Published by: Dark Horse Comics
Released on: Jan. 29, 2014
Writer: Richard E. Hughes
Artists: various
Covers: Ken Bald
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Preferred Publications, part of the American Comics Group publishing company, brought their pre-code horror comic books to the masses in the 1950s with a couple of titles, Forbidden Worlds being one of them (Adventures Into the Unknown was the other). Dark Horse collects issues #9 through #14 in this third volume, originally printed as single issues in 1952 and 1953. Comic creator legend Timothy Truman provides a forward to start, sharing his experiences with pre-code goodness. The comics contained within the pages are no less intense, no less graphic, and no less creepy then the books Bill Gaines' Entertaining Comics outfit was cranking out, they simply just were not as popular. Covers in this volume are all by Ken Bald, and he creates some nice pieces, especially the mummy cover that graces the front of this third book. It's no mystery why they chose to showcase it. The credits provided by Dark Horse on the contents page doesn't include writing credits, and even some artists are apparently unknown at his point. Here's the volume breakdown:
- Issue #9: “The Flying Headâ€, art by Jon Blummer; “Bride of the Swamp Monsterâ€; “Doom of the Gnomesâ€, art by Art Gates; “The Phantom Fountainâ€, art by Al Carney and Dick Beck
- Issue #10: “The Unknown Vampireâ€, art by Al Carny; “Bride of Doomâ€, art by Jay Disbrow; “Strange Machineâ€, art by Jon Blummer; “The Curse of Rada!â€, art by Charlie Sultan
- Issue #11: “The Mummy's Treasureâ€; “The Clutching Curseâ€, art by Charles Quinlan; “The Wax Demonsâ€, by Harry Lazarus; “True Vampires of History: Elizabeth Bathoryâ€, art by Charles Nicholas
- Issue #12: “The Chest of Death†, art by Charles Nicholas; “True Ghost Armiesâ€; “Were-Spider's Doomâ€, art by King Ward; “Tomb of the Unseenâ€; “The Witch's Curseâ€, art by Jon Blummer
- Issue #13: “Invasion from Hades!â€, art by Harry Lazarus; “The Case of the Subway Spectresâ€, art by Sam Cooper; “The Man Who Knew Allâ€, art by Art Gates; “The thing Called Dharnaâ€, art by Charles Quinlan; “Wings of Darknessâ€, art by Jon Blummer
- Issue #14: “Million-Year Monsterâ€, art by Paul Gattuso and Dick Beck; “The Time Destroyerâ€, art by Jon Blummer; “The Awful Letterâ€, art by Pete Riccia; “Spectre of the Skies!â€, art by Al Carny and Edvard Moritz, “Payment in Full!â€, art by Jon Blummer
The very first story, “The Flying Headâ€, sets up the mood of things to come quite nicely, and is a great indicator of what we can expect from the rest of the contents: utter weirdness. “The Unknown Vampire†is a slick little tale that might make some readers think of the paranoia and the test from John Carpenter's The Thing. I wonder if he read this one as a kid. Other stand-outs in the book are “The Wax Demonsâ€, “The Witch's Curseâ€, and “Payment in Full!†The stories are never all that outstanding, but it's the visuals make the tales what they are. And none of the artwork on display in these six issues is very inspired or noteworthy, and it certainly is a product of its time, and yes, some stories suffer due to inferior artwork of poor monster designs.
One such story is “Were-Spider's Doom†would be a much better story if the artwork was at least decent, but it isn't. A man seeks out a woman who turns up being a were-spider, but he has his own little secret that she won't like very much. Ever hear of a were-wasp? Well you will. The artwork is quite bad really and it turns what could have been a cool tale into a bit of a turd. “The Awful Letter†features a monster, an incubus actually, that looks one-hundred percent stupid. It totally wrecks the story, which isn't all that bad. It's just a goofy looking dud of a monster that takes away any impact the story could have had. One other example is “Million-Year Monsterâ€, which features a creature obsessed with Jill. It looks like Jack Kirby's Devil Dinosaur but with human nose and a bad toupee. It's laughable really.
But despite some clunky art, which pales in comparison to some of the EC artwork, at least in the issues covered in Volume 3, the book is still amazingly enjoyable. Anthologies are normally hit or miss with their contents, and this one is not different. It has its share of stinkers as well as its share of gems. “Wings of Darkness†is a good nasty vampire tale, and the vampire is not a handsome being. Visually, it's one of the creepier looking segments. Also included in the pages are text-only stories, letters pages, and old comic book ads that sold the cheapest, most worthless items, and at dirt cheap rates.
While certainly not on top of the pre-code horror comics' heap, Forbidden Worlds accomplishes exactly as it is intended to: it entertains.