Sunday, June 1, 2008

Devil’s Ally / Ads (Part 1)

Holy Smokin’ Devil Loins! Can you figure out the precise chosen theme to kick off the first week of June? Headlights on high? Superior leg art? Seriously… YOU ASKED FOR IT you know! And please don’t feel the need to beat around the bush about it or be subtle (this story sure isn’t.) But this is one of my favorites, it’s so mean spirited, and each page just gets better and better until the devilishly abrupt finale. Perfection!

From the March 1953 issue of Journey into Fear #12









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ADS (Part One)Provocative ads from 50’s comic books, featuring attractive, leggy models (photographed, not illustrated) that are obviously selling more than just notions of weight loss…



11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a feeling most of the comments will be about the ad's but the story....this may just be one of the stories i've enjoyed the absolute most that you've posted!.page 1:great splash rife with cheesecake and double entendre(horny fella,Satan),panel1:"old man seeks younger companion?"hate to seem immature but,rife with inuendo.add the crazy narration,the scenes of the old man literally asking to die,the use of an asian in a major role(or are the eyes just to look evil?)in this era,and the end with our horny protagonist becoming the horniest guy of all(anyone know where i can get one of those miniatures?),literally,mix all these elements together,and you have a recipe for grawesomeness....did i mention i liked the ads?.

Unknown said...

I never knew Satanism could be spread by biting. No wonder you Satans are a dime a dozen.

Anonymous said...

I'd like those miniatures myself! Nothing creepy about them - just good old fashioned decorating and taste!

T. R Xands said...

You're right, that story didn't pull any punches at all. I was "wtf?!"ing from beginning to end and loving it--I seriously think I'm going to be seeing that man's old face begging to die right before I go to sleep.

Oh at the ads...I love "skinny girls don't have OOMPH!"

As for the precise theme, well as long as I don't lose money for guessing..I dunno, satanism? Extremely attractive women and the evil Satanists in their lives?

Anonymous said...

TOTALLY DEMENTED FOR SURE AND THE SPLASH RULES, AS DOES THE LEGS ON JET! THE PANEL AT THE TOP OF PAGE 5 WITH HER GORGEOUS GAM BREAKING OVER INTO THE PANEL UNDERNERATH IT IS SMOLDERING. SUPERIOR COMICS WOMEN ARE WELL SUPERIOR!!

I THINK I'M GONNA LIKE THIS WEEKS THEME

The Vicar of VHS said...

"That's right! HIT him! Hit him AGAIN...HARD!!! SMASH HIS SKULL, DAN! DO IT FOR ME, LOVER...FOR ME!!!"

Boy, Jet really knows how to pillow-talk! :)

Holy smoke, what a wild wonderful tale! Love the "one second after the door closes" narrative label, with them sucking face already, and of course the leg show all-caps Anonymous pointed out. Besides the cheesecake there's some great art here--the close-up of Phineas laughing, the c-u of Kenton with the devil statue thrust in his face, great stuff.

Was I alone in thinking that mid-page panel on the last page of Phineas's ghost looked like he was smelling something bad? Or else doing a jocular Hitler impression? Probably so.

As to the ads, I notice in some of my old superhero comix the big ads for "skinny girls" who need curves, hawking weight-gain products...how the times have changed, eh? Still, I think most of the models these days could do with a few sandwiches. S'why I like the 60s/70s babes. Well, one of the reasons...

If this is the appetizer for the theme week, can't wait to see the other courses!

Mr. Karswell said...

Superior Comics has a certain trashy vibe, or trashier vibe than most precode comics in my opinion. The way the women are illustrated, exagerrated, and portrayed... the theme this week will reflect this in more ways than one.

And was "spot reducer" just another way of saying vibrator back then? The funniest thing about ads like these is that they are targeting an audience that obviously didn't even read horror comics. What does a 10 year old boy care about weight loss? I could see these in a girlie issue of Flaming Love or First Love Illustrated, but why a horror title geared more towards males? I'll tell you why: because if a pre-pubescent kid was at the stands and torn on which issue he wanted to buy, a sexy ad like this might be the deal breaker.

Tim Beard said...

Wow. I hardly know what to say about that one. That was just really crazy.

Anonymous said...

superior is my favorite horror publisher bar none!

Anonymous said...

Say, are you sure this isn't the Jack Parsons/L. Ron Hubbard story...?

Mr. Karswell said...

>Say, are you sure this isn't the Jack Parsons/L. Ron Hubbard story...?

Babylon Working on...