Editorial Interpretation by Alright Owl
Few today associate the Truman administration years with werewolves, but the late forties and early fifties saw the rise of “mystery” comics. These were about monsters, not detective work, and their rather sudden popularity led to ghouls, vampires, werewolves, and zombies being banned from comic books. By 1955, drier science fiction had replaced them.
Ever since, these comics by and large have languished in obscurity. Tales from the Crypt enjoyed new life as an HBO series, but few have heard of Mister Mystery, Skeleton Hand, or This Magazine Is Haunted. Even fewer can pay premium every time they want to peruse the fragile pages themselves.
Karswell launched The Horrors of It All in 2007 and has shared over 1500 of these stories no longer under copyright. Obviously, not all the stories are about werewolves, and not all the werewolves are even recognizable as such. Andrew asked for five of my favorites, so for five weeks, my aim is to work up to what I believe is the best.
Fifth place is dumb but fun: a honeymoon “way up north in the forest” of Canada. What could go wrong? From July 1954, Werewolf Tale to End All Werewolf Tales! Please let me know what you think, but more important, let Karswell know what you think, since he did all the hard work.
