Thrill Kill

"ThrillKill"

Published in 'Creepy' #75, November 1975
Written By: Jim Stenstrum
Art: Neal Adams



I'm a huge Neal Adams fan.

While most comic fans know him from his "Batman" work of the late 60's and 70's, he also did an amazing amount of horror comics. By 1975, Neal Adams had hit his artistic stride as one of the best in the business. His clean, realistic black-and-white style on 'ThrillKill' fits the story perfectly. Pay attention to the use of white space in the panels.

Many people consider 'ThrillKill' one of the greatest horror comic stories of all time. I consider it a great showcase of Neal Adams talents. The fact is the story is based on the Tower Sniper Charles Whitman an ex-Marine who killed 14 people and wounded 32 others during a shooting rampage on and around the University of Texas's campus on August 1, 1966. I believe the "didn't want to go alone" aspect of the story is Stenstrum's.

Creepy and Eerie often pulled the scare tactics of their stories 'closer to reality' to frighten older audiences. This one certainly did. It could actually happen. It did.

Thanks to the Grantbridge Street & other misadventures blog for putting an excellent scan of this story online.