Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Groovy Age Gold: "The Eye of Doom" by Basil Wolverton
Hey, hey, hey, Groove-ophiles! By the time Marvel launched it's "latest" (40 years ago, y'know) reprint/mystery mag Weird Wonder Tales #1 (September 1973), Young Groove was really into reprint mags. Whether it be DC's 100 pagers or Wanted Golden Age reprints, or Marvel Triple Action style Silver Age reprints, yers trooly was on the lookout for 'em. When Marvel reprinted stuff from their Golden Age, t'was a rare and wondrous thing, like Basil Wolverton's "The Eye of Doom" which was originally published in Mystic #6 (cover-dated January 1952). This story creeped me out in the best of ways, and did I ever grow to love the singular art stylings of Basil Wolverton. Check it out!
Yikes!! I love Basil Wolverton, ever since I saw his stuff way back in Epic Magazine. Weird, creepy, and funny all at the same time. Remember that one about the "crab men"? "yaahhh!! The crabs, the crabs!" I don't know whether to laugh or have nightmares.
ReplyDeleteWow, those giant eyeballs remind me of Rick Griffin's psychedelic poster art of the Haight-Ashbury '60s, but Basil Wolverton's story is much earlier---he really is THE predecessor to Robert Crumb and the underground comix movement as a whole. I also enjoyed the reprint of a Wolverton short story, "Where Monsters Dwell" (1951), in Marvel's CRYPT OF SHADOWS #1 (1973) which can be seen here:
ReplyDeletehttp://swordsandstitchery.blogspot.com/2013/05/basil-wolvertons-where-monsters-dwell_30.html
Enjoy!
Chris A.
Actually, this is a better link to the Wolverton "Where Monsters Dwell" story,'cos the pages enlarge to a readable size:
ReplyDeletehttp://thehorrorsofitall.blogspot.com/2007/10/where-monsters-dwell.html
Enjoy!
Chris A.