it doesn't count? Hard to draw the line on some of these!

Venus and Haunt totally qualify. I pretty much follow the master list from Tales Too Terrible To Tell, Pov's old list, and a few others. An almost identical list was in the back of the recently released Four Color Fear (they included Monster Crime which I think has a great cover!)

So many books to choose from! I tell you guys, this was a tough list to make. You'd think it would be easy to sit down and just do it, but I spent a good chunk of time managing it and making revisions... making sure I made good choices.

It's probably not in your top 5, but I think Mister Mystery #18 definitely qualifies as a top 25 book.

No ECs? And no Startling Terror #11 yet? Hope its in the top 5. That cover is the epitome of pre-code horror to me.

Enjoying your list, Christian. (thumbs u

The end is near..... The final round of my Terrible 25 begins now!

#5

Haunt Of Fear - no.17

I don’t care that the masthead and three narrators are covering part of the picture, this is a beautiful cover. Drawn by the original master of macabre, Graham Ingels! “Ghastly” Ingels is probably my favorite comic artist (At least he is my favorite “horror” comic artist). Here we have three zombies about to get close to you and say hi! I love the head tilts of the two background fiends and the excellent colors in their rotten faces.

I think Bernie Wrightson said it best that you could “smell” an Ingels drawing. Just by looking at it, you could smell the decaying flesh.

#4

Venus - no.19

This is probably the most romontic of the “Terrible 25”. Bill Everett could sling ink with the best of them and no one doubts his place in the beginnings of comic history. I enjoy his early work in the thirties and fourties, but it is his 1950’s work that interests me the most. My opinion is that he spent a decade or so honing his skills during the birth of the comic book medium. By 1950, it seems he settled into a nice mature style. The height of his drawing talents are on display here with Venus #19. The variety of textures and ink markings is masterful. This is sometimes tough to see on these darker, heavily-colored Atlas covers, but it’s all there. This man was a master comic artist who could draw with the lights out!

The main couple is obviously the focus but my favorite part has got to be the trio in the background. I can almost hear them snickering wicked remarks in that splintered house.

#3

Horrific - no.1

I thought this one might be one of the shockers of the bunch. Yes, Horrific #1 gets third place and here’s why I think so......

The first time I saw this cover, it blew me away and still continues to impress me. It is just one of those covers you look at and then try to forget but you find it creeping back into your thoughts. And we all know how a collector thinks...obsessively!

Even though we have the undead playing a band, it somehow is done without comedy. The expression of the conductor with its loose linework is truly creepy. On top of all of this you have a beautifully drawn female dancer performing on a bed of fire. The red and purple lettering against the green background is perfect.

There is also something else going on that isn’t easy to describe.... The best way to put it is that this cover has an “indie” look to it, yet still retains a professional edge....not super slick, not primitive, but just right! The fact that it is a number one issue of a great title and pretty rare to find makes this already appealing cover a shining star to me.

This copy might be familiar to some. I originally got a low grade reader of this book. It was all I could find, however I recently upgraded with this copy here from a fellow boardie. Thanks Paul!

#2

Tomb Of Terror - no.15

I love this cover so much, it took me over a year to find the right copy because I wanted one that was perfect for my collecting preferences. As PreCodes go, this is a pretty accessible book, probably due to the Harvey file copies that emerged years ago. It also has a bit of visibility and fame to it, often appearing in articles (and even a film) about this era of comics. If this book has gotten praise, I say it deserves every bit of it and more. It is a PreCode Horror masterpiece.

Lee Elias often worked with art director/artist Warren Kremer, collaborating on cover ideas. Whoever did what here doesn’t matter, what matters is the timelessness this artwork creates.

Some of my favorite Tomb Of Terror 15 things include:

-The way the man’s face is drawn. SO brutal, fluid and loose are the inkmarks and line quality. It jumps off the page!

-I think some of these comic artists would of been excellent animators. This drawing has so much power and life to it.

-I know about the interior story and that this is suppossed to be a robot, but collecting is what you make of it, and I say this cover can stand alone as a clock exploding in a man’s face.

-Red is the color that evokes the most emotion and it is used liberally here.

-I don’t know what else to say other than, exceptionally brilliant! I knew this was going to end up in my top 2 early on.

#1

Startling Terror - no.11

Could a list of the top 25 PreCode Horror covers, not include one from the cover master, L.B. Cole? Of course not.

After reviewing all of Cole’s covers, I found this one to be the best by far. So much so that the other ones didn’t even make the top 25. If the list went to say 50, I’m sure there would be a few more additions. Again, I don’t consider Mask 1 & 2 “horror” comics so they are exempt from this, but even if they were included, I would put this one ahead of them for it’s frightening originality. I know Cole recycled this idea from his earlier design of a Suspense Comics cover, but Startling Terror 11 is superior in many ways. The fact alone that he revisited the design, proves that he felt it was a great idea that could of been executed better.

Here is why it grabbed the number 1 spot:

-A giant spider with many sharp legs against a solid blood-red background.

-Oh yeah, because a giant spider isn’t disgusting enough, the head of it is a grinning skull.

-And yeah, we’ve got Blood dripping from it’s open mouth. Lovely.

-In it’s grasp is a pin-up styled woman making this notable to GGA comic collectors as well.

-I don’t think there is any question that the guy on the left is dead. The side of his face has a sickly greenish tinge to it. Perhaps the spider’s poison has already spread through the skin... Ok, maybe I’m reading into things again, but it doesn’t mean this cover is not a champion.

The best PreCode Horror cover.

Fellow PreCode creeps and CGC boardies, I present my Terrible 25.......