Number 969


The Thing In the Fog


Jack Kirby and Joe Simon do a creepy entry in the legend of the ghost ship, the Flying Dutchman, from Prize Comics' Black Magic Volume 2 Number 1 (whole number 7), in 1951. While reading this moody tale I can even hear a ship's bell ringing in the distance...no, check that. It's just Mrs. Pappy on the phone telling me to put the casserole in the oven so it'll be ready when she gets home. She can sure spoil a mood.

Steve Ditko did another version of the legend, shown in the Ditko blog, with this story from Charlton's Out Of This World #6, from 1957. It begins with a similar premise to the Simon & Kirby story, but then sails in its own direction.

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Number 624


Edgar Allan Ditko


Hear that scratching? It's the sound of fingernails feebly trying to get out of a casket with six feet of earth on top of it. Yes, it's the old Premature Burial plot by Poe, reworked as a nice little 6-pager by Steve Ditko from Black Magic Volume 4 Number 4 (whole number 28), Jan.-Feb. 1954.

Yes, I know that Halloween was last week, but I still have plenty of stale Tootsie Rolls left in my trick or treat bowl. You can come on over if you don't mind making your way through the razor wire strung across my front yard. I tried to discourage the kiddies, you see...and one of these days I've got to go out into the yard and retrieve the two who couldn't be deterred.

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Number 615


The birth after death stories


In May of this year Karswell of The Horrors Of It All showed us a story from a 1953 issue of Black Magic about the circumstances of the birth of Sir Walter Scott. I'll link you to it after you've read the version of the story from Harvey Comics' Ripley's Believe It Or Not #4, 1954.

According to the story behind the story, writer Jack Oleck borrowed from himself, penning both the Black Magic and Ripley's stories. It happens...a guy is on a tight deadline, he's straining for ideas, and why not use this one? After all, the guys who publish and edit Harvey Comics didn't look at Prize Comics' products...but the readers did.

Now check out the Simon and Kirby version of this story from The Horrors Of It All.

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