Black and White Wednesday: The Art of Haunt of Horror #2

Oops! Ol' Groove goofed again! Back during Halloween Countdown 2010, Ol' Groove shared the awesome art from marvel's prose digest Haunt of Horror #1 with ya and promised to do the same with the art from HoH #2 in 2011. Well, for some reason that didn't happen, but today I'm making amends! The second ish of Haunt of Horror (Summer 1973) might've been the final prose digest ish (it would soon return as a standard b&w comic mag), but boy did editor Gerry Conway send it off with a bang! Stories by Denny O'Neil, Arthur Byron Cover, Harlan Ellison, Fritz Leiber, Ann McCaffrey, Ron Goulart, and more? Art by John Buscema, Walt Simonson, Dan Green, Frank Brunner, Kelly Freas, and Billy Graham? What a mag, baby--what a mag! Wanna take a peek inside...?

Happy Halloween, Groove-ophiles!

Countdown to Halloween 2010! Haunting Art from the Marvel Bullpen

Greetings, Ghoul-ophiles! Way back in 2008, during Ol' Groove's first time participating in the Countdown to Halloween, I did a short piece on Marvel's digest prose mag, Haunt of Horror. I'm not gonna repeat what I said there 'cause you can read it here, but I've been dying to post some awesome art that I couldn't post back then ('cause I didn't have scans yet, natch). Instead of firing all of my guns at once, I thought I'd share the sensational spot illos from legends like Gene Colan, Frank Brunner, Barry (Windsor-) Smith, John Romita Sr., and the rest of the gang from HOH #1 (March 1973). Oh, and of course we're taking another look at that far-out and fearsome Gray Morrow cover. Dig it, baby!


Next year, Ol' Groove's gonna lay the art from HOH #2 on ya. How's that for something to look forward to?

The Haunt of Horror: Marvel's Horror Prose Digest

Back in 1973, when the horror/supernatural craze was really booming, Marvel Comics attempted to enter a whole new arena: prose digests. You know, mags like you still see today: Alfred Hitchcock Magazine, Ellery Queen, Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Analog. Back then, there were lots of prose digests (sort of survivors of the pulp era), so I suppose Stan and the gang looked at it like it was another world to conquer. Of all the bullpen members at that time, Gerry Conway had the most experience in the prose field, having written a couple of mildly successful sci-fi novels, so it was Conway, rather than Stan's editorial successor, Roy Thomas, who was made editor of The Haunt of Horror.

The Haunt of Horror was, in all honesty, a very well done mag. 160 pages filled with all kinds of sensational spookiness. It sported really nice spot illustrations by a great mix of Marvel mainstays and newcomers like John Romita, Gene Colan, Frank Brunner, Walt Simonson, Mike Ploog, Dan Green, John Buscema, Billy Graham, and even the legendary Kelly Freas. Stories were a mix of Marvel folks and respected prose authors like Harlan Ellison (whose story was poorly edited in the first issue and was reprinted in the second), R.A. Lafferty, David R. Bunch, Ramsey Campbell, Dennis O'Neil, Arthur Byron cover, Anne McCaffrey, Ron Goulart, Howard Waldrop, and reprints by Robert E. Howard and Fritz Leiber.

Sadly, it only lasted two issues. The title was revived the next year as a black and white comic mag that lasted five issues.

Still more Halloween goodies to come, Groovesters! See ya in a little while!