Sunday, May 6, 2018

Poe 1944, Pt. 5

(Continued from Poe 1944, Pt. 4)

YELLOWJACKET COMICS  1
Famous Tales Of Terror  /  "THE BLACK CAT"

Charlton Comics was an unusual publisher, in that they had their entire staff, including their own printing presses & distribution, all under one roof.  Comics was always a sideline for them, more something to keep the presses running than to make real money at.  Rates were always low, but many liked working there as they tended to have more freedom and zero interference with what they did.

If ever there was an oddball place for POE stories, it was YELLOWJACKET COMICS.  An anthology title starring the superhero "Yellowjacket", the mythical Greek Goddess "Diana The Huntress", and circus star Danny King, "King Of The Beasts", it also included "Famous Tales Of Terror".  4 of these were POE stories-- "THE BLACK CAT", "THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM", "THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER", and "THE TELL TALE HEART"-- in each case, the earliest comics versions I've found of them.

I find it funny that "King Of The Beasts" should get the cover spot on the first issue instead of the character the book is named after!

1st up is one of the most ubiquitous Poe stories there is...

"THE BLACK CAT"

No doubt MOST people are familiar with this entirely from the middle segment of the Roger Corman anthology film, "TALES OF TERROR", which almost neatly combines the story with "A Cask Of Amontillado", as both feature scenes of people being bricked up in walls.  However, it's notable that the logic of both stories was inadvertently destroyed along the way.  Witness here the original story as Poe intended it, a parable which cautions against the evils of liquor as well as an advisory to "be kind to animals".

Bill Allison, the artist for this story, was mostly known for westerns, both in pulp magazines and early comic-books.

(This page was originally set up on Thursday, October 9, 2014.  I'm moving it to a new page so it will be easier to make changes in the future.)

YELLOWJACKET COMICS 1
cover by HAROLD DeLAY  (Charlton  /  September 1944)
"THE BLACK CAT"  /  Version 1
Adaptation by ??  /  Art by BILL ALLISON  /  Page 21

Page 22

Page 23
Page 24

Page 25

Page 26

Page 27
64 YEARS
later, this story was reprinted as part of a miscellaneous anthology...

THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST HORROR COMICS
cover by A.C. HOLLINGSWORTH  (??)
(Running Press Book Publishers  /  2008)

Copyright
(C) the various publishers & artists.

Scans of YELLOWJACKET COMICS #1 from the Comic Book Plus site.
     Special thanks to "Archiver_USA".
Scan of THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF BEST HORROR COMICS
     from the GCD site.

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa.

For more:
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at the Biography site.


Read about Charlton Comics at Don Markstein's Toonopedia site.
Read about Charlton Comics at The Power Of Comics site.

Read about William Merle Allison at the Pulp Artists site
Read about William Merle Allison at the Lambiek site

See more Kevin Necessary art at his site.

Read about THE BLACK CAT at Spark Notes.
Read the complete story at the Poe Stories site.
See the BLACK CAT Gallery of Illustrations.

     Audio:
Hear the Peter Lorre MYSTERY IN THE AIR episode!
Hear the Basil Rathbone recording!
Hear the Norman Rose CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER episode!


     Comics:
Read the Bill Allison BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Johnny Craig BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the St. John Publishing BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Luiz Saidenberg BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the Fran Matera BLACK CAT adaptation!
 
Read the Juarez Odilon BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Editorial Novaro BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Gino Dauro BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Miguel Gomez Esteban BLACK CAT adaptation!   (coming soon!)
Read the Arturo Arnau BLACK CAT adaptation!   (coming soon!)

Read the Claudio Seto BLACK CAT adaptation!   (coming soon!)
Read the Berni Wrightson BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Ricardo Villamonte BLACK CAT adaptation!
     (Coming soon:)
Read the Editorial Maisal BLACK CAT illustrated story!
Read the Arturo Cassilas BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the Alberto Breccia BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Josef Hutchinson BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the John Watkiss BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Horacio Lalia BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the David Mangiarotti BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the Steffen Kverneland BLACK CAT adaptation!   21
Read the Gris Grimly BLACK CAT illustrated story!
Read the James Fletcher BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Gerry Analguilan BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the S.M. Vidaurri BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the Xavier Besse BLACK CAT adaptation!     26
Read the Jean-Louis Thouard BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the "Alineromero9" BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Pedro Rodriguez BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Benjamin Lacombe BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the Fabian Goranson BLACK CAT adaptation!     31
Read the David G. Fores BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Edu Molina BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Gustavo Del Valle BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Pete Katz BLACK CAT adaptation!

Read the H.A. Kinani BLACK CAT adaptation!     36
Read the Nino Cammarata BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Sean Fitzgibbon BLACK CAT adaptation!
Read the Ahoy Comics BLACK CAT adaptation!

See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!

Don't miss the BONUS GALLERY of ILLUSTRATIONS up next!

(Continued in Poe 1944, Pt. 6)

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