Shocktober 10/9/22

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, has, over the 40-plus years she's been in front of the cameras, conquered damn near every aspect of the entertainment industry. She has, of course, been on our TV screens most of that time, hosting various versions of Elvira's Movie Macabre, in which she shows, um, "classic" horror films and comments on them in and out of the commercial breaks.

She's also starred in a couple of movies based on her show. She's even had action figures.

But did you know that she's appeared in comic books as well?

Yes, indeedy.And now? Her first comic book appearances have been collected in an omnibus. It's a pretty big, damn heavy trade paperback.

It's also a lot of fun.

Shocktober 10/8/22

And now? The Mego Frankenstein Monster from Mel Brooks' classic comedy, Young Frankenstein.

Shocktober 10/5/22

I've long been a fan of Bill Sienkiewicz, a comic book artist best known for his work on Marvel's New Mutants and Elektra: Assassin.

But when I saw this rendering of Max Shreck from the silent horror classic Nosferatu, I just had to share.

Shocktober 10/4/22

In addition to creating the Rocketeer and reviving the memory of Bettie Page, artist Dave Stevens also drew covers for various comic books. This one reprinted 1950s horror comics.

Shocktober 10/3/22

And now? For your viewing pleasure, Vampira and Bela Lugosi on the Red Skelton Show.

Shocktober 10/2/22

In the early 1970s, Marvel Comics brought back several iconic monsters to appear in their comic book line--Dracula, the Frankenstein Monster and the Wolfman (under the guise of Werewolf by Night) all had their own comics, with varying degrees of success. (Dracula ran for more than 70 issues, while the Werewolf hung around for 40-plus and poor Framkenstein just under 20).

They also brought back a wild west concept--The Ghost Rider--updated for the decade to a motorcycle-riding spirit of vengeance in the form of Johnny Blaze, who sells his soul to the devil to save the life of his adoptive father, who (SUPRISE!) dies anyway. At night, though, Blaze turned into a spirit with a blazing skull who could shoot bursts of hellfire.

Ghost Rider met various Marvel heroes, including Spider-Man, the Hulk and the superteam the Champions (whom he joined in adventures for their brief 15-issue run) and fought various supernatural villains over the course of his 81-issue run.

The trade paperback pictured above reprints his first appearences in Marvel Spotlight as well as the first dozen issues of Ghost Rider.

Shocktober 10/1/22

I can't think of a better way to kick off Shocktober 2022 than with a Mego action figure--in this case, The Reptile (from the Hammer film of the same name)!