The Next-To-Best Two Pages In All of Comics

On the previous post, I speculated that the legendary Alex Toth created two pages (he scripted, drew, inked and lettered those two pages) that were so powerful, they launched a new title into DC's months-old 'mystery' boom for 85 issues. That was 1968 and the title was "The Witching Hour".

Jump forward to 1984.

Horror comics are all-but-dead with the last regular issue of House of Mystery #321 having appeared on stands exactly one year earlier in 1983, the last of DC's big mystery line. Charlton Comics canceled its long-running Ghostly Tales and Scary Tales the same month this next comic was published. Marvel's Secret Wars plows over the rest of the field to set the new stage for comics, the blockbuster super-hero cross over. Kids just don't like that scary stuff anymore.

Alan Moore wasn't writing for kids.

You may think I'm going to showcase the ground-breaking work of Moore et al in the 'Saga of the Swamp Thing' #21, The Anatomy Lesson. This one even made JK Parkin's and Chris Mautner's #1 spot on their Six comics that scared the $#!@% out of us list. Fantastic issue and revolutionary treatment of the title character. Launched the horror genre in comics into an entirely new direction.
What's interesting is that the Swamp Thing actually made his debut during the peak of DC's mystery titles in House of Secrets #92. One wonders what would have happened had Alan Moore taken over 'The Witching Hour'?...

But issue #21 wasn't the one that disturbed me.

No, that came eight issues later.  'Saga of the Swamp Thing' #29's Love and Death gave me two of the most powerful pages I can think of. Pages 2 and 3 scared me. I wonder how many people noticed that something was missing from the cover of 29 when they bought it? Take a look below and see if you can figure out what's missing:

Did you find it?

...

That's right, it's missing the Comics Code Authority. Couldn't get it through the censors. Issue 21 got through, this one did not. DC was forced to put it out without Code approval... and discovered a remarkable thing. It was still  carried by vendors. This single issue (in my humble opinion) led to the formation of DC's Vertigo imprint 9 years later, the irrelevance of the Code and the "Suggested For Mature Readers" tag.

The two pages?

First of all, I've always liked Abigail Arcane. She was 'Beauty' to Swamp Thing's 'Beast'. She's been cast as the victim on numerous occasions, but she's a pretty remarkable lady. Unlike many characters in comics, she's not motivated by hate, revenge or even a sense of justice. Nope, Abigail is a lover. Despite being the niece of one of the most evil characters in all of comics (and that's saying a lot!), Abby always pushes forward and leads with her heart, for better or worse.

Can you imagine how I felt, when after turning one single page, I had to bear witness to this?!

 Click image for full 2-page spread.

Right away, Moore has you.

Abby had suffered some immense tragedy that has (quite literally) brought her to her knees. You will read the next 18 pages feeling slightly sick to your stomach until... There's hints, there's foreshadowing, but... When you finally get to the 'big payoff' on the 2-page spread of the third and second last pages, you see why this issue never made it past the censors at the code and never could...


Moore's run on Swamp Thing has been collected numerous times in numerous editions. Pick it up.

The Best Two Pages In Comics

It's a little known fact that Alex Toth is responsible for the best two pages in ALL of comics throughout the entire history of the medium. It's true. It's now on the Internet so it's got to be true. The likes of Action Comics #1 and Detective Comics #27 were well-worn paving stones to the path of immortal perpetuity that Toth was able to tread when creating these two pages.

The two pages in question are pages 3 and 4 of issue #1 of The Witching Hour. First published in 1969, these two pages were so powerful, they allowed the title to carry on for 85 issues, a full 9 years, based solely on their artistic merit. They set the entire premise for the series in a blaze of atmosphere, character design and conception.

Even beyond their untimely demise, the characters have inserted themselves in other seminal works of comic canon. (ahem, The Sandman) OK, not Egor, but still...


So without adieu, I give you the TWO MOST IMPORTANT PAGES IN ALL OF COMICS!

That these two pages are the first appearance of Cynthia is merely a happy coincidence. Honest.
And for all the fan artists out there, she has Cat's Eyes.

Two Horrifying Tales About ... Honey

If I asked you to name two comic stories about HONEY, could you do it?

You may think of some old Gold Key Whitman 'Winnie The Pooh' comics or 'Yogi Bear' comics from Dell. I'm sure there was lots of honey in those. Maybe even Honey West comics if your mind doesn't automatically go to kid comics. Or more than likely, you thought of the bee from those Honey Nut Cheerios ads.

But Horror Comics?

Well, in the spirit of Hallowe'en, I will give you two. Two very different tales of the horrors of honey from different times and places.

The first is 'Almost Human' from DC's House of Secrets number 129, published in 1975. As told by Jack Oleck and illustrated by Franc Reyes, this tale explores the nasty ramifications of culture shock when a group of entomologists get mixed up with the mysterious bee people of South America.

The second tale is from Japan's 'Céléb d'Horreur', Junji Ito. I've featured Mr. Ito's 'Uzumaki' in a previous blog. In 'Splatter Film' (first published 2004-2006), Mr. Ito brings us another honey from South America, so addictive that one taste is not enough, even though your next taste may be your last!

Happy Hallowe'en Everyone!

Just Megawatt

Happened across this web site while looking for some Junji Ito.
Great collection of horror manga!

http://www.justmegawatt.com/comics/horrorcomics.html

Nothing Dies On The Internet... Except Careers

No my friends, comics are not dead.

Back issues will go online and we will pay for them. Perhaps we'll even pay the original cover price. I would drop 35 cents to read Daredevil 158 online. Fifteen cents for House of Mystery 181, you bet! Or maybe a flat rate of $10 per month. It will happen.

How will this onslaught of old-time comics change the landscape?

One big change will be sales stats. Let's say DC puts their old Romance titles online and sales go through the roof. How long will it be before the New 52 includes 'Falling In Love' among its titles? Yes, they used to make comics for girls.

The second change (hopefully) would be education. Favorite artists emerge, lost genres re-appear, and an understanding of the art form blossoms from the shadows of digital media. Comic fans become comic connoisseurs!

I guess what I'm saying is that there has to be the next BIG thing. What iTunes did for music, what NetFlix did for movies, what Amazon did for books. Right now, old comics pretty much have blogs...

Nothing Dies On The Internet... Except Profits

When was the last time you purchased a brand new comic?
You know, the kind you hold in your hands.

How about a physical, music CD?
Was it a new artist or someone you used to listen to marked down?

The last new comic I bought was Detective Comics #854 after reading this review on Comic Book Resources in 2009. That was three years ago.* That's not to say I don't buy comics. I've spent hundreds of dollars on comics since 2009. They're all second-hand and usually cost 100 times their cover price from a dealer.

But what does a multimillion-dollar back-issue industry mean to the publisher?
I'm sure they're glad that people are still buying their comics, and maybe it keeps comic shops (who also sell new comics) in business. Beyond that...

Let's just say that I'm really glad that Hollywood is making these comic-book movies/television shows and showing $$$ profit. 'Cause I have the feeling that comic-book publishers are getting their teeth kicked in at the P n' L meetings based on comic sales alone. Comics still sell (thank God), they're just not as prolific. Explains the $4 price tag.

But I'm not hear to sound the death knell for the sequential art-form we call comics. One day all those back issues will be readily available. I just keep wondering if Netflix will do the same thing to my local comic shop as it did to Blockbuster...




* You can still buy a near-mint Detective #854 for its cover price by the way.
   J.H. Williams III is incredible!

Eufronio Reyes “E.R.” Cruz

One of the cool things about the appreciation of art is that it's timeless. We still admire paintings in galleries that are centuries old. For myself, I approach comics from the late 60's and early 70's with a fresh set of eyes and start to recognize some of the truly great works that were available during this time period.

One of the Filipino artists often overlooked from this period is Eufronio Reyes “E.R.” Cruz. I have already featured Mr. Cruz's stellar artwork in "The Haunted Mountain" from DC's 'Unexpected' issue 175. However, every time I read one of the tales featuring his work, my admiration only grows. Today, we look at another of Mr. Cruz's offerings, this time from "The Witching Hour", issue 36 entitled "Death Held The Goblet".

Mr. Cruz's realistic style has always reminded my of Seinen manga from Japan. Not surprising, considering the proximity of Japan and its influence of Filipino culture throughout the seventies. And yet, Mr. Cruz is a style onto himself, immediately recognizable and distinctive. His style even predates most Seinen manga. His use of various points of artistic view and scenes lend support to Wally Wood's 22 Panels That Always Work. Mr. Cruz knows where to position the camera of the viewer's eye.

So, without further adieu, let us drink to the tragic tale of Helga the Magnificent only to learn that in the end, 'Death Held The Goblet'.

Click on image to open pdf.