Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Monster of the Mist

Here is more great art from legendary Jack Cole, this time about a giant bloodthirsty creature on the loose! It’s a wild story to end the month of April with--- enjoy!

From the May 1953 issue of Web of Evil #4










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Coming Next in May! A Full Week of Bill Everett!
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15 comments:

BBOW73 said...

I don't know who came first but something about this art reminds me of Basil Wolverton. I always wondered if he was unique or came from a certain camp of artists.

4/30/2008
todd said...

Award winner for least intelligent, least sympathetic scientist to appear in print.

4/30/2008
Pappy said...

A Jack Cole story I'd never seen! Thanks for making my day, Karswell. To bbow73, head on over to Pappy's Golden Age for a Wolverton story.

4/30/2008
Chuck Wells said...

Great opening panel and a fun story.

4/30/2008
The Vicar of VHS said...

Wow, what a great dramatic story! This would make a fantastic early 60s giant monster flick! The cool scene of the monster chasing Dad while Beth and Dick watch, dialog like "Back to the limitless depths that spawned him!" and "Dear heaven, now it knows the taste of HUMAN FLESH!" And that wild finish where they have to booby-trap a coprse! AWESOME.

I love the monster's first appearance--it totally prefigures "Jaws"! Dad, you're going to need a bigger rod!

Did you notice that this story seems to be populated by crow people? On pg. 4, Dick says "Awrrk!" What the hell kind of exclamation is that? Then later on pg. 8, one of the shepherds says "GRAWWK!" Of course neither holds a candle to Beth's catchphrase--"EEEK!"

And like many of those old movies, there's a strong anti-intellectualism at play here. "A scientist's disregard for the lives and feelings and rights of common people!" Did people really feel that way? I mean heck, all these cold calculating scientists ever gave you was penicillin, a cure for polio and smallpox, the discovery of insulin for treatment of diabetes...

Ah well. Great tale!

4/30/2008
Anonymous said...

THIS ONE TOTALLY BLEW ME AWAY! THE ART IS GORGEOUS AND STORY IS JUST 100% FUN LIKE VICAR SAID IN AN OLD MONSTER MOVIE SORT OF WAY.

HOPE TO SEE MORE JACK COLE, HELL EVEN A PLASTIC MAN STORY WITH A SUPERNATURAL TWIST IS FINE BY ME!

4/30/2008
Anonymous said...

Perfection! Jack Cole's rich lay-outs really lend a tremendous amount of atmosphere to what is essentially a pretty ridiculous story. Just the way I like it!

And a week of Bill Everet sounds great! But what happened to doing full issues the first of every month? I'm not complaining though, not at all!

4/30/2008
Zombie Elf said...

Beautiful splash page, and one of those rare instances where the comic's cover actually pertains to a story inside.

Those newspaper headlines are pretty cold (and misspelled)- "Marine Speciman (sic) Collects Collector". Geez, 50's news reporters where apparently a very cruel bunch.

4/30/2008
Karswell said...

You have to wonder if Ishirô Honda
was inspired by the creature design here when he began production on San daikaijû: Chikyû saidai no kessen (aka Ghidrah the Three-Headed Monster) over 10 years later in '64. It's fun to imagine that he liked it so much he decided one head wasn't enough.

>what happened to doing full issues the first of every month?

I'm temporarily side-lining the full issue theme for one month since tomorrow's is my birthday... instead we'll be celebrating by showcasing my all time favorite artist--- Bill Everett! Hope everyone doesn't mind, and if you do then tough titties.

4/30/2008
The Vicar of VHS said...

Wait, titties for my birthday? Score!

Oh, wait, that's not what you said. :(

4/30/2008
Anonymous said...

your right karswell it does look like ghidorah just needs 2 more heads and some wings

cool

4/30/2008
Dr.Phibes said...

How are we celebrating your birthday here tomorrow? Cyber gooey butter cake, I hope.

4/30/2008
Horror pariah said...

Excellent!Cole might have skimped on the faces a little,but the characterizations and the rest of the art totally make up for it!.i agree this would make a very good monster movie,Harryhausen woulda had a ball!(And is it just me,or does the first panel the monster appears in on pg.2 look like the whale in the 1930 edition of MOBY DICK?maybe Mr. Door tree can help.)also,happy Walpurgis night!,and birthday.

4/30/2008
todd said...

"I mean heck, all these cold calculating scientists ever gave you was penicillin, a cure for polio and smallpox, the discovery of insulin for treatment of diabetes..."

To quote an old Dilbert: "But those are other scientists, not you." The sea monster would never have been a threat, had Dad not done everything imaginable to turn it into one.

4/30/2008
The Vicar of VHS said...

Yeah, well when it turns out that Bloody Dragon Drool was the secret ingredient for prostate-cancer-curing suppositories, don't come crying to me. :)

5/01/2008

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