Bernard Baily Archives - Ghost Clinic

March 20, 2024

Jim Steranko COMIXSCENE 3-ALL HORROR Comics Issue-March 1973 Supergraphics-PART ONE

Jim Steranko COMIXSCENE 3-ALL HORROR Comics Issue-March 1973 Supergraphics-PART ONE

Jim Steranko’s Comix Scene issue number three, March 1973, the all horror issue. Comixscene was Jim Steranko’s publication through Supergraphics and it lasted six issues from 1972 to 1973 before becoming Mediascene. Mediascene picked up with issue number seven in 1973 and went until 1979. In 1980, Steranko launched Preview Magazine. Preview ran from 1980 to 1994.
Watch the original video.

Contents of Comixscene Number Three

Comixscene #3 showcases the faces of fear from the thrilling 30s to the scary 70s. Werewolves, monsters, vampires, ghouls, zombies, the unliving and the undead. The horror characters and comics of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I’ll wait to greet you on the pages inside. Plus more news, reviews, and articles than ever before! Special feature: Frogs – a nightmarish Parable told an exciting new comic format.
Steranko creates his first story in three years. A way-out experiment in form and content equal to an eight-page comic story. Enjoy!

First Man on Mars!

Just a reminder friends: my film First man on Mars is new on Blu-Ray loaded with extras and a chance for you to win one of two movie props used in the film! Please visit my website Horror Anthology Movies for further details. This blog is not monetized so any purchase you make helps keep the site alive. Thank you for your patronage.

Jim Steranko Introduction to Comixscene 3

Comixscene was definitely much more text oriented than Mediascene which we will be looking at in future episodes. That being said, the info inside is invaluable. In the editorial, Steranko begins by saying, “Take a good look around you and you’ll have to agree with this: horror comics are here to stay. The same trend that surfaced in the 1950s and 1960s has manifested itself again. This time more firmly entrenched in all popular media than ever.”

Comixscene contents

On the right side of the page, we have future histories of comics planned and a list of Super Graphics products you can order. On the right hand column are all staranko’s books including the History of Comics number two, a fantastic Steranko encyclopedia of superheroes.
Get all three books for seven dollars and fifty cents, folks!

Horror Comics and Comix on the Newsstand

Horror on the newsstand! We’re looking at Marvel, DC, and Indie Comics that had hit the newsstands in early 1973. I love that he starts off with an image of Richard Corbin’s FANTAGOR and he talks about it. It’s very interesting because the magazine is called Comixscene with an X and there’s always that talk of what’s the difference between Comics c-o-m-i-c-s versus comic c-o-m-i-x.

The Difference Between Comics and Comix

I think Richard Corbin sums it up very well in this quote. “There are all kinds of differences between the regular comics and the underground Comics. The first underground horror books were tongue-in-cheek parodies of old EC’S. Even now, most of the stories have a humorous intent. The most obvious differences to the Casual Observer are that the undergrounds are mostly black and white.

The artwork is sometimes amateurish and there is an emphasis on everything that is forbidden to the regular Comics. The Underground stories are usually creations of an individual and can be good or bad but are usually uneven. The overgrounds are assembly line efforts and are not good or bad but always even.”

Horror Comics in the Spotlight

Let’s take a look at some issues. As I said Fantagor, you have Swamp Thing on the scene, Vault of Evil, Werewolf by Night. I believe that is issue number six of Tomb of Dracula introduces Blade the Vampire Slayer. DC is on the scene with House of Mystery and House of Secrets and then of course we have Marvel with Supernatural Thrillers Issue 4 and issue number five which feature the Living Mummy.

Cultism versus Consumerism

There is a nice little obituary on the great Bill Everett by Steranko. Some book reviews here. Cheap Thrills an informal history of Pulp magazines by Ron Goulart. The golden days of fanzines. You have to love it. They mention Graphic story World which was very hot. Funny World was another really high-end fanzine.

Next is a very interesting article by Byron Priest called Cultism versus Consumerism. “The analysis in this article is based upon an association with the comics industry. It is not meant to be construed as the result of methodical research. Where do you buy your Comics? A candy store? All right, where else? A drugstore? Fine. A supermarket? Okay. Now let’s change just one word in our question. Where do you buy your comics with an X? The answers change too a head shop, a record store, and of course, through the mail. Comics and Comix. The difference is much more than just two letters and more than just the presence or absence of censorship. It’s a whole concept of cultism versus consumerism.

Comics and Comix Production and Distribution

The limited run Comics as opposed to the mass-produced superbooks of Madison Avenue. Comics are produced in the hundreds of thousands. Few Comix Reach This level. The companies behind the comix are growing ambitious and enterprising yet commercially impotent. There are many such Publishers currently in the business. Ripoff press, Apex, Print mint, La comics, and the crop comic works as well as a large number of Easy Come Easy Go outfits who spring up periodically. Unfortunately for these young entrepreneurs their main business Outlet continues to be mail order oriented. Small head shops from Boston to Milwaukee to Los Angeles send in requests for certain amounts of certain titles or large quantities of an entire line of comics and receive their order in the mail. With the Advent of Skull, Young Lust and Fantagor comix, undergrounds are moving towards some regularity in the frequency of publication but as a whole they are still sporadically released.”
Watch the original video.

END PART ONE
Thank you for reading and be sure to bookmark Ghost Clinic for more horror comics articles and videos!

February 19, 2024

Pre-code HORROR and Sci-fi Comics From WEIRD MYSTERIES Volume One – Pt Two

WEIRD MYSTERIES Pre-code Horror and Sci-fi Comics Volume One – PART TWO
The interesting thing about Weird Mysteries number one from 1952 is that all the stories in the issue were reprinted in Weird Tales of the Future number eight in 1953. We’re looking at volume one of Weird Mysteries from PS Artbooks.

Watch the original video.

Weird Mysteries Number One Contents

The first story called “High Voltage” drawn by Hy Fleischman and “The Planet Eaters” with art by Frank Frollo was also eventually reprinted in the 1953 issue of Weird Tales of the Future number eight. A Stone’s Throw from Eternity with art by Loffredo and The Spirits from Outer Space with art by Walter Palais and Mike Esposito doing the inks.
Nice ad here for Harvey Horrors. You can go to harveyhorrors.com PS art books. I’ve got several of their reprints of the Harvey volumes in soft cover.
This brings us to Weird Mysteries number two with one of my favorite Weird Mysteries covers by the fantastic Bernard Bailey, a phantasmagorical cover for this December of 1952 issue.
Artist Hy Fleischman returns and we also have Basil Wolverton art with the awesome Robot Woman. There is also Turnabout by Charles Stern, First Come First Served by Tony Mortellaro and Ordeal by Wax By Charles Stern.
Hey kids! Get your fifty Combat Action plastic toys for a dollar! And you get a free six inch long die cut shooting Cannon!

Basil Wolverton’s Robot Woman

Robot Woman by Basil Wolverton is such a great story. It’s a classic you’ve probably seen reprinted in various publications. The story revolves around a scientist who is hideous and he Longs for a woman that will be able to tolerate his hideous appearance. He makes a robot woman. “I’ve done it! I’ve created a woman of my own!” But of course some unfortunate drawbacks occur as the robot woman becomes very very enamored with her creator and he starts getting pissed off. He smacks the robot and ends up knocking her into a vat of acid. The next time he sees her she is completely melting and she says “You are the only man I could ever love!” He screams “Don’t come near me, you’re burned, you’re horrible!” Then a thief shows up to rob the place and he goes into the basement and discovers the woman. He says, “Get me the hell out of here!” All the while she’s saying “This is the only man I could ever love, you leave him alone or I kill!” The end. I love this Wolverton art, such a great story by a great artist who did some fantastic pre-code.

WEIRD MYSTERIES Pre-code Horror and Sci-fi Comics Volume One – Part One

WEIRD MYSTERIES Pre-code Horror and Sci-fi Comics Volume One – Part One
Weird Mysteries is a pre-code horror comic book published by Stanley Morris from 1952 to 1954. Watch the entire video.
On the back of this slipcover edition we see all six issues represented in this volume.
All covers were done by the awe-inspiring Bernard Bailey, a giant in the golden age of comics who co-created The Spectre in 1939 with Jerry Seigel. The inside cover artwork by Tony Mortellaro is fantastic as well as the story this goes with. A fine introduction by James Heath Lance gets the ball rolling. I was in correspondence with Mr. Lance and he sent me some more information on his background working with PS art books.

James Heath Lance Introduction

“I started out volunteering articles for various websites and fanzines. My first paid gig was an essay co-authored with legendary comic scribe Roy Thomas in Roy Thomas presents Captain Video published by PS art books in April of 2012. The summer of that year I wrote PS art books editor Peter Crowder to discuss Dell’s Outer Limits and Twilight Zone comics and asked if he needed something for any books they were working on. He asked if I’d be willing to write the introduction for pre-code Classics Weird Mysteries volume one I said yes and was then assigned the second volume and Roy Thomas presents Sheena Queen of the Jungle volume 3. I just love the title Weird Mysteries and felt it was right up my alley. The thing I loved most about working on Weird Mysteries was the freedom PS art books gave me.
I don’t recall being given any editorial direction, a word count, or anything like that.
I did the research, read the comics, started writing and tapped into the horror fan in me. Peter Crowther apparently liked what he read because the published version is pretty much what I sent him with typos corrected.”

Here is the introduction by James Heath Lance.
“I dare you to read this introduction! Perhaps dare I you to write this introduction should be the proper question. Strange creatures tormenting people severed heads a brain being removed from a corpse an insect with a human face exiting from the skill and those are just the covers drawn by basil Wolverton and Bernard Bailey.” It could also be every time my wife and I encounter our neighbors or my Christmas list, but I digress.”

Weird Mysteries Artists for Volume One

He continues talking about the various issues and of course the background including the controversy generated by the pre-code comics horror comics and crime comics and of course the Senate hearings and the comics code Authority.

Weird Mysteries number one October of 1952. Artists in this volume include Hy Fleischman, Frank Frollo, Loffredo, Bernard Baily, Mike Esposito, Basil Wolverton, and Tony Mortellaro.
Watch the entire Weird Mysteries Part One video.

February 5, 2024March 6, 2024

Weird Tales of the Future 8 Published by Stanley Morse in 1953

Weird Tales of the Future number eight originally published by Stanley Morse, July-August of 1953. Facsimile Edition and over-sized matted print published by PS art books. Original video here.

Today we are looking at a facsimile comic book of Weird tales of the Future number eight from July August 1953. It includes a fantastic over-sized matted cover of that issue. The artwork is by the awe-inspiring Bernard Bailey. Let’s see just how well P.S art books did singular facsimile copy of this rare pre-code horror comic book. I have various volumes by PS art books but I have never purchased a single issue facsimile. The oversized matted art print is excellent, they did a fantastic job on the reproduction. Needless to say, this is going on my wall very soon. Fantastic cover by Bernard Bailey, one of my favorite covers from the pre-code era. The reproduction is excellent. They also give you the information at the bottom of the print which reads “Weird Tales of the Future number eight, Aragon magazines Inc., July 1953. Art by Bernard Bailey. It all came very well packaged by Bud plant’s BudsartBooks.com. As far as the facsimile comic book, I have no complaints whatsoever. As you can see the front cover was reproduced very well and the back cover exactly the way the comic was originally published with all of the ads and everything.

Splash of Horror

Splash of Horror SOLD OUT!
Next issue in JUNE!
My new 64 page full color and black and white book about those gruesome and glorious rare pre-code horror comic book splash pages of the 1940’s and 50’s. This terrifying tome features dozens of full color splash pages and fantastic black and white selections from Stanley Morse and the infamous Eerie Pubs helmed by Myron Fass.

The Pre-code horror comic book stories inside

First up we have a story called High Voltage with pencils and inks by Hy Fleischman, an artist who did many stories for Stanley Morse’s Weird Tales of the Future, Weird Mysteries, etc. Frank Frollo did the pencils and inks for The Planet Eaters while the next story, Death Takes a Holiday was penciled and inked by Nick Frank.

Vampire Legends at Sea

Next, there is an excellent section here called “Weird Mysteries” where they talk about various horrifying and creepy Legends and lore. They talk about vampire cases and here’s an excerpt: Sometime in the year 1867 a fishing boat sailed from Boston. One of the crew was a Portuguese who called himself John Brown. At Sea, two of the sailors mysteriously disappeared. The captain went into the hold of the ship and saw the body of one of these men in the clutches of brown who was sucking blood from it. Nearby, the bloodless body of the other sailor was found. Brown was tried convicted and sentenced to be hanged but the sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. The story of this vampire appeared in the pages of the Brooklyn Eagle on November 4th, 1892.

Art by Mike Esposito and Lofredo

The next comic story is called A Stone’s Throw from Eternity with art by Lofredo. Once again,
I think the color reproductions are very well done, really Crisp. The Last Story the spirits from outer space pencils by Walter Palace and inks by Mike Esposito.
There you go folks, well worth it in my opinion. You typically expect to pay about 15 bucks for a good facsimile of a comic book and I would certainly pay 15 bucks for this really top-notch over-sized matted print of the cover. I hope you enjoyed this video on weird tales of the future number eight facsimile Edition by PS art books and this great matted print of the cover.

January 15, 2024January 15, 2024

HAUNTED HORROR Pre-Code Comic Book Reprints From YOE Books

YOE Books Pre-code HORROR Comic Book Reprints – Part One
Yoe book’s Haunted Horror pre-code horror comic book reprint series began circa 2012 with editor Steve Banes, Clizia Gussoni and Craig Yoe.
Watch the original video here.

Haunted Horror Creators

Contributing editors included Tillman Courth, Mike Howlett, Toxic Tommy O’brien, and Jim Vadeboncoeur. The full color reprints are really quite good.
For instance, the story called “City of Fearful Night” drawn by none other than the great Bernard Baily, from Worlds of Fear number two, January 1952. For this series, they put together a variety of different stories from various publishers so you didn’t have one issue which was “Worlds of Fear” featuring stories from that title. You had a variety of issues which would have a story from Chamber of Chills, The Unseen, Beware! Terror Tales, etc. The reproduction as far as i’m concerned is really quite good so I don’t have any complaints with the way that they randomly put stories together in these horror comic books.

Artists and Stories in Haunted Horror

Haunted Horror number 15 featured an awesome bernard bailey cover from Weird Mysteries number four.
Another issue has “Nightmare come true” from Journey into Fear number nine, september, 1952. Art by Iger shop with a majority of the work done by Robert Webb. Webb loved to do these these like circular panels like this and his faces and and bodies had a certain look.
Mark of the Brute from Weird Terror number 11 with art by Don Heck who would go on to do a lot of stuff for Marvel superheroes and so forth. Here he is in the early 1950’s doing pre-code horror comics.
Haunted Horror number 16 features that fabulous George Roussos cover from Out of the Shadows from Standard Comics.

The Editors as Horror Hosts

One of the great things about Haunted Horror is that they had the three editors, Banes, Gussoni, and Yoe all had their own horror host characters who introduced the stories. For example, this is Craig Yoe As Forelock the Warlock drawn by Angelo Torres.

Giant Ants and Mummies

In one of the classic pre-code horror stories, “the Black Death,” giant army ants attack and devour humans. The story was originally from Fantastic Fears number four with art by Iger Shop and redrawn in a 1960s issue Weird magazine for Eerie Publications.
The Mummy was a horror host used in many of the Beware! Terror Tales issues published by Fawcett in the early 1950’s. This particular story called “Search into the Unknown” was drawn by Maurice Gutworth, a very popular pre-code horror comics artist who did a lot of work for Fawcett.

L.B. Cole and Mr. Karswell

For Haunted Horror number seventeen we have an excellent reproduction of a great L.B. Cole cover. Every one of his covers are fantastic but this one from Spook number twenty-five, July, 1953 is gorgeous.
Mr. Karswell aka Steve Banes is another Haunted Horror host with a rather Creepy magazine style look done by Art Fuentes. The first story “To Death” is from Dark Mysteries number fourteen, 1953, art by John D’Agostino.

Mister Mystery number one september of 1951, a story called “Revolt of the Fingers.”
This is from Beware! Terror Tales once again. Here is the Mummy introducing the story for the november 1954 issue of Beware! Art by Bob McCarty, a really great artist.
The colors are quite cool and I love his style. IDW-Yoe Books’ reproductions are sharp, I have no complaints whatsoever with these.

We will continue with part two on Yoe books next week.
Haunted Horror Books on SALE.

Tag: Bernard Baily