If you missed the last one…
Our last batch of vampires from ACG. As before, most of the writers are not known, except for Richard Hughes occasionally. All these comics are available for free at DCM.
Ralph is telling professor Forbes about his strange experience in Venice. When he arrives, he buys a music box that is half of a set. He plays the box and a gondola appears with a creepy robed gondolier. He says that Violetta has heard the music. Ralph goes with the man to Castle Barone, where Violetta meets him. She turns into a vampire bat and feeds on him. When he returns to the States he finds his hands have become hairy claws. The prof offers to return to Venice with Ralph. He explains that the man who made the music boxes, Antonio Briacchi, made them when his daughter died. Briacchi was a wizard as well as craftsman. Ralph is to stay in the hotel. He doesn’t, of course (They never do.) returning to Violetta. Before she can feed on him again, new music is heard. Her sister, Triana, shows up. She strikes Ralph with a magic rod then defeats her sister. Professor Forbes pulls Ralph out of the canal and explains he bought the other music box.
“The Venetian Music Box” (Forbidden Worlds #25, January 1954)
In 1954, ACG tried an experiment with “TrueVision”. This meant the outsides of the comic frames were black rather than white. The artwork was given 3D effects. The result was meant to be a cheap version of 3D comics, not requiring glasses. Like most gimmicks, it came and went.
Chris and his unnnamed girl friend are in Hong Kong. Her father is Major Stanhope, in charge of security. Chris sees a vampire flying into a house. He investigates and finds a man recently bitten. The man gets up and attacks him. Chris shoots him dead. The outbreaks of violence are now explained. The couple rush back to dad but see a vampire coming out of the house. Chris shoots it. It proves to be the Major, wearing a disguise. Chris reads dad’s secret files and learns that since it is The Year of the Bat, the Reds have freed a Mandarin vampire. They protect themselves with a special compound. Chris wants to finish dad’s work so he goes to Kang’s house, where he sees the vampire. Chris shoots and beats the Chinese until Kang tells him where the vampire’s tomb is located: the Lion Temple on Wam-Po Hill. Armed with some hastily made US vampire repellent, the couple go to the temple. Chris kills the vampire with a bottle of repellent. It turns into an ordinary bat.
“The Year of the Bat” (Adventures Into the Unknown #52, February 1954)
Pat and Barbara Mitchell are on their honeymoon in Europe. Pat is recently back from the Korean War. Count Orabal tells Pat about the wolpire legend as Babs goes up to their room. There she is attacked by the wolpire. It wants to take her to the Devil. Pat punches the monster and it leaves. Pat decides he must go to the Devil’s Mouth, which lies outside of town, and kill the wolpire. First, the couple goes to Orabal’s mansion. They find the place a ruin and figure out that Orabal is the wolpire. He has hypnotized Pat into wanting to come. Pat climbs a vine to the window and confronts Orabal. He knocks out Pat then turns into the wolpire. Now he can finish the job on Barbara. He chases her toward the pit. She falls but Pat saves her. He found a tunnel from the castle to the pit. Pat and the wolpire duke it out. No human hand can kill the monster. But Pat lost a hand in the war and has a metal replacement. He strangles the wolpire in one of the last Golden Age level acts of violence.
This one is interesting since it combines vampires and werewolves. R. Chetwynd-Hayes would go even further in The Monster Club (1976), creating the Shadmock, Shadvam, Mocgoo and Humgoo as various hybrid monsters.
“The Wolpire” (Adventures Into the Unknown #53, March 1954)
A real vampire is at a costume party on Mardi Gras. He selects the beautiful Maisie for his victim, interrupting a photo session. Later she reports the attack to the cops, bringing in veteran detective, Mike and his new woman partner, Gail. Their first clue is the photograph from the party. It looks like Maisie is talking to no one since a vampire can’t be photographed. Mike figures he is dealing with a real vamp and goes to the library for research. That night, the two detectives set up a sting. Gail, dressed like Maisie, wanders the streets. She is frightened by a figure dressed in green. She runs away into the arms of the vampire. The green figure is Mike, dressed like Robin Hood. Bow and arrows and all. He shoots the vampire with a wooden shaft, killing it. Wedding bells!
“Horror at the Mardi Gras” (Forbidden Worlds #27, March 1954)
“The Vampires of History” Adventures Into the Unknown #54, April 1954) gives us the career of a girl destined to become a vampire. And get burnt at the stake for it.
Olga wants to marry the Count but she has a rival in Vera. Olga goes to the witch, Madame Lapusca, to be rid of Vera. The witch tells her she will send a vampire friend of hers. Olga isn’t interested in the details. Vera dies and Olga marries the Count. Too bad, he is the vampire that killed Vera.
“Rivals Unto Death” (Forbidden Worlds #29, May 1954)
Kliest the vampire goes to the cops and admits his need for blood. He is not evil but must feed. He offers to pay them with jewelry. The cops are crooked and decide to use the opportunity to make themselves rich. Since Kliest can fly, he makes a great upper story thief. They hire Annie to be Kliest’s maid. The cops get greedy and decide to make Kliest work twice as hard. One of the cops gets drunk and his partner shoots him. He want the racket all to himself. Kliest falls in love with Annie. Unbeknownst to him, she is also a vampire. She kills the cop then Kliest. She has fallen in love with the vampire and joins him in death. Wedding be– no wait, forget that.
“When Night Falls” Adventures Into the Unknown #55, May 1954)
Dr. Phil Roberts is going to meet Fran’s eccentric uncle. She wants to bring him bottle of plasma. Turns out, Uncle Otto is being chased by a vampire. Fran gives his back story. He is from Austria, where, as a child, he encountered a vampire. Only the dawn’s light saved him from death. The vampire follows the child, needing his blood for eternal life. The family lives like gypsies, trying to avoid the monster. Eventually, Otto ended up in America. The couple stay at an inn where the innkeeper drops from anemia. Later they see a vampire. They have to get to Otto’s right away! Talking with Otto, the couple learn that the vampire must feed on Otto to defy death. Because of this, Otto plans to shoot himself before the vampire can drink his blood. Too bad the vampire, who is the innkeeper, hears the plan and comes up with one of his own. He kidnaps Fran for a swap. When the vampire comes for Otto, he falls through a trap in the floor. Otto has made a special room for the vampire with unbreakable glass. The room is filled with poisonous snakes. Phil rescues ran. Otto plans to keep the vampire alive and enjoying his tortures in return for the years of pursuit.
“The Vampire’s Vow” (Out of the Night #15, June-July 1954) was written by Richard Hughes.
Our creepy and learned host tells us of the case of Lisa Kasmana. A refugee of World War II, she is adopted by American parents. When she grows to womanhood, a terrible secret is revealed. She has recurring dreams about vampires. On a date, under the full moon, she becomes one, too. Over time she makes peace with her vampire nature. She falls in love with Joe. She has an operation to remove a vampire gland from the base of her brain. She is now normal and marries Joe. One moon-lit night, the vampire nature returns and she kills Joe. Our host chides us for not believing in vampires. He turns into one, too.
“Vampires? Don’t Make Me Laugh!” (The Clutching Hand #1, July-August 1954)
In the Smoky Mountains, John and Maria Hale go on a hunting trip for their honeymoon. Their guide, Rowan, is a creepy looking dude. A bolt of lightning strikes near the hunters. Rowan claims its Grannie trying to scare off the ‘furriners’. They go to Grannie’s hut. They meet the old woman, her black cat, and Rowan’s sister, the wild one Katie. Katie takes a shine to John. Maria is not impressed. The couple leave, planning to go in the morning. That night a voice calls Maria outside. It is a talking owl. Katie is waiting with a gun. They struggle but it is Katie who is shot. The black cat jumps over Katie’s body. This is a sign that Katie will become a vampire. She does, coming for the couple. John drives her off. They must kill the black cat to stop the vampire. Katie shows up to get John and Maria. The cat is shot in the last second. Katie is at rest now.
“The Cat Jumped Over the Corpse” (Out of the Night #16, August-September 1954) was written by Richard Hughes.
Antony Rizzo, Italian American painter, is in Venice. The sight of the Palazzo Rimini sends a jolt of fear up his spine. A strange woman sees him and he thinks he recognizes her. The girl disappears. Witnesses say Tony was standing alone. Later he comes across a painting of the woman. It was painted by Antonio Del Rimini. At the museum, he sees the woman and catches her. He only stops when someone pushes a heavy urn at him from the roof. Back at the hotel, Tony does some research on reincarnation and vampires. A message arrives. Teresa, the beautiful woman, wants to meet. Tony goes to her and learns that she is a vampire. She drugs him and he has a flash back to the 16th Century and the life of Antonio Del Rimini. Teresa and Antonio are lovers. He discovers she is a vampire but dies when he drinks poisoned wine. Tony wakes up from the drugs to see Teresa. She shows him the pit where she keeps Antonio’s skeleton, a stake driven through his chest. Tony kicks Teresa into the pit. She falls on the stake, ending her life.
“A Tomb For Antonio” (Forbidden Worlds #32, August 1954)
“The Cold Cure” (a test story) (Forbidden Worlds #34, October-November 1954) has the cruel researcher, Dr. Frisbee, seeking a cure to the common cold. He employs an impoverished cousin, Matilda. He treats her like a slave. Frisbee figures out the cure might be linked to vampire bats. He has a bunch brought in from South America. When he sees Matilda is suffering from a cold, he injects her. The story ends with Frisbee’s blood-drained corpse on the floor.
Conclusion
I love how in so many of these comics, the hero goes and does research on vampires. As an old Call of Cthulhu player, I think “Hope you make your Library Use roll!”
Thus the Golden Age of ACG comes to a close. Adventures Into the Unknown and Forbidden Worlds continued for years but under the new Comics’ Code. These Silver Age issues lean towards Science Fiction (and sleepy SF at that). The vampires have all crawled back into their coffins to wait for the 1970s.
