CHB’s Comic Strip Thread
CoolHandBond
Mactan IslandPosts: 7,367MI6 Agent
This thread will be devoted to comic strips from long defunct comics and magazines which some readers may not have seen before…
Van Helsing’s Terror Tales #1
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Comments
Enjoyed that, looking forward to more.
Hammer’s Dracula (1958) Part One:
Now that looks familiar 🙂. I'm very interested in seeing more of these, and grateful to you for posting them
No problem @Barbel
Hammer’s Dracula (1958) Part Two:
Very close to the film- it's even got the infamous Peter Cushing finger!
https://petercushingblog.blogspot.com/2022/05/the-iconic-petercushing-index-finger.html
Hammer’s Dracula (1958) Part Three:
I think the final fight could have been extended for another whole page, otherwise it’s a good adaption in my opinion.
Yes, the final fight seems a bit rushed. Thanks for finding and posting this!
Van Helsing’s Terror Tales #2:
The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) Part One:
I think the artwork by Manuel Cuyas is excellent.
Yes, excellent artwork. It's less faithful to the film than the "Dracula" strip was, but very enjoyable.
@CoolHandBond when and where were these originally published? were these British magazines? at the time of the films releases or years later?
other than Manuel Cuyas who were the artists?
I agree the art is excellent, much more detailed and atmospheric than typical fourcolour American superhero comics. Warrens black and white horror comic magazines (Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella) would be more comparable, perhaps it was easier to print fine detail with only the one black plate.
and the faces are so recognisable, at least Lee and Cushing. In a lot of comic book movie adaptations I've seen (like Marvel put out in the 70s) the faces are more generic, though i understand there was legal reasons when that happened: the actors likeness itself had to be licensed.
@caractacus potts, the other actors' faces are recognisable too.
And just in case I haven't thanked CHB enough for posting these, thanks again!
@caractacus potts They were first published in the British magazine Hammer’s House Of Horror (which was retitled twice during it’s lifetime) which ran between 1976 and 1978 when it folded as the publishing house was taken over and the new owners didn’t want to continue that particular title. The editor relaunched the magazine in 1982 and it ran for another two years before folding again, this time forever.
Dracula (1958) was drawn by Paul Neary. The Van Helsing stories were drawn by a variety of artists - I will credit in future posts when I know who it was. Yes, I agree that the artwork is superior to the general four-colour work, and that it is similar to the Eerie and Creepy tales (of which I intend to post some of the best stories from those magazines).
@Barbel You correctly point out that the Frankenstein story is less faithful to the released movie version - that is because the writers were granted access to the original screenplays and due to a number of reasons (budgeting for instance) the movie ended up differently to what was first planned. In fact some of the future presentations I will be featuring are very interesting!
I’m not going to solely post Hammer material - I’m going to do Doctor Who, Gerry Anderson, Man From UNCLE and lots more - so I do ask that if anyone wants to see some more of a particular series that they either PM me or post a quick message saying that they enjoyed it and would like to see more - if no one makes a comment, or a PM, then I will presume that it is pointless posting any more of that series. I am not asking for thanks (but thank you, Barbel for your continued support), a message of liking a serial will be suffice for me to continue.
The Curse Of Frankenstein (1957) Part Two:
Coming Next - The very first Doctor Who comic strip…
Basing the strip on the original version of the screenplay explains the differences, and I can understand why some changes were made. The opening was similar to the 1931 version, which given their situation with Universal perhaps had to go
And re the last line in the story- there most certainly was!
Exactly a year after Doctor Who first graced our television screens, TV Comic published the first in a long running comic strip series in November 1964. They were allowed to use the character of the Doctor but not his companions. So with the movie rights having been sold to Amicus (for a paltry £500!!!) this was to be a third version of the character (but the second to be seen as the movie would not be released until 1965.
So that the target audience could be reached, the story introduces the Doctor’s two young grandchildren, who begin their adventures when the grandson accidentally presses a button in the Tardis. That part of the storyline is very sparse with little build-up. It was originally printed in black and white but this is a colourised version. Artwork is by Neville Main and I am posting this in two parts although originally it was published over 10 issues of the comic.
So here it is…the first ever Doctor Who comic strip…
The First Doctor Who comic strip (Part Two):
A piece of comic history - many more adventures would be published over the years with the strip transferring to other tltles at various points.
Van Helsing’s Terror Tales #3: Artwork by Trevor Goring. Script by Leroy Rickman (from an idea by Alan Booth).
There’s been a couple of deservedly bad reviews on the “last movie seen” thread recently about this film - but if it had turned out like the comic strip below then no one would have complained.
The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires - Part One: (Artwork by Brian Lewis)
Concluding part tomorrow.
You're right, it seems somehow better in this form.
The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires - Part Two:
I think it’s obvious that the budget didn’t stretch far enough to do justice to the script.
Yes, and lack of Lee didn't help, either. Nice artwork- I'm afraid I don't know what else Brian Lewis did, but his style seems familiar.
The Man From UNCLE - The Mona Lisa Affair - Artwork by Ron Embleton - Lady Penelope comic 1966 Complete Story.
Brian Lewis did the artwork on Quatermass Xperiment, which is on that thread. He also drew for the Power Comics range of titles (see article on my pulp thread) including the serial Space Jinx. He also did the artwork on post #9, above. He also worked on many comic titles including Eagle, Buster, Hurricane, TV Action etc. There will be more Hammer stuff from him posted here in the coming weeks.
Brian sadly passed away in 1978 at the young age of 49.
Van Helsing’s Terror Tales #4:
Steve Ditko doesn’t need any introduction to comic fans, but for those who are not, he became famous when he joined Stan Lee at Marvel to invent Spiderman. But he had worked on comics for 10 years before that and this was his first published work in Fantasy Fears #5 (1954) which was an EC horror type comic.
Breaking into this thread to plug the first installment of the Christmas Special, it’s ready to read now!
The AJB007 Christmas Special 2023 — ajb007
It’s fair to say that Hammer’s 1969 science-fiction film Moon Zero Two was not a great success. Coming out a few months after the real moon landing didn’t help the cause, and once again, budgetary restrictions meant that the intended screenplay didn’t realise the finished product. Here, in this comic strip drawn by Paul Neary, we get the intended story. Neary has used his own imagination for the costumes and sets but the story follows what should have appeared on screen.
Moon Zero Two - Part One:
Part Two - tomorrow.
Only watched that once many years ago, but the above certainly looks better than what I recall.