Number 825

Love Horrors

Here is an interesting combination: a love horror story. If you're like me you have a few horror stories about love from your own past, but unlike the main character in "The Dead Lover Returns" at least we didn't die. The only way this poor schmoe can find true love is if the woman he loves sees past his rotting corpse to the man he used to be.

Gee, sounds like a good premise for a reality show.

The story is from World Of Fear #4, 1952, and is drawn by Sheldon Moldoff. Shelly, as you may recall--and if you don't then pay attention because it will be on the test--had worked for Bill Gaines' father, M. C. Gaines, both at All American Comics and the early days of EC Comics. When Charlie Gaines died, Bill came in, reluctantly, to take over the family business. Moldoff approached Bill with an idea for a horror comic (before there were such things as horror comics) called Tales Of The Supernatural. Moldoff's working notebooks contain the stories that were drawn and their artists. Gaines ultimately did not publish Moldoff's title, but used the stories. Moldoff took his horror comics ideas to Fawcett, they paid him $100 for the titles, and then came out with a line of their own horror comics, with Moldoff doing many stories.

It's a couple of weeks until Halloween. This will help get you in the mood.