Shocktober's End 2018

And here we are again, my friends,
gathered in the fading glow
of yet another Shocktober's end.
Was it fun? I think I know.
See all y'all again next year.
And now? The Holidaze are near!

Shocktober 10/30/18

Shocktober 10/29/18

"He's embedded in the ground..."

Shocktober 10/28/18

Hello Kitty--or, should I call her, for this occasion, Boo Boo Kitty?--is dressed up for the holiday and hanging out at my desk at work.

Shocktober 10/27/18

These Jack-o'Lanterns are lined up for the big day to come.

Shocktober 10/26/18

Who wants to go to the skate party?

Shocktober 10/25/18

Shocktober 10/24/18

Shocktober 10/23/18

Shocktober 10/22/18

The current work display.

Shocktober 10/21/18

Shocktober 10/20/18

When I was a young'un, one of my favorite comic books was Marvel's Werewolf by Night. It was the story of Jack Russell (who was supposed to be in his late teens, but as drawn by Mike Ploog and Don Perlin, looked much older), who gets a, um, unique birthday present: Lycanthropy!

Actually, this was the tried-and-true Marvel "wandering hero" story--epitomized by The Incredible Hulk--only much more, um, hirsute. Jack would go from place to place, often aided by his friend, screenwriter Buck Cowan, battling all sorts of monsters, heroes and freaks, like Atlas, an actor whose face was burned off doing a stunt on one of Buck's movies; the Hangman who...well, look at his name; and Moon Knight, later to be a superhero in his own right.

Werewolf by Night ran for 43 issues (46 if you count the three issues it initially ran in Marvel Spotlight), and the Werewolf has popped up from time to time in other comics since. Not a resounding success (especially compared to Tomb of Dracula, which ran 71 issues), but still not bad for a feisty furball.

Shocktober 10/19/18

Now appearing at the workstation...Samantha from Bewitched!

Shocktober 10/18/18

And now? EL GATO DE LOS MUERTOS!

Shocktober 10/17/18

Shocktober 10/16/18

Shocktober 10/15/18

PUMPKIN-ON-PUMPKIN CRIME!

Shocktober 10/14/18

Shadows on the wall appear to say it all...

Shocktober 10/13/18

Shocktober 10/12/18

When I was a young'un, I was easily scared.

The creepy music from Creature Features (actually Henry Mancini's theme from Experiment in Terror), the shadows cast on my bedroom wall by the nightlight, the costumes on Halloween...all managed, at one point or another, to reduce me to tears.

But one of the most vivid memories from my misspent youth is the sheer terror I felt trying not to look at the cover of Marvel Comics' Tomb of Dracula #1.

The cover artwork was by Neal Adams--much better known for his work on Batman over at DC Comics (Marvel's "distinguished competition")--but the interior art was by Gene Colan, best known for his long run on Daredevil (and shorter stints on Captain America, Iron Man and Howard the Duck, amongst many others). Colan would go on to pencil every issue of Tomb of Dracula--a rarity, then and now, especially considering that the comic ran for 70 issues.

But it was Adams' art that first made me afraid to sleep at night. I'd lie awake in the bunkbed I shared with my brother, hoping that...what? The image on the comic wouldn't come alive and get me? Please don't ask me, all these years later, to explain the fears of an 8-year-old. I have no reasonable answer.

Except...that Marvel obviously hoped that the cover would frighten little children enough to want to buy it.

And they were right.

(NOTE: The image above is not of the actual comic, but of a trade paperback collecting the first few issues of Tomb of Dracula, recently purchased at a local comic book shop.)

Shocktober 10/11/18

One of the best horror comics of the 1980s (or, really, of all time), Swamp Thing was writer Alan Moore's first go at doing a continuous series here in America--and what a series it was. From his first issue, which he ended by shooting Swamp Thing in the head and apparently killing him, through more that 50 issues (obviously, Swampy did not die in issue #20), Moore produced a potent brew of horror, tragedy, and, occasionally, comedy (sometimes all three simultaneously), aided and abetted by artists Steve Bissette, John Totleben and several others.

The photo above is of the first volume of his adventures as written by Moore--all of the volumes are worth a read (several reads, actually) and can be found at your local comic book store.

Shocktober 10/10/18

Shocktober 10/9/18

Remember a few years back, when I wrote about Scary Godmother, Jill Thompson's wonderful series of children's books about a witch and her spooky fiends...er, friends who help out a little girl named Hannah and scare the muffins out of her bully cousin, Jimmy?

Remember also that when I moved out of La Casa del Terror two years ago, I did so in a hurry and had to leave most of my possessions behind, including nearly all of my hundreds of books? Sadly, that included my copy of Scary Godmother.

Well, this weekend, while visiting a comic book shop I'd never been in before in Lincoln Square, I ran into a copy of the complete Scary Godmother collection again.

Just in time for Shoctober reading, too!

Seriously, this book is a lot of fun, especially for those who love All Hallow's Eve like I do.

And while I've been out buying books (to replace much of what was lost), I've landed other volumes worthy of a Shocktober perusal. Look for entries on those stories later this week.

Shocktober 10/8/18

Shocktober 10/7/18

Making a guest appearance in Mom's living room...the great god Cthulhu! (OK, it's just the shadow of an aloe vera...or is it?)

Shocktober 10/6/18

This is the model of the Frankenstein Monster that stood in the living room of La Casa del Terror before my heart attacks. Now? It's tucked into a cardboard box somewhere in a storage unit.

But it will be freed someday. Yes, it will.

Every Picture Tells a Story 10/5/18

Yet another party I was not invited to.

Shocktober 10/5/18

Every Picture Tells a Story 10/4/18

Shocktober 10/4/18

Every Picture Tells a Story 10/3/18

Shocktober 10/3/18

Back when I had a digital converter box that picked up Retro TV, I enjoyed the musings of on Lamia, Queen of the Night on a show called Horror Hotel, which usually showed up late on Friday and/or Saturday nights on Retro TV.

Like Elvira, Mistress of the Dark, before her, Lamia makes with the wise cracks (and the abundant cleavage), but she also gives serious introductions to many of her movies, including rare, obscure Italian horror films. She also engages in skits and shtick with her cohorts.

Sadly, the digital box I had been using died, as electronics will from time to time, and the box I'm using now does not pick up Retro.

I miss you, Queen of the Night.

Every Picture Tells a Story 10/2/18

Shocktober 10/2/18

Shocktober 10/1/18

This spider spins its web, you see,
to capture you, or maybe me,
and slurp us down until we're done.
Hooray--Shocktober has begun!