Celebrate Halloween with the Bronze Age of Marvel Horror: Dracula, Werewolf, Frankenstein, Ghost Rider, and Son of Satan!

Halloween 2010 is finally here!  My favorite holiday...somehow I feel the rest of the year is all downhill from this point.  Thanksgiving, Christmas, bah, not as good in my opinion.  In fact I would like to be put in suspended animation starting on November 1st.  Re-animate my body after January 1st, give me a strong cup of coffee and everything will be just fine.

Here are some classic Marvel horror comic covers from the Bronze Age.  No particular order, just grabbing a pack of Marvels that lurk in the dead of night.



Tomb of Dracula #26 cover by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer, from 1974.  The story by Marv Wolfman and Gene Colan was part 1 of the Chimera storyline, a very good one as I recall.



Werewolf by Night #5 cover by Mike Ploog from 1973.  Jack Russell's sister Lissa is held captive by a madman, who sends the Werewolf out to assassinate someone who lives in a heavily guarded compound.



The Frankenstein Monster #10 cover by John Romita from 1974.  The cover is evocative of the early Frankenstein horror films and could almost be a poster.  In this case, the cover was much better than the interior story, about the Monster meeting "The Last Frankenstein" who brings him over to London.



It's even better to look at the original art by John Romita to the Frankenstein Monster #10 cover.  I found this over on Romitaman's website.



Ghost Rider #2 cover by Gil Kane and Joe Sinnott is frightening because you've got big bad SATAN, all red and aflame and eager to snatch up Johnny Blaze's soul.  Given that groovy midriff-bearing outfit, it would be hard to deny Witch-Woman's request to Step Right Up and Shake Hands with SATAN!




John Romita also drew the cover to Marvel Spotlight #13, the second full length story featuring the Son of Satan.  Who else can stop the Big Satan except for his ever rebellious son?  This comic featured the origin story of Daimon Hellstrom, which made me very uncomfortable to think that anyone's Mom would sleep with the Devil.  BTW, you think it is easy to design a costume for the Hellspawn?  That outfit by Romita is sheer genius.

Have a great Halloween 2010!  Were I made the emperor of the world, we would abolish those holidays and make them Halloween part 2 and 3.  Nuff Said!

Update: Comments from my old MT blog...

3 Comments

By Nick Caputo on November 2, 2010 12:35 PM

While the inks on the Frankenstein cover are definitely by John Romita, the pencils are by the one and only Gil Kane.

Nick Caputo

By Andres - traductor jurado ingles on November 20, 2010 11:15 AM

Thanks for sharing!! the comics are great!

By John McNally on December 17, 2010 1:25 AM

Thanks for this Richard. Great memories. Gil Kane did some lovely work on Captain Marvel, they were my favourites.

John