Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Lord of the Tattered Realm

Ending 2011 with one final Ace tale, the magnificently illustrated "Lord of the Tattered Realm" from the Aug '54 issue of Hand of Fate #24. See you all in 2012, and as always, keep those comments and emails coming-- lots of big things in store for THOIA and precode horror fans in the coming year!







Sunday, December 25, 2011

Strange Gift from the Unknown

Of all the strange gifts you'll receive this year, none shall be as strange as today's gift, courtesy of your fiends here at THOIA... from the December 1953 issue of Hand of Fate #21. Have a merry, scary, happy horriday, creeps!









TWO BONUS QUICKIES!

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Phantoms of the Forgotten

A con man resurrects a rip roarin' posse of old west poltergeists, in this weird 'n wild tale from the December 1953 issue of Hand of Fate #21 (art by Louis Zansky.)







Sunday, December 18, 2011

Whom the Image Strikes

Keeping things Ace around here for a few more posts, and how about another one from the March 1952 issue of Hand of Fate #22. Never has a story exposed the petrifying pros and corny cons of dabblin' in demonlogy as today's foolishly freaky feature!









BONUS QUICKIE!
















***R.I.P. DON SHARP***

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

To Behold His Doom

The March 1952 issue of Hand of Fate #22 is a winner, containing not one, but TWO Lou Cameron tales. So behold today's doomed classic, and then hit the THOIA archive for "The Night of Friday 13" which I posted way back in June of 2008 right HERE. I'll have another one from this issue in our next post too!







Saturday, December 10, 2011

The Last Hiding Place

How good was Lou Cameron you ask? Let these next few Ace Publication posts be the answer to that question. From the December 1954 issue of Hand of Fate #25b, aka #26 (apparently there was some kind of numbering error with this final issue of Hand of Fate.)









BONUS QUICKIE! 

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The new book from author and official RANKIN/BASS historian Rick Goldschmidt is out NOW, and covers everything you ever wanted to know about the spooky, kooky, 1967 Animagic classic-- MAD MONSTER PARTY!! 

 
A fantastic, highly recommended book, featuring 272 pages and over 300 images (many never before published) of photos and rare concept sketches and storyboard artwork, plus, the original shooting script in its entirety, sheet music for the wonderful songs, the complete Mad Monster Party Dell comic book, behind the scenes interviews and insight from the cast and crew (Jack Davis, Don Duga, Maury Laws, etc.) and much, MUCH MORE! Click HERE for all the details and to order your copy today!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Specters Stalk the Bloody Tower

Another tale of vengeful specters, with a welcoming touch of history spanning detail that only a few of the better pre-code horror publishers like Ace even bothered with back in the day. From the February 1953 issue of The Hand of Fate #16.










Bonus Quickie