WFMU's Beware of the Blog

"Sky Music" and "Song of the Undead" More Insane 1950s Horror

   "Henry Valpin set down the sounds of the heavens and wrote them into a devastating harmony, which he called ... Sky Music.

   Here is a factual story that is indeed stranger than fiction ... If you find it difficult to believe, I will not blame you!  But I swear to its truth and write it now just as I saw and heard it happen!"

    (from Sky Music, 1956)

  "Eerily, like music from another world, the magic notes hung in the air! Dorothy and John Blaik shivered as they watched the strange, evil-looking vampire girl sing the "Song of the Undead!"

    (Song of the Undead, 1952)

Yes indeed, we're back with another duet of terror tales this week for the Comic Supplement here at BotB. One is a hearty pre-comics-code dish, and the other, our lead story, is of the later not-quite-so-grisly variety, toned-down so as not to upset the kiddies.  I think you'll find both of them amusing, though, and their songs will echo in your mind until our next meeting here in two weeks, when we will head in another direction genre-wise to serve up more music-and-media-related vintage comic book goodies.

"This is the Lowdown About Bergen, Folks" by Charlie McCarthy (1942)

"The story of the rise of Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy has always been told through the eyes of Bergen. The editors received the following story from Charlie McCarthy which we have visualized. It it their tale told through the eyes of McCarthy."

Again this week we'll diverge from our usual strictly music-related Comic Supplement posts to look at another area of the entertainment and cultural world. In this case, where better to go than right to the wooden mouth of perhaps the most famous ventriloquist dummy of all, and certainly one of the best dressed, for our feature story, a delirious 14-page fantasy from the mind of Charlie himself. As the author and artist of this strange piece are unknown there's nothing for it but to plunge right into this backup story from the pages of Doc Savage magazine number eight, from June 1942, right after the jump!

"The Brush that Could Haunt Men's Souls" and "The Mark of X"

Today we'll diverge a bit from the usual 'music' related comic book stories in this series and look at two tales from the 1950s run of the DC book "House of Mystery" that involve, first, a comic book artist and an art brush, and second, a television writer who discovers an interesting solution to writer's block.

"It was only a brush -- an ordinary painter's brush ... but in its soft and yielding bristles was hidden the power to force from men the truth!  Lies perished in their hearts ... Falsehoods froze on their lips ... and once their innermost secrets were revealed, found themselves teetering on the very brink of doom!"

Thus begins our first thrilling story from House of Mystery #10, January 1953, unfurling for you right after the jump!

"Music and Mayhem" We Play Both Kinds of Music Here at WFMU

"Shh ... listen ... do you hear it ..? The ghostly strains of lament! That's right, it's "Music by Artie Draw" !  But he's dead!  Yes, he's dead ... Yet deep in the night he stalks about, and it's music from the grave you hear!  But be at ease ... Grimm, our ghost doctor, is working frantically on this case that is driving Margo, the beautiful songstress, to certain madness ... How does he fare out? ... Read on ..."

While I'm still away on vacation, I've selected a cheerful little feature from the pages of the third issue of Haunted Thrills magazine, October 1952. It's a handsome package put together in the Jerry Iger shop, and aside from that we have no definitive art or writing credits. It's got some very lovely ladies, one of whom is pretty darned evil, and a scary ghost, so it's guaranteed to entertain and educate. Try a little dash of Mayhem with your Music - right after the jump!

"Album of Fear!" A Twisted Tale of a Man and His Tape Recorder

"He had trespassed upon man's most sacred moment ...

He would not rest until each shuddering cry of death had been added to his collection of spine-chilling recordings! But his twisted mind failed to realize that he himself was soon to join the doomed voices in his ominous ... Album of Fear!"

Welcome again to the Comic Supplement! While I'm away on vacation for a couple of weeks we'll be serving up a couple of posts spotlighting choice 1950s terror tales.

Today's thriller is from lucky issue #13 of the DC book House of Mystery, which is cover dated April 1953, and features a fellow with a delightful audio hobby;  drawn and perhaps also written by the prolific and stylish Ed Smalle. Dare you find out what sounds may lurk within the album of terror? Join us after the jump and hear for yourself!

Uncle Bernie, Novelty Mart and Frank Zappa in the Comics

"Hi Folks - Uncle Bernie wants all the children (and grown-ups too) to be happy!  In this latest Novelty Mart catalog you will find fun galore and new excitement for the entire family, year-round entertainment and delights for all the children -- handy useful novelties to fascinate the grown-ups.

You will be thrilled with the magnificent assortment of exciting action toys, novelties, and housewares. You will be delighted with their fine quality and workmanship. You will be absolutely amazed at their rock bottom prices --- sensationally low priced because we're the largest mail order firm of its kind in the country. So just turn these pages for a remarkable PARADE OF VALUES. And feel perfectly safe in ordering any of them. Remember! Every item you choose has Novelty Mart's full unconditional guarantee..."

------ Uncle Bernie ------

Thus goes the pitch from Bernie himself opening up his 1953 catalog, issued from their regular address of 59 East Eighth Street, New York 3, NY. In my last post here at the Beware of the Blog Comic Supplement we briefly examined Uncle Bernie's mail order outfit and its possible tangential relationship to Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention which then dovetails into comic book ads in general and some other areas of folk Americana / arcana / ephemera that bubble and boil just beneath the surface of wide public consciousness. The comic book publishing business could be sketchy enough, but the folks that advertised in pulp magazines, digests and comics could run the gamut of flim-flammery. All harmless and good fun for the family, usually cheap, but sometimes with price-tags quite high for their day. Old junk that gives you a wistful feeling when you realize it was probably better manufactured junk in its day than one could find now.

Welcome to the comic book sideshow, my friends. Right this way - join me after the jump!

Dolly in "The Big Radio Robbery" (1952)

It tickles me the way I can sometimes sniff out a comic book that has a story in it that deals with disc jockeys, radio, or music celebrities, as I am often on the prowl for new goodies to showcase here in the WFMU Comic Supplement. The cover of the book we'll visit today grabbed me right away, and it didn't take too many pages before I knew that there'd be good stuff in there for the blog.

First there were anthropomorphic talking trees (always a fave) as well as a talking bulldozer (the second version of one of those that I've seen over the years), and then, a couple of stories later - a real gem, and our feature tale this week.

The writer of these odd yarns is unknown, but the artist Tex Blaisdell is very well known, both from newspaper comics (such as Little Orphan Annie) as well as all kinds of work for comic book magazines, and he does some lovely and stylish work here in a kiddie comics format, not one that he is usually known for. 

Some time ago here in the Supplement we looked at a rather sinister anthropomorphic radio microphone in this story, and now here comes another rather creepy radio character; but I don't want to spoil the shock -  just join us after the jump and see for yourself!

"Love Me, Love My Job!" and "The Oyster Who Couldn't Sing!"

"When Kathy Williams got a chance to work with the world-famous television, recording and motion picture organization, the Spike Jones Orchestra, it looked as though her romance might go on the rocks. It took genial Spike himself to straighten things out and show Kathy's boy friend that careers and marriage do mix..."

Yup - Mr. Jones is back again this week in comic-book form (we've had a visit from him once before at WFMU here). Today's first feature comes from the yellowed pages of Youthful Romances magazine, a series which we have also examined in this blog previously here. Their gimmick was to include celebrity cameos in what was otherwise an ordinary adult romance book. "Love Me, Love My Job!" comes from issue # 15, January 1953.

Our bonus second story on this frosty Saturday comes from the 30th issue  of Comic Cavalcade (December 1948), a 76-page, 15 cent funny animal magazine from DC Comics (National Periodicals), wherein we'll meet a snazzy assortment of musically-inclined undersea dwellers and one oyster with vocalization issues.  Join us after the jump for these two fun tales!

"Santa: the Night Prowler" : Holiday Comic Book Bonanza

This week, nothing but sheer, unabashed wallowing in peculiar holiday comics in several genres. We have a couple of servings of kiddie comics, a creepy old-western story, a bit of mystery, and more!

As usual, I've tried to keep the stories tied to 'music/recording/sound/radio and media', but we'll stray a little bit this time to fit in a couple of tales that are just a lot of fun.

Pull those work-station blankets up tight and snuggy, pour a libation, and enjoy some not-so-wholesome reading time with the classics. It'll be naughty and nice - I ain't tellin' you twice!

Exult in WFMU's offering of cold-weather cheer - right after the jump!

Fate Plays the Violin (Dec. 1954)

"Well, here we are, back again for another shivaree of shenanigans and quivers! For this is a doleful dirge for longhairs! It's the story of a concert fiddler who was real gone for that fine tone, and nobody dug him 'till he went all out and dug for himself."

From 'Fate Plays the Violin'

"Strange, eerie noises from out of the unknown ... A quavering song from nowhere ... Yes, there's more than musty legend behind the secret of Cragside Hall! There's the ghost of something stronger than death ... And it waits to join 'The Spectral Singer!' "

From today's first tale: The Spectral Singer'

Greetings music lovers, here we are again with music-related comic book madness; which today consists of two 1950s-era horror tales, the first one sweetly romantic (really-?), and the second one out-and-out horrific and sick. Something about violins brings out the weirder story ideas from these comic book scribes, and this story is a prime example.    

So join us after the jump for these two tasty, trippy tidbits of terror!

The Short Career of the 1941 Pied Piper

"By means of a secret charm to draw,  and after me so as you never saw,  all creatures living beneath the sun,  that creep or swim or fly or run.  /   And I chiefly use my charm,  on creatures that do people harm,  the mole, the newt, the toad and viper,  and people call me the Pied Piper."

So opens the first of his four cases, from the pages of Cat-Man Comics in 1941. Created and drawn by Allen Ulmer, Jr., and not to be confused with the early 1960s adversary of the Flash (shown on our right) who, although a straight-up villain, has a much lighter tone. The 1941-42 model is a 'hero' character per se - but a rather creepy one - just how I like 'em!

It seems that our protagonist, the lawyer 'Steve Prentice', has "quite a collection of flutes and rare instruments (he) picked up while touring the Orient" and uses noise to battle crime and corruption for four issues until his untimely demise. Today we'll look at all the adventures that this short-lived and strange character got to participate in - his flute playing is not well-liked by criminals and indeed even the authorities aren't too sure what to make of him either.  Let's join our crime-fighting flautist right after the jump!

Highlights of "Juke Box" Number One, from March 1948

Today let's look at a late product from the Funnies, Inc. comic book packaging company, founded by Lloyd Jacquet in 1939 as First Funnies Inc. One of the earliest heavy players in the budding comic book making business, and also one of the best-paying, they attracted a lot of terrific talent over the years, many of them working freelance at home, not a common practice in those days.

By the time they published the series that we'll look into today, the company was located at 500 Fifth Avenue in New York and still managed by Jacquet. There were only six issues of Juke Box produced, each one stuffed full of popular musical performers and writers, but like many post-war comics it didn't last. Once wartime paper restrictions were lifted, everyone flooded the newstands with too many comics and that generally helped to crush many comic book publishers altogether. A lot of subjects were tried out in the late 1940s, but few books held on for very long.

This first issue of Juke Box is very promising, well-drawn and written throughout, and we'll see most of it today. I plan to showcase excerpts from the other five issues in future WFMU blog posts as they are rife with interesting artists. So come along now and learn about Lindley Armstrong Jones (who he?),  the habits and interests of Duke Ellington, fight crime with Benny Goodman, pen some hits with Johnny Mercer, and much more musical excitement - all after the jump!

"The Mad Mamba" and "Satan's Stradivari" / Scary Pre-Code 1950s Music-Horror

"I won't book another concert for you, Devere. Neither will any agent! Audiences run from your concerts. You play music that drives them nearly mad! People can't listen to you and stay sane."

Ahhh, yes, the years before auto-tune. Step back again this week if you will into that dark place where a chance encounter with a musician or composer might lead to madness at the least, or being an accursed soul for all eternity on the outside.

In our first little yarn, as illustrated by the Atlas/Marvel companies favorite artist (in the 1950s, anyway) Joe Maneely, we will learn a wickedly popular new dance that was all the rage back in 1954 when it appeared originally. Then we will roll back to 1952 and the Fawcett Comics company to hear the soothing strains sure to  issue from "Satan's Stradivari", as expertly drawn by the stalwart Golden Age artist Sheldon Moldoff, better-known for his many fine contributions to the Batman comics family, while ghosting for many years under Bob Kane's signature. A special mention should go to the unknown colorist of this story, who did a fantastic job, it is a treat to look at!

And so, for your listening and dancing pleasure, put on your dancing shoes, adjust your earplugs and join me after the jump for some mighty cheerful (and cultural) goings-on!

"The Spell of the Hypnotic Chord" and "Syr-Darya's Death Song"

This week the Comic Supplement swings back into the horrific and scary aspects of music, as we look at two 1950s fright books; with a tale from The Beyond #30, dated January 1955, and Web of Mystery #13, from September 1952.

 Leading the way, from the last issue of The Beyond, we'll learn about the The Spell of the Hypnotic Chord, which sounds like a charming musical lesson, as stylishly illustrated by Louis Zansky, and penned by an unknown writer.

As a cheerful follow-up to that story, we'll wind things up with a wonderfully visual and strange tale drawn by Lin Streeter and scribed by another unknown writer, with a cover by Lou Cameron.

Oh, Boy!  Death songs and hypnotic chords await us right after the jump!

"Beethoven" from True Comics 29, November 1943 / Plus Two More Features from 1946

Today in the Comics Supplement we find more educational material from some 'non-fiction' comic books from the 1940s, specifically the yellowed pages of True Comics and Picture News magazines.

We've talked previously at BOTB about the proprietors of True Comics here, and Picture News was helmed by editors Leigh Danenberg and Emile Gauvreau with art editor John A. Lehti assisted by Henry Cordes. More information about them seems to be hard to come by, but I did publish another piece from this comic book series here, and we'll be seeing more from that same unknown artist in todays section.

We'll lead off with Ludwig Van Beethoven and then join Picture News for stories about Benny Goodman and Captain Robert Crawford (who he?).  All of this knowledge and color pictures too - right after the jump!

"Going-Going-Real Gone" and "The Unsuspecting"

Today while I'm still out of town, let's look at two oddball stories here in the Comics Supplement, one by an unknown creative team from 1954, and another by old favorites Steve Ditko and Stan Lee from 1962.

Our first story comes from the fourth and last issue of MAD magazine clone Madhouse, the Sept./Oct. issue from 1954, an infamous and surreal little yarn - Going-Going-Real Gone. A bigger bunch of screwed-up and made-up 'hip' lingo and situations I could hardly come up with!  The only firm credits we have for the book are of its editors: Ruth Roche, and art editor Sam Iger, who both had long and interesting careers before working on this Ajax-Farrell comic book line in the 1950s. Words fail one on this tale, you'll see what I mean.

We'll close with a bonus short story from Amazing Adult Fantasy magazine number 13, June 1962, as brought to us by Ditko and Lee in "The Magazine that Respects Your Intelligence!", and it deals with one of their favorite recurring themes: the power and influence of television. 

So hold onto your intelligence and your sanity against the assult about to come - right after the jump!

Tony Bennett and Others in "Youthful Romances" Comics

Rolling out a couple of weeks worth of vacation posts for the Comics Supplement while I'm travelling about, and today we'll start with two yarns from the unusual 1950s love stories comic book Youthful Romances, which had the distinctive gimmick of featuring real-live music celebrities in at least one story of each issue, as well as on the cover.

In our first tale we find two would-be lovers aided by crooner Tony Bennett, as penned by Harry Harrison and drawn by Ernie Bache;  and in the second our guest star is Bob Eberly, from Mechanicville, New York, as written by Ira Zweifach, and rendered by Bob Correa.

Enjoy some vintage funny-book celebrity cross-over fun right after the jump!

The Doll Man Meets the Minstrel, Musician of Menace! (Sept. 1949)

Last week here at the Comics Supplement we enjoyed the second appearance of strange villain The Minstrel, and this time we're going to back up and check out his first battle with Doll Man from two months earlier in DM's own magazine, from July 1949, as written once again by Bill Woolfolk and most likely drawn by Alex Kotzky.

Get set for some hot and nefarious banjo-pickin' licks from this crazy-looking fella (particularly in this episode) and learn about the possible reason that his design was completely revised between this adventure and his next outing barely two months later.

More exciting musical criminal action right after the jump!

"The Hepcats" by Jack Bradbury, from Hi-Jinx #3, November 1947

Today's Comic Supplement brings you jitterbugging animals - lots of them. If you are halfway hep to the jive, slip a nickle into the nearest jukebox and grab a partner to swing along to these two jumping stories from Hi-Jinx magazine, as published by B&I Publishing and edited by Richard E. Hughes.

The Dan Gordon-esque art runs throughout the book, as well as the wiggly-line, brush-drawn panel borders, making for a consistently attractive product. This is the only issue of the magazine available to me right now, and the art is unsigned, but is certainly by the very prolific artist and animator Jack Bradbury, who has a site all his own here.

Join us for two funny-animal adventures from just after the war: the first involving a jukebox rental, and in the second, we learn the 'hep' vocabulary for various instruments in a music store (with guest star 'Tommy Horsey'), right after the jump!

Real and Replica: Independence Day, 2013

This year, I saw two Independence Day-themed exhibits, of which it would be easy to categorize one as real and one as not, except that, technically, both are “real.” Or maybe one is just as much a figment of meaning-projection as the other. I can’t decide.

The first display was at the New York Public Library, which was showing an original draft of the Declaration of Independence, as written by Thomas Jefferson, along with one of the original 14 copies of the proposed Bill of Rights. Both these documents are extremely rare, and the Library has never exhibited them together before. Because they're so fragile, they were on display for only three days, July 1–3.

I went to see them after work on Tuesday, when the library was open late, and stood in line for 45 minutes, which was totally worth it. It’s hard to write about the experience without sounding like a Frank Capra film. The crowd was large and diverse, and noticeably respectful. Even standing in line, everybody was polite and patient, which is something I don’t recall ever experiencing in an NYC queue before. The crowd fanned out once we were admitted to the room where the documents were in three displays: Jefferson's two-sheet (front and back) Declaration, sandwiched in glass inside two separate vitrines, so you could read all four pages; and the large, printed Bill of Rights (one of only 14 original copies known to exist) laid on a slanted backing inside another, much larger display case. Even though people were allowed to crowd around the displays at will, there was no bad behavior that I saw: Everyone waited patiently for their turn and looked as long as they liked.