Vintage Comics: "Beware! Terror Tales!" Issue 6; Horror at the Lighthouse, The Tattooed Heart (Cover - Pg. 15)

 Because I'd been so underwhelmed by the last series, I decided to dig up something a little more substantial this week, 'Beware! Terror Tales!'. There is no doubt in my mind that this comic is not telling me to just realize that I might have an uncomfortable dream tonight. I'm in for (and obviously you, readers are also) TERROR! The first story includes a lighthouse and a creepy old dude, but unlike 'The Lighthouse', it's a lot less gross. Fantastically dark with some equally wonderful art (despite the grain and age of the issue), this one is the exact opposite sort of story from the last comic. In fact, maybe it's a little too dark. The second story, reminiscent of an old Twilight Zone episode seemed even darker. A grim reminder that your tattoo will outlive you, so be careful where you put it. Also, don't be a Nazi. That should probably be the first point, actually.

Vintage Comics: Beware, Issue #8, Lost Souls, When Witches Summon (Cover - pg. 15)

 Returning with some more long-awaited vintage comics, this year I've got a fun one for you. An evil witch, a ghostly treasure, headless men and undead crusaders. I can't help but wonder why a music professor was so dedicated to his craft that he'd seek out a dead witch party to find a forgotten song.

Horror Flick of the Week: 1922 (2017)

I swear I'm not trying to be King-centric this month, but I just watched this movie yesterday and it was amazing. It's on par with the absolute best film adaptations of King stories, and miles ahead of the worst ones (I'm looking at you 'Sometimes They Come Back Again' and 'Maximum Overdrive', even though I secretly love you both.) This also may be the first Netflix original I've recommended on here, which actually makes me think I'll have to do a short list of must-see Netflix horror later.

After the establishing sequence with the cracking walls, I was hooked. Ghosts. Rats. Guilt. Murder. Greed. There's so much atmosphere, powerful direction, fantastic acting and cinematography. Thomas Jane was unrecognizable, and he really earned a lot of respect from me for his performance. He is what ultimately makes this dark horror, about a man living a hard life of his own accord and destroying it spectacularly over the course of one year, through a combination of his own choices and reaping what he sows. 1922. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor and watch it tonight.

Vintage Comics: Nightmare, Issue #3: The Wonderful Wizard, The Quivering Brain, The Witches Sabbath, etc. (Pg. 14 - End)

With so many stories packed into so few pages, I was unable to fit them all in the title, so the additional two at the end of this comic are: 'Charles Fort, The Supreme Doubter' and 'Crafton's Curse'.The first story here seems to have far too much stuff packed into each page for the reader to follow the first time around, and there's an additional character drawing eerily reminiscent of Peter Cushing (but just a little too early for that to be anything but a coincidence.) It's actually the 'true story', albeit brief, of Daniel Dunglas Home, a man reputed to be able to fly, levitate objects, contact the dead, and predict the future. I can't imagine what a show by that guy would've been like, and I definitely plan on doing a write-up of him in the future. I mean if you look up photos of him, the guy's as magnificent as Oscar Wilde in his famous leaning portrait.

The next story gets points just for the title alone. THE QUIVERING BRAIN. You're also required to always scream a title like that, announcer-style. It's impossible not to. It's a bit melodramatic, I'm not going to lie, but I think the concept alone makes it one of my favorite stories I've featured on this blog so far. Then we're lead into a disturbing summary of what constitutes a proper witch's sabbath, a summary of a historically influential skeptic named Charles Fort, and another story about a mobster getting his just desserts.

All-in-all, not an incredible issue, but some of the concepts are at least ripe for modern revisions.