Weird-Ass Cover Wednesday Goes to Hell

Ah, Marvel Comics in the 1970s. They were both awesome and ridiculous. This was the company and the decade that brought us Hellcow, Manphibian, Shang-Chi, Heroes for Hire, the motorcycle-riding Ghost Rider, and a whole slew of monster titles.

They also brought us Daimon Hellstrom, Son of Satan. You know how he got that nickname? It's because he's literally Satan's kid. Unlike his sister Satana (now, that's a name!), Daimon rebelled against his father and sought to do good. Seriously, though, how surprised can Satan be when his son betrays him? He really should have seen that coming.

Daimon (not Damien, please don't sue!) was a badass magician and healer who went around the Marvel Universe kicking ass. And being the son of Satan. Check out the covers from his title:

This comic wasn't messing around. You know that climactic confrontation that most story arcs end with. This one started with it! Take that dramatic expectations!


Marvel was known for it's hyperbole, especially on its covers. This is the company that proclaimed The Fantastic Four to be "The Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine" every single month. Now, let's take a look at the text in the lower right-hand corner of the cover:

Possibly the most thrill-packed supernatural adventure you'll read this month!

Hey, now! Don't get cocky, Marvel copy writers!

What's with all the qualifiers? "Possibly" and "this month" are bad enough but to further limit this issue's competition by only including supernatural adventures does not inspire the reader with confidence.


Holy crap! That dude's got three faces! And he's fighting Satan!

Hmmm. Maybe this one should have gone in with the Awesome covers.

Again with the Watchmen

I just saw the new Watchmen trailer and hoo-boy! I continue to be encouraged by what I'm seeing.

Also, I noticed something on the Ozymandias poster that thrills me beyond words:

That long-eared cat thing looks exactly like the ones Gibbons drew. Aieeeee!

I am easily amused. Carry on.

Awesome Cover Friday: Creepy

Apparently I've still got Halloween on the brain because I was thinking about Creepy the other day and how cool the covers were. Creepy was technically a magazine due to its larger format but it contained sequential art so to me it counts as a comic book. The covers did a great job of selling the stories inside.

Frank Frazetta did a lot of covers for Creepy and this is one of my favorites. I love the dark palette and the sense of claustrophobia the image evokes. Also, the fact that you can't quite make out all the details on that beast just rocks.


This cover by Vic Prezio is in sharp contrast to the moody, dark Frazetta above but it is no less effective. The palette is bright but still fairly limited. Prezio's sense of composition and line really comes through on this piece.


Here's another cool Frazetta piece that is more indicative of his fantasy-action work. That dude with the knife has got his work cut out for him.


This is one of the Creepy covers that lives up to the magazine's title. It's by Kenneth Smith and there's not much I can say about it that the image doesn't say for itself.

Weird-Ass Cover Wednesday From Beyond The Grave

Casper's adventures were pretty lighhearted, in general. However, in the 1970s, the editors at Harvey Comics approved a title which put a darker spin on the character. They added a spectral horse named Nightmare to the Casperverse and the two of them rode around the world making more dead people in the name of their unholy lich lord, Morguul.

This policeman reported a strange sighting out past the old Johnson place on Highway 4. He was never heard from again but they say that on moonless nights, when the wind is right, you can hear a spectral voice saying, "Is this sort of thing even my jurisdiction?"


And here we have Casper and Nightmare cooperating to lead ships to their doom against the sharp, unforgiving rocks. There was much celebrating in the Grand Bonehalls of Morguul's blood-soaked realm that night.


Having a drought, boys? Well, let's see how you like it when my horse and I drink all your water. And here's the kicker! We don't even need it! We're already dead! See you in hell, amigos!


Hey, Sonny Bono! Race you to the bottom! Loser buys the hot chocolate!

Casper Covers Preview

Weird-Ass Cover Wednesday is going to be Weird-Ass Cover Thursday this week. So, here's a hint of what I'm working on:

Hey everybody! It's DEAD-alus.

Thank you, I'll be here all week.



And here's everyone's favorite spectre on his dead, rabid horse!

More ghoulish hilarity tomorrow.

Watchmen Posters Revealed

These look pretty sweet:



Click here for more images.

Hope? Hope!

Weird-Ass Cover Wednesday is taking a week off. King Clownape has retreated to an undisclosed location but he reports that two thirds of him is pleased with the results of the recent US presidential election.

Speaking of which, does Alex Ross need to 'have a talk' with the Obama campaign? You be the judge!



It's a good thing this didn't come to light during the campaign.

Kelly Does Zatanna

So, Zatanna is one of my favorite characters and Ryan Kelly is one of my favorite artists.

Behold!

VOTE!

OK, so this isn't directly comics related but if you are in the US and have not yet done so:

BPAL + Gaiman = CBLDF Win!

The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has released a series of scents inspired by Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book.

This is awesome news for two reasons:

1. BPAL makes incredible scents that people go crazy over. Seriously, I've seen it. Dozens of women in a hotel lobby sniffing each other.

2. The proceeds from every single bottle go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Go buy yourself something nice.

Video Time: Sing - Dresden Dolls

The Dresden Dolls are one of my favorite bands and this is one of their best songs. There are two versions of this video but I like this one better because a friend of mine is in it.

Hey (web)kids! Webcomics!

Happy Day after Halloween! Here are some of my favorite recent webcomics:

Cat and Girl go trick-or-treating!

OK, this one from Dinosaur Comics isn't Halloween-themed but it is funny.

Finally, Vexxar and crew sit around telling scary stories:

Click image to Embiggen