Halloween Horror (1987) #1 edited by Jim Vadeboncoeur, jr.
From the cover of this book, I assumed that it was another Eclipse reprint of 70s horror stuff, but…
… this turns out to be the stealthy seventh issue of the Seduction of the Innocent series. So these are public domain pre-code horror stories from the 40s and 50s. Collections like these can be pretty hit and miss because there was so much awful stuff published back then, but Jim Vadeboncoeur, jr. had shown a pretty great taste level in the other issues of this series, so I was hopeful.
And these are indeed magnificently bonkers stories. This one, by persons unknown, features a good witch, baby-eating ogres…
… and gnomes that steal children’s eyeballs. You can’t wish for more than that, even if the artwork is rather basic.
And it’s meta, too.
Lou Cameron did the artwork on the second story, and it’s more standard fare all around. The story is so obvious that you can’t believe that they’re actually doing it, and the artwork is pretty standard.
But them again, it has panels like this, and you have to respect that.
Of note is also Jay Disbrow’s last work in comics, which ends on a full-page sideways splash.
But the gem of the book is Dick Briefer’s final Frankenstein work, and it’s totally unhinged, both in story and artwork. It’s a real delight to read.
Jim Vadeboncoeur, jr., as usual, writes a thorough and somewhat amusing history of the stories we’ve read.
The comic’s a pretty nice read all over.
Total Eclipse 