The Monsters of Jay Disbrow is probably the best thing to come from the 1950s comics. Jack Kirby created a million different gigantic creatures, but, for me, the ape-like creatures of Disbrow have them all beat. I recognize that Disbrow wasn’t the “best” artist out there but his comics, written and drawn by him, bearing his name, never disappoint. If I want fine art I’ll go to Michaelangelo. If I want monsters, I look for Jay Disbrow.
Jayson Edward Disbrow was born in 1926. He trained as a commercial illustrator through a correspondence course. Between 1951 and 1954 he worked for L. B. Cole and Star Comics. These comics appeared for the first time in Blue Bolt Weird Tales and Ghostly Weird Tales but were reprinted. It was here he had the freedom to write and draw tales of creatures tall, hairy and dangerous. His style is strange in a good way. I think the technical term is “mannerism”, where the artist’s distinct style is part of the effect. Not always accurate or photographic, it makes masters like El Grego, Carravagio and Tintorino memorable. Jay Disbrow has the same magic. I just like the way he draws (like Basil Wolverton). As it turns out, I am not alone. I guess he has quite a cult following.
All the stories and art in this post are by Jay Disbrow. Jay did do work for other companies than Star but all of the comics here were for that publisher. These comics are in the public domain. Many of them can be found for free at DCM.
“The Beast From Below” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #112, February 1952)
“The Djinn of Bazra” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #112, February 1952)
“The Unknown Presence” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #113, May 1952) When Jay wasn’t doing apes he liked to do skeletal phantoms.
“Mystery of the Catacombs” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #113, May 1952) has monsters reminiscent of Lovecraft’s dog-headed ghouls.
“The Ghoul of the North” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #113, May 1952) was my first Disbrow comic. The setting makes it a strange Northern. For more on this comic, go here.
“Swamp Spirit” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #114, August 1952)
“Vengeful Phantom” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #114, August 1952)
“The Insider” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #114, August 1952) As opposed to Lovecraft’s “The Outsider”?
“Cavern of Death” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #115, October 1952)
“Parchment of Death” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #115, October 1952) seems like another Lovecraftian misadventure.
“The Return of the Ghoul” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #115, October 1952) The Ghoul of the North was so popular, it got a sequel!
“The Ghostly Guardians” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales of Terror #116, December 1952)
“The Creature in the Fens” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #118, April 1953)
“Box of Death” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #118, April 1953) And you thought Clive Barker invented boxes you shouldn’t open!
“Demons of Docar” (Blue Bolt Weird Tales #119, June 1953)
“Night-Monster” (Ghostly Weird Tales #120, September 1953)
“The Mummy’s Hand” (Ghostly Weird Tales #120, September 1953)
“Terrible Encounter” (Ghostly Weird Tales #121, December 1953)
“Death Ship” (Ghostly Weird Tales #122, March 1954) This one is unusual because it is set in space. EC and other Horror comics did write tales on spaceships and alien planets. DC later made an entire series out of it as did Charlton.
“The Thing From the Void” (Ghostly Weird Tales #123, June 1954) may have been inspired either by H. G. Wells or H. P. Lovecraft. This pre-dates The Blob (1958).
“The Homecoming” (Ghostly Weird Tales #124, September 1954)
Conclusion
The Monsters of Jay Disbrow remind me strongly of Weird Tales, especially artists like Matt Fox. The way Jay tells his story is a classic monster tale from that magazine, told over and over. I suspect Disbrow was a fan of that Pulp (The name of both comics certainly suggest the publisher did.). He seems aware of H. P. Lovecraft, and perhaps August Derleth, Frank Belknap Long (who wrote the first Horror comics in 1948) or even the early Robert Bloch. These writers are all brothers to the weird apish demons and creatures Disbrow gave us. It is no secret that the Pulps spawned the comic books. Jay Disbrow added his take on monster stories and we can be glad for that.
