Comic Book Artist JOE SINNOTT – Early Days of ATLAS Pre-Code and MARVEL Silver Age

Comic Book Artist JOE SINNOTT – Early Days of ATLAS Pre-Code and MARVEL Silver Age

HAUNTED THRILLS Video Archive Part One – JOE SINNOTT: The Early Days Working for STAN LEE at Timely/Atlas which would roll into Marvel Comics. Remembering John Severin, Marie Severin, John Buscema, Jack Kirby, John Romita, and more. Interviewed by Mike Lyddon during Albany Comic Con, 2019.
This is unedited video of the Joe Sinnott interview used in Mike T. Lyddon’s documentary HAUNTED THRILLS now playing on YT.

joe sinnott comic book artist early days with stan lee atlas marvel

Joe Sinnott – “You could always fall back on the westerns and in fact the first story I ever did was a western called “The Man who Wouldn’t Die.” It was a three-page filler for one of the Western Comics. From that time on I’ve been with Stan ever since.  At that time as you know June 1950 the Korean War started so naturally we started doing a lot of war books. I did so many war books we had so many titles and of course EC started it all they they put out some great books.  They had some great artists like John Severn and and Wally Wood.  Stan tried to duplicate what they were doing and we we turned out some good books.  We had Gene Colan who did excellent work and people like that.”

EC comics line Folds

“Of course later on when EC comics folded, John Severin came over and did some work for for Stan at Atlas.  Al Williamson people like that that had worked for EC but EC was one of the first Comics to fold because of the comics code which came out in the early 50s. We had so many good artists, Johnny Romita for example and of course Russ Heath. He did some great westerns and Great War Stories.  He did great covers.”

The great artist John Severin

“My all-time favorite was John Severn. I thought he did the best. No one could do a western or war story like he could but John was not big on superheroes. He was so versatile, look at all the crack magazine covers he did down through the years. I talked to him on the phone but I never met him never got to meet John. I knew his sister Marie very well and we did a lot of things together. Marie she was a great a great penciler she had a great sense of humor she was a great colorist. She was just a great all-around Talent and she’s not doing too well now physically.  We all think a lot of her and try to keep in touch with her.”

John Romita and John Buscema

“Johnny Romita came came over from DC where he was doing a lot of romance books.  He did great Romance Books.  He came over probably in the early 60s and the same way with John Buscema, the greatest talent in comics. No one could draw like John Buscema.  His Conan and Tarzan!   He hated superheroes but he he did great stories for Thor, The Fantastic Four and and he and I worked together for many years.  Some of my best stuff I feel was when I did work for John Buscema.  I can’t say enough about him and of course Kirby.  He was the king of comics and he was really a cartoonist whereas Buscema was an illustrator.

Jack Kirby

Jack was he was a great cartoonist and he could tell a story like no one else, especially his fantasy type work. We all know his Fantastic Four changed the whole direction of comics in the 1960s.  It’s amazing if if you look at the the volume of work that that Jack did. I’m not saying he couldn’t ink but his work was not the same when he Inked it but he was a beautiful penciler and uh I never had a bit of problems with any of his stuff. Once in a great while with any any penciler you had to help them along a little bit. Stan used to give Frank and myself and Tom Palmer, people like that, young artists that were just coming into the field. Rich Buckler for example and Jim Starlin. Stan knew how to juggle his artists and look at all the great books he turned out.”

Joe Sinnott On Working For Stan Lee in the early days

joe sinnott working for stan lee and atlas comics

“I started with Stan like I said in 1950. I did my own pencils and inks right up until about 1962. So in other words, for 12 years I did nothing but my own pencils and I ink my own work. There were westerns, war stories, horror, science fiction, romance…the whole bit. In the early 60s, Jack Kirby came over to Marvel. Stan couldn’t get us couldn’t get anyone to Ink Jack’s story and it was a monster book. He called me up and said, ‘Joe could you ink the story? It’s a short story by Jack Kirby.’ “And so I told him I thought I could so I inked Kirby’s story and he liked the combination of my ink and Kirby’s pencils. Looking back, I often say to myself, you know, maybe I changed too much of Kirby’s art but then I got back on the track and tried to Ink them just the way Jack penciled his stories because he was a great penciler.”

From the pre-code comics documentary HAUNTED THRILLS now available  on Youtube.

Black Cat Mystery Number 31 Pre-code Harvey HORROR Comic Book August 1951

Black Cat Mystery Number 31 Pre-code Harvey HORROR Comic Book from August 1951.

Black Cat Mystery volume one from PS Artbooks contains issues 30 – 34. This article covers pre-code Harvey horror comic book Black Cat Mystery Number 31 from August 1951.
Watch the original Black Cat Mystery #31 video.

black cat mystery 31Cover art by Al Avison, interior art by Rudy Palais, Manny Stallman, and others. Features the stories The Tapping Doom, The Sea Witch of Sandy Hook, Bloody Red Rose, and more.
Black Cat Mystery Vol. One now on sale. 

Black Cat Mystery becomes a HORROR Comic

Black Cat Mystery Comics 29 with The Black Cat still on the cover
Black Cat Mystery Comics 29

Issue number 31 of Black Cat Mystery from  October of 1951 officially puts the comic book in the horror genre.  As it says on the cover, “The strangest Tales of fear and Terror.” The cover art is attributed to Al Avison. Inside front cover has an advertisement for Harvey’s “War is Hell.” Grim true Tales of our fighting men! Blasting action! Blood and Guts!
The Black Cat speaks but there is no image of Black Cat anymore. They’re gradually erasing her from the book. Here is the text. “Well you lovers of Terror packed weird and exciting Adventure! The new all different black cat mystery Comics is just what you asked for. We are gratified by your response to this new thrill book! In this issue there appears especially written for those who can take it, stories of the unknown, of fear, of revenge, webbing the pages into a tight-knit of horror are strands of mystery and terror! You will be entertained by a witch that can command ghosts, a thousand-year-old monster, and a cane that glows in the night and lights the way for death! Before You impatiently turn to the first story, read some of the letters you our readers have sent.”

Letters to the Editor

These are letters to the editor of Black Cat Mystery apparently about the previous issue, number 30.
“Weird! The stories in Black Cat are so weird that way after I read them I can feel my spine tingle when I think of them. Your book is not just another horror book, it’s the best I’ve ever read! I can’t wait for it to come out!”
“Chair gripping! The New Black Cat is so full of mystery and adventure that reading it is a chair gripping experience!”

Contents of Black Cat Mystery #31

black cat mystery 31 storiesTable of contents in this issue of Black Cat Mystery #31 include Tapping Doom, The sea witch of Sandy Hook, Blood red rose, and The sleep walking killer.
Another classic advertisement. Valuable ballpoint pen personalized with your name inscribed in 22 karat gold, only 25 cents plus one rapper from Peter Paul’s Almond Joy or Mounds.” From 1951, it’s a candy bar that has endured.
We start off this issue with bloody red rose art by Rudy Palais. I love these Stark color separations and the two-tone coloring. Here is a one-page Horror Story called “The Thing.”
and a coupon for eight brand new Walt Disney comic books all for 15 cents and one Wheaties box top! Next up we have The Tapping Doom with art by Manny stallman. Once again, great colors on this and the reproductions by PS art books are really quite good.
The third story in Black Cat Mystery 31 is “The Sea Witch of Sandy Hook” with art by Rudy Palais. To finish it off, we have another tale rendered by Palais titled “The Sleepwalking Killer.”

Full page subscription ad for Black Cat Mystery Comics

To polish things off, we have a full page ad to subscribe to Black Cat mystery comics and we can see that black cat herself is still hanging on at least for one more ad.
“You’ll want to keep a complete set of my exciting magazines! Terror-packed, exciting, weird! Yes now you can join the roster of regular readers who have each issue of black cat mystery Comics sent to their homes as soon as it’s off the press! Each issue hits a new high and spine tingling suspense and high riding action! Special introductory offer: 12 issues for a dollar!”
On the back cover we’ve got a nice one-page ad featuring Phil Rizzuto for “Wheaties, The Breakfast of Champions.”
This concludes our look at Black Cat Mystery issue number 31. next time we’ll take a look at issues 32, 33, and 34 of this volume. Please bookmark ghostclinic.com for more pre-code horror comic book articles.

Watch the original Black Cat Mystery #31 video.

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 horror comicsWeird 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

weird tales of future 3Robot 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.

More Stories in Volume One Issue Two

There are a few other stories in volume one, issue two worth a read including “Turnabout” about astronauts who encounter giant ants on another planet as well as artist Tony Mortellaro’s “First Come, First Served.”
You can find these Weird Mysteries reprints by PS Artbooks on Amazon, their website, or Ebay.
Thanks for reading. You can watch the original video here.

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 precode horror comicsWeird 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

weird mysteries volume two bernard baily cover“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.

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. 
pre-code horror comics reprints haunted horror

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.
haunted horror nightmare come true by iger shop robert webbAnother 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

craig yoe is forelock the warlock in haunted horrorOne 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 horror comic book hostThe 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 steve banesMr. 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.
bob mccarty artist precode horror comicsThe 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. 

Pre-code HORROR COMICS Anthology Movie WITCH TALES on AMAZON

WITCH TALES (Cuentos de la Bruja) is LIVE on Amazon.
Mike T. Lyddon’s homage to pre-code horror comic books “Witch Tales” aka “Cuentos de la Bruja” is Presented in original Spanish language with English subtitles.
On Halloween night, a charming and seductive witch introduces macabre tales of terror based upon pre-code horror comics in the vein of Tales from the Crypt.
“WITCH TALES is an enjoyable romp” – RUE MORGUE
“Lyddon knows how to tell a FRIGHT-FARE story well” – Ghastly Grinning
“SPOOKY and DISGUSTING” – House of Tortured Souls
“EFFECTIVELY GROSS EFFECTS” – Voices from the Balcony
“…a great anthology horror film that doesn’t hold back on the gore..” – Ciao Handy Films
witch tales precode horror comic book anthology movie

https://www.amazon.com/Witch-Tales-Mayella-Lloclla/dp/B09KKFV3LG/
#horrormovies #indiefilm #horrorcomedy #horroranthology

HAUNTED THRILLS Pre-code HORROR COMICS Doc is LIVE

A new documentary on pre-code horror, science fiction, and crime comic books of the 1950s, HAUNTED THRILLS explores the lesser known publishers and titles of the era and spotlights the writers and artists who made it happen.
haunted thrills horror comic book doc

Rumblehttps://rumble.com/vqmyfb-haunted-thrills.html
Bitchutehttps://www.bitchute.com/video/ObhOzWLYs3BH/
Youtubehttps://youtu.be/uG44Jtoobl8

Haunted Thrills features exclusive interviews with pre-code artists Everett Raymond Kinstler, Joe Sinnott, and Victor Carrabotta. Sinnott and Carrabotta talk about working for Stan Lee and Atlas Comics in the Empire State Building with some great stories about Stan and Marvel comics legend Jack Kirby.

Haunted Thrills is midway through it’s 2021-2022 film festival run and is an official selection in 11 festivals so far, garnering 5 awards for Best Short Documentary Film. This doc is a companion piece to Mike Lyddon’s previous feature film WITCH TALES, a horror anthology movie that adapts pre-code horror comic book stories to the screen.

Pre-code HORROR Documentary HAUNTED THRILLS 2021 Trailer

HAUNTED THRILLS (2021) will have its world premiere in October or November of 2021 and then released across multiple platforms including Rumble, Youtube, Bitchute and others.
A companion featurette to Mike T. Lyddon’s horror anthology movie WITCH TALES aka CUENTOS DE LA BRUJA (2020), the Haunted Thrills documentary looks at many of the publishers and artists who drew horror comics that were considered so extreme that it led to the Comics Code Authority stamp, one of the largest cases of industrial censorship in U.S. history.
Everyone knows about Stan Lee and Marvel Comics but few know that he was one of the original pre-code horror editors when he worked for ATLAS in the late 1940s.  We interview two artists who worked at Atlas, Joe Sinnott and Vic Carrabotta.
Also, we speak with the great Everett Raymond Kinstler about his days with AVON and ZIFF-DAVIS publishers.
Trailer is now on RUMBLE and YOUTUBE, or watch it here –

Pre-Code Horror Anthology WITCH TALES (2020) Blu-Ray and VOD Release

Witch Tales horror vod blurayReel Progress LLC is pleased to announce the official blu-ray and VOD release of the Pre-Code horror comic anthology movie WITCH TALES.
This Halloween, the pretty girl next door wants to invite you in for a treat…or a TRICK!
The enchanting Witch presents three tales of terror based upon 1950s pre-code horror comic book stories in the style of TALES FROM THE CRYPT.
The limited edition blu-ray comes with a special HORROR TRIVIA CONTEST.  Answer the trivia questions and enter to win one of ten custom movie props from the film!
Only 300 blu-rays are available, so your odds of winning are 1:30!
And while supplies last, get a FREE Horror Anthology Movie Vol. 1 DVD when you buy the Witch Tales blu-ray.
Please visit the main site http://www.horroranthologymovies.com/
for purchase info, more pics and trailers.

Haunted Thrills Horror Comic Books Trailer #1

Ghost Clinic is pleased to present the first trailer for HAUNTED THRILLS (2019) a documentary by Mike T. Lyddon about pre-code horror comic books of the 1940’s and 1950’s featuring interviews with original pre-code artists Everett Raymond Kinstler, Joe Sinnott and Vic Carrabotta.
Also segments on Metropolis Collectibles / ComicConnect.com with Vincent Zurzolo and pre-code adaptations of Edgar Allan Poe stories with a trip to the Poe Museum in Richmond, Va.
Many golden age/atom age artists spotlighted including Matt Baker, Russ Heath, Iger Shop, Basil Wolverton, Lee Elias, L.B. Cole and more.
Will be on the comic con and film festival circuit for the better half of 2019.
Vimeo video – https://vimeo.com/294402221
Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-caNv_G_wU
precode horror comics documentary haunted thrills