Here's a funny little 5-page 40's filler light-fright from the debut issue of Major Victory Comics, starring long forgotten "Red" Herring and his chubby best friend Flash --who actually has the red hair. It's your typical silly shenanigans in the 'ol abandoned spook house set-up, complete with the ding-dong daddy and tough talkin' flatfoot characters, --and yes, the real highlight here is the fantastic, old-timey cartoon work from Joe Beck.
Like a bad 'ol black putty tat, a few other vintage Halloween finds recently crossed my path, the first being a tally card for a festive couples party game (complete with a score sheet inside and a place for totals and score winnings on the back cover.) That cover art is just sooo great though, I can't decide if I like the cat or the witch better. Or the smirky cauldron! And secondly, a rather awesome midcentury trick or treat candy bag made by Beistle, who, as everyone knows by now, created some of the most iconic Halloween decorations of all time.
Bats and owls, and kids in costume, --oh my! We're exactly one week away from the big day, and with lots more on the way too, so stay tombed...
For those of you that enjoyed the wrap-around art on the mug of my previous post (HERE!), we have another, --and this time it's on an old, unused pre-midcentury Halloween paper party cup! Adorable kiddie illustrations on all sides of this Handi-Handle classic, as the gang's all dressed up and hittin' the streets for some serious tricks and tempt-tasty treats! I've also added an old Halloween party napkin I recently found as well, featuring a spooky witch duo gathered around the midnight graveyard cauldron and conjuring up some satanic shenanigans, --because it just isn't Halloween without some super satanic shenanigans, now!
We'll return shortly with more games and stories from the Child's Life Halloween issue (see the previous post HERE if you missed it), but first I'd like to show you another scary story, --which also looks a bit like a game-- and this one is presented on a ceramic souvenir mug originally from a Trader Vic's tiki bar in 1963. This fully illustrated love story wraps around the entire exterior of said mug and tells the age old tale where boy finds girl, boy loses girl after receiving a neck breaking right hook to the jaw, and then his paralyzed, beached body gets some sensitive spoon action as they await the tide to roll in and carry them both out to the eternal blackness of the deep dark sea of doom. Okay, that's probably not what is actually happening here, but hey, its October and even a cutely illustrated, island lust scenario such as this can be full of terrifyin' twists...
If you're enjoying the horror comic book stories I've been posting over at THOIA all this month HERE, and now looking for something a little less intense, (but still spooky!) --then you've come to the right place! The October 1953 issue of Child's Life magazine is so full of great things it'll probably take a few more posts to get it all in (stay tuned all month for more from it!) So without further a-boo, here's a nice sampling of Halloween themed art, songs, stories, games, and fun creative projects to keep you busy until it's finally time to don your slay apparel and hit the streets for your sweet treat rewards!
Found a fun little double-sided card featuring some lovely old timey girlie art, --and a bunch of holes! That's right. Flip it over for the instructions to see how you too can create "odd effects" of epic proportions with your fingers. Boy oh boy, Joker Joe really knew how to entertain 'em!
As mentioned over at THOIA, we'll be diggin' up a variety of haunted house classics for the month of October. Now whether this is actually a "classic" by your definition of the word is another story altogether, as I'd be very surprised if anybody else has ever even heard of Hector Comics from good 'ol 1950's Stanley Morse. It only lasted 3 issues, but certainly managed to provide this blogger with at least a few chuckles, --even if I've only ever read the very first issue, of which this story is pulled from. Kooky cool, and very unique artwork from Ben Brown.
I was crawlin' through an antique mall last week, thirsty for something different and unusual, when suddenly I stumbled upon this wonderfully packaged Whiskey Well, aka the "hilarious liquor dispenser" --likely from the 60's or 70's. A simple wooden box with an old time handle pump that, in fact, dispenses whiskey instead of water. I mean, you could just as easily make it dispense water, but it's telling you to add your own fifth right there on the box! Speaking of the box, ain't that parched character illustration a sight for sore throats, scrambling' through the desert, gaspin' for something to quench his etc etc... okay, you guys know I don't drink, so yeah, this post is basically more about that goofy guy than anything else here. The jigger size ladle seemed to be unfortunately missing. Made not in the sandy Chihuahuan region of the US, but in Cincinnati OH by Poynter Products, this is a fun, and totally loaded novelty gag gift that just keeps on giving, for that certain special drinker in your life. (FYI more Halloween posts up next!)
Time to get rollin' with some ominous October posts already, and we'll get this 'ol eyeball a'seriously rollin' round in its socket, (via the September 1952 issue of Black Cat #39), with something leerin' in your ghastly general direction... making you ponder whether I require a stronger eye glass prescription... or am I simply giving you a cursed glare with--
