Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Black and White Wednesday: "The Laughing Man" by Jones and Wrightson

Greetings, my Groovy Ghoulies! Y'know, it doesn't get much better than "The Laughing Man" from Creepy #95 (cover-dated February 1978). The terror-tale is written by Bruce Jones, who proved time and again that he was a master of the short horror story. Few could infuse a short shocker with such depth and, yes, depravity. Artist Bernie Wrightson is an acknowledged master of horror comics. His style--especially in black and white--still sets the standard for creature comics. And here they are, together, treating us to a certified classic.





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9 comments:

  1. Mike MikulovskySeptember 14, 2011 at 12:15 AM

    Creepy & to the point! I've heard of people being two-faced, but this is ridiclous!Bernie Wrightson a master of the macabre!I can't wait for Oct & Halloween!

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  2. AnonymousSeptember 14, 2011 at 3:40 AM

    Bruce Jones was a great horror writer and artist as well. And Wrightson...well... amazing as always. Have never seen this one. Thanks!

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  3. IvanSeptember 14, 2011 at 11:29 AM

    So awesome! I had this issue when I was a kid! Whew, good stuff--Thanks!

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  4. Adam BlackSeptember 14, 2011 at 12:14 PM

    I've been looking for this story for years, but I didn't know the name of it. Thanks!

    It's just as creepy as it was when I read it as a kid in the 70s.

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  5. AnonymousSeptember 15, 2011 at 5:05 PM

    I'd like this story a lot more if Wrightson hadn't opted for such cartoony underdrawing (homage to Eisner?) with realistic rendering. He did much better with earlier Warren stories like "The Black Cat", "Jenifer", "The Pepper Lake Monster", "Nightfall", "Cool Air", "The Muck Monster", "A Martian Saga", and "Clarice" where the drawing was less exaggerated, but still beautifully stylised.

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  6. AnonymousSeptember 16, 2011 at 5:02 PM

    I understand that in 1978 Berni Wrightson was already working on the FRANKENSTEIN drawings for two years, and to offset the intensity and seriousness of that work he drew the first, quite tongue-in-cheek "Captain Sternn" short story (eventually published in HEAVY METAL in 1980). Briggs in "The Laughing Man" has the same jaw line as Sternn. Hmmmm...

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  7. Mike MikulovskySeptember 16, 2011 at 10:20 PM

    I think your right, that sure looks like Capt.Sternn's jaw to me.

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  8. The Sanity InspectorOctober 13, 2015 at 10:26 PM

    haven't seen or thought of this one since it came out, yet I remember it vividly. BW is a genius, and you're a champ for posting this!

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  9. AnonymousJuly 23, 2021 at 8:02 PM

    Someone else pointed out on another blog that Wrightson was influenced by Frazetta's "Werewolf!" story from Creepy #1 when he drew this. Both take place in Africa, and both use ink washes. Good observation.

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Special thanks to Mike's Amazing World of Comics and Grand Comics Database for being such fantastic resources for covers, dates, creator info, etc. Thou art treasures true!


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