BASIL GOGOS AND MR. HYDE

If you thought monster artist Basil Gogos was limited to his high-contrast, brightly lit covers for FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND, think again. Despite his subject matter, which ran from men's adventure pulp magazines to FM, Gogos was a fine artist, and this original charcoal drawing, coming up for auction, more than proves it.

TOPSTONE TUESDAY

Here is another example of Topstone masks for sale by Johnson Smith Co. in a comics magazine -- this time from THE SAVAGE SWORD OF CONAN #5 (1975).

SCARY MONSTERS DELAYED BY CORONAVIRUS

SCARY MONSTERS #117 almost made it out the door, but instead got hung up by the printer, who has bailed (and rightly so) in the wake of COVID-19. Here is the message from publishers Don and Vicki Smeraldi:

Scary Monsters 117th Hideous Horticultural Horrors Issue has been printed but not bound as our printer's plant has been closed due to COVID-19. Once the plant re-opens and finishes producing #117 -- and our distributors resume their transportation operations -- we will receive our copies and begin filling preorders and subscriptions. Soon after that, bookstores, comic shops, and newsstands that carry Scary Monsters will have copies of #117 available for purchase. We will make another announcement when this occurs.

This delay will impact our release schedule for subsequent issues this year, but it is too soon to know just how much. We sincerely appreciate your patience! Please keep in mind that our online store MyMovieMonsters.com is still open for business and shipping orders daily.

Free Digital E-Version of #117 Available!
Until the printed version of Scary Monsters #117 is available, we are offering a free download digital e-version. It's a $5 value. This is restricted to purchases made today through a date to be determined only for: new subscriptions starting with #117 or subscription renewals that start with #117 or preorders for #117. A customer email address is required. Once one of these specific purchases is completed at ScaryMonstersMagazine.com, the customer will receive an email that will include instructions on how to obtain one-time personal access to the digital pdf version.

MONDAY MORNING MIRTH

"In words of one syllable, pardner - Nope!"

Bill Ward - Joker Digest interior illustration, March 1969.
NOTE: Bill Ward signed his work for CRACKED'S FOR MONSTER ONLY as "McCartney" around the same period as this cartoon.

EERIE PUBS TALES OF TRUE CRIME

TALES OF THE KILLERS
Vol. 1 No. 10 (Whole number 1)
December 1970
World Famous Periodicals, Inc. (Eerie Publications)
Editor and Publisher: Robert W. Farrell
Cover: Bill Alexander
Artists: E.J. Simpson; Frank Carin
Pages: 52
Cover price: 50 cents

For a while, crime comics and magazines were hugely popular, and remain so today. While channel surfing recently, a good many of the stations were broadcasting true crime stories. There is a film noir night on another station, and let's not forget our daily dose of Judge Judy and THE PEOPLE'S COURT.

In the realm of comics, titles on crime were prolific, beginning in the 1940's. They have greatly diminished today, but back then you'd be hard pressed not to find at least a handful of titles on the stands.

Even Eerie Publications got into the act. Using the "crime friendly" imprint of World Famous Periodicals, Inc., former attorney and comic book publisher, Robert W. Farrell (born Izzy Katz!) was hired for the editing chores.

The cover on the issue shown today, and several others were by Bill Alexander, who had already been working for Eerie and Stanley pubs. Despite their gruesomeness, they are today considering classic crime covers.

The content, of course, was cover-to-cover comic book reprints. Subtitled, "The Original All True CRIME DOES NOT PAY Magazine", TALES OF THE KILLERS #10, used Lev Gleason stories from the CRIME DOES NOT PAY comic book that was first published in 1942 and was murdered in the 1950's by the Comic Code Authority. This is actually the first issue of ToK, as the practice of "numbering ahead" gave newsdealers that they were successful enough sellers to be displayed prominently.