More Horrible Collecting Habits

Everyone enjoys a good scare now and them, and that goes for collecting original art from the scores of horror titles that have been with us for over sixty years! My earliest pages in collecting originals came from those wonderful DC horror anthology books that were popular in the seventies by some Filipino artists that really set the mood in those twisted tales. I always enjoyed collecting horror memorabilia whether it be comics, movie posters, or other paper items. But one fateful day I discovered a stack of original horror art at a local comic convention. I was instantly hooked on this one-of-a-kind collectible, which seemed to me to be the best kept secret in comic fandom -- obtaining the art itself.

In the 1940s a few brave publishers experimented with horror subjects in the starring role like Prize Comics' Frankenstein and Hillman's bush creature, The Heap, (which eventually inspired both the Incredible Hulk and Swamp Thing many years later), but Avon's one shot comic Eerie from 1946 is debatably the first true "horror" book. Seeing profits in this budding new genre, other comic companies quickly followed suit developing a host of creepy and crawly characters to scare many kid right out of their socks for years to come.

However, the real explosion in fright comics came from William Gaines EC Comics line. His trio of horror titles, Tales of the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, and The Vault of Horror debuted in 1950 and really started the ball (or head) rolling! Following the lead from the strange late night radio shows hosts of the time, these anthology books were introduced by weird supernatural narrators such as the Crypt-Keeper, the Old Witch, and the Vault-Keeper. Most collectors will agree that EC produced the best comic art of all time rendered by the likes of Wood, Severin, Ingels, Davis, Feldstein, Ingels, Crandall, Kurtzman and many others, who collectively started the most successful horror craze in comic history.

When other publishers couldn't compete with the superior artwork, story, and black humor of the EC books, they tried everything they could to make a difference by using excessive gore, violence, and other shocking effects to try to produce better sales. This trend, coupled with Dr. Fredric Wertham's attack on comics in his 1954 book, Seduction of the Innocent, helped fuel a U.S. Senate investigation into comic books and their alleged connection tothe growing juvenile delinquency in the country.

All the comic publishers quickly realized the ramifications of this modern day "witch hunt" and developed the Comics Code Authority Seal of Approval to better help police their own industry. Though the original investigation was focused more on the very popular and violent crime comics, it also took a heavy toll on the horror genre as well, stopping any references to zombies, vampires, ghouls, werewolves, and other classic horror characters. The Code even banned the words "terror" and "horror" from any comic book title, which effectually killed off all the booming fear books of the day.

But you can't keep a good genre down, so spook comics did bounce back in the early 1960s with Atlas Comics' Lee and Kirby stories of space born "big foot monsters" attacking mankind, following closely the science fiction creature features of the time. There still were a few watered-down horror titles hanging around, including Ghost Stories from Dell and Gold Key's Twilight Zone that still made decent sales. When the Code restrictions were revised in late 1971, National, Marvel, and Charlton launched loads of gritty new titles bringing back all the ghouls and goblins that were so missed by the fans. Many publishers even developed their own wicked legion of narrators as modern day "horror hosts" to present their scary new storylines. A favorite of mine were Uncle Creepy, Cousin Eerie, and the beautiful blood-sucker from Draculon, Vampirella, from Warren's excellent collection of books. Launched in 1965 James Warren's graphic black-and-white horror titles luckily escaped the Comics Code since they were carefully issued in the larger magazine format to avoid any censorship.

If EC was the high point of the Golden Age of horror comics, most would agree that Warren's fantastic collection of artists and writers from around the world created the finest terror tales of the Silver Age. Bringing back many of the original EC creators, Warren also tapped new talent from Spain (Maroto, Aureleon, Gonzales, Torrents, Ortiz, Sanjulian) and the Philippines (Nino, Cruz, Alcala, Nebres). But even now, renowned authors like Stephen King and Clive Barker have made their mark with recent developments in modern horror comics, though today it's a small share of the market when compared to the "gory days" of the past.

National Cartoonist Society Profile: Dick Ayers

Richard B. (Dick) Ayers is greatly respected in the field of comicdom for his dramatic storytelling techniques and prolific output as a jack-of-all-trades in all types of production. Dick was active in penciling, inking, lettering, and even as a colorist for most of the major comic publishers over his many years at the drawing board. Ayers was also the first artist in Marvels' famed star "artists bullpen", working with Jack Kirby and many other talented creators helping to shape the "The House of Ideas" most popular landmark titles. Still working today as a full time artist, could also find time to teach at the Joe Kubert School and provide a few art classes at the Guggenheim Museum. Here is his short biography from a few years ago he supplied to the National Cartoonist Society from an artist that need to be acknowledged as one of the early greats at Marvel.

Born April 28, 1924 in Ossining, New York -- in the Air Corps from 1942-1945, first comic strip "Radio Ray" in my Army newspaper in 1942. Did nose art on B-26 bombers, art schools from 1946-1948 -- illustrating comic books since - some titles: Jimmy Durante, The Ghost Rider, Sgt. Fury and his Howling Commandos, Jonah Hex, The Human Torch - over forty thousand pages (50,000 plus now) -- inked syndicated strip "Sky Masters" -- awards National Cartoonist Society best comic book in 1986 -- Orlando Ignatz award in 1991 -- Kansas City Lifetime Achievement award in 1993 -- Blessed with a lovely wife, Charlotte Lindy, daughter Elaine, sons Stephen, Richard and Fredrick, and three granddaughters, a grandson and a step grandson - still reside in White Plains, New York.

Pat Boyette's...Dungeon of Harrow

Back in 1962 I was just rolling around in my crib, as Pat Boyette was putting the finishing touches on his horror film masterpiece, Dungeon of Harrow. And if you jump thirty-six years later to Fort Worth, I was lucky enough to see this film the first time with the director himself, sitting in his living room with a bunch of other comic/original art fans. Now if you never were privileged to meet Mr. Boyette, you missed out on hearing that smooth baritone voice he perfected over years in radio and TV broadcasting. For me, it was seventy-four minutes of pure entertainment from the opening "Black Forest" script credits to the end title. It was like watching one of Pat’s Charlton comics come to life, or on second thought, really more like some of his Warren stories from Creepy or Eerie -- in full color. Shot in only two weeks in his native San Antonio, Boyette wrote the screenplay, designed the sets, and filmed the entire production in record time! No matter what the credits say, he also wrote the score, edited the entire film, provided the narration, and did just about everything else, costumes, sound, you name it. Even though Pat declared the acting of his main character was as wooden as some of the sets, (they were more papier-mâché than wood), he did need the financial backing from the "star" of the show, Russ Harvey. Russ also picked a few of his close friends to be in the production, since he was titled as the casting director too.

Does this movie have "cardboard" sets, and a "comic book" plot, coupled with some amateur acting -- most definitely it does, but that’s part of the film's charm. This first print I ever saw was a bootleg video that had some big problems with a muddy soundtrack and severely faded picture quality, but fortunately Alpha Video got hold of a better print when redistributing the film years later. It’s made Pat very popular in the B movie crowd, even more famous that his comic work I imagine, but you can give me some of his moody detailed original art anytime. However, no one should be surprised that this artist chose a horror film to make his mark on cinema. When I started looking over his comic art work, I was shocked to see that out of the roughly two hundred ninety six stories he published over the years with Charlton, DC, Marvel, Warren, Atlas, and a few other minor publishers, almost half that volume, one hundred thirty-nine stories, were of his chilling horror tales. Take my latest page offer here for your enjoyment from Archie Comics Red Circle Group from Sorcery #9. Another beautiful example of Boyette’s lush artwork in the spirit of the Caniff school with ghosts and demons haunting a local church. Unfortunately, these pages seem harder to find than just a few short years ago, but I’ve had my fair share of Pat’s artwork. I also am including another favorite spook page from Atlas Comics Weird Suspense #2 from the 1970s with two cops being eaten by a couple of giant tarantulas.

Pat said it was one of the happiest moments of his life, making this flick, and even though he did not set out to make schlock, with his limited resources, that’s the best he said you can hope for. It’s too bad though, that his later experiences in marketing this feature, discouraged Pat so much, he gave up the movie making business after only a few more films. Not wanting to give away this chillers plot, the film has many of Boyette’s classic themes like, a Victorian setting, one deserted island, damsels in distress, ruthless pirates, ghosts, a big spider, some torture, an insane host, the dungeon of course, disease, a touch of romance, and the shocking twist ending. I noticed many of these themes in his later Charlton comic work, and especially in one memorable Warren story that was pretty close to the "monster" of this motion picture. If you ever get the chance to see this movie and you enjoy Pat's moody detailed artwork, you're in for a real treat.

National Cartoonist Society Profile: John Romita

This is one comic artist that I have unfortunatly never met but would love to do so, since I respect his work so much. After a short stint in commercial art, John Romita broke into comics in 1949 working for Stan Lee on various war, Western, romance, crime and horror titles at Atlas. When that company folded he went to National to perfect his slick illustrative style doing mainly romance stories for a few years, before his return to Marvel jumping head first into super-hero titles like Captain America, The Avengers, Daredevil, and his best know work, Spider-Man. Leaving that title in the early seventies Romita became an art director at Marvel working numerous special projects and overseeing Marvel's children's book line, before returning to his signature character illustrating the popular Spider-Man syndicated newspaper strip.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, January 24, 1930 to Vic and Marie Romita. who eased me thru the Depression and set me on a good course. New York School of Industrial Art (now Art and Design) forged and launched me into comic book art. Marvel Comics' rise to prominence and collaboration with Stan Lee, creative force behind that rise, led to Spider-Man strip team-up of Lee and Romita in 1977. Handled by King Features Syndicate, the strip appears in over four hundred sixty papers. My wonderful Virginia has made it possible to meet deadlines - her support and patience cannot be gauged. She has also blessed us with two sensational sons, both well on their way to successful careers - Vic, a fine teacher, and John Jr. doing a great job as a comic artist.