Golden Age Snake Monsters continue the chills! Last time we looked at some of the Pulp serpents in fiction. This time we turn to the comics of the Golden Age. Horror titles, jungle comics, even the Romance comics, the Science Fiction comics have not yet got involved. These are creepy tales or stories with exciting jungle settings. Evil is the main theme.
There is nothing really new here. The giant snake is as old as 1808 (if you discount all the myths about dragons.) The were-snake was a staple of Weird Tales and other Horror Pulps. Evil objects can be found in fairy tales, and the snake-filled jungle adventure goes back to at least Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling. The comic creators had a rich field to select from.
All of these stories were written by unknown authors except one. That one was written by Jack Kirby. The Golden Age did not place much importance on giving creators credit. The artists could sneak signatures into their work, making their identification easier. Some like Patricia Highsmith of Ripley fame preferred that no one know of their involvement. Others like Mickey Spillane had more of a sense of humor about it.
“The Phantom Python” (Eerie #8, August-September 1952) has a witch doctor send a giant snake to kill a group of Europeans.
“Necklace of Death” (The Hand of Fate #13, October 1953) has a strange necklace of two snakes crossing that turns a couple into were-snakes.
“The Big Snake” (Tales of Horror #3, November 1952) is the most science fictional of the stories here. A stolen serum creates a giant snake that goes on a rampage.
“Coils of the Monster Snake” (White Princess of the Jungle #5, November 1952) begins when a tribe raises Vishnac, the Serpent King. It is up to Taanda to put him back down.
“The Were-Snake of Karnak” (Skeleton Hand #2, November-December 1952) has a woman buy an evil ring that gives her snake magic. She is defeated by biting a man filled with anti-venom.
“The Fangs of Fate” (Out of the Shadows #7, January 1953) has a neighbor discover proof that Dr. Kissack is in the country illegally. He gets fed to the python but later Kissick suffers a similar fate when he is trapped under a rafter.
“The Feathered Serpent” (Black Magic #21, February 1953) was written by Jack Kirby. An archaeologist goes in search of the legendary god and finds him.
“Cup of Moonglow” (Nightmare #3, October 1953) starts with an escaped convict in the jungle. He comes across Saura, a beauty with a necklace. Too bad she’s a were-snake.
“In the Coils of the Python Queen” (The Beyond #23, November 1953) has a woman, a were-snake, go with her husband’s killers so she can get revenge.
“Serpent of Doom” (Adventures Into Darkness #12, December 1953) has a woman who is turned into a were-snake by a serpent necklace.
“The Enchanted Valley” (Jungle Comics #161, Winter 1953) has a safari in the valley hunting lions. They encounter a giant snake and Tiger Girl.
“Food For Thought” (The Thing #12, February 1954) Were-snakes among us?
“Spell of Love” (Youthful Romances #7, February 1954) is a love triangle with magic (and snakes). I don’t usually look at romance comics but this one had enough horror material in it to make it fun.
Conclusion
Golden Age Snake Monsters prove the Pulps weren’t the only ones having fun with these snaky tropes. The Golden Age comics were wonderfully gory and sinister. The Silver Age snakes are far less interesting. In the Bronze Age, Horror comics would improve and jungle comics would be rockin’ again when Joe Kubert and DC took over Tarzan. (That isn’t to say I had any problemy with Russ Manning in the Silver Age.) Creepy were-serpents, enchanted snake necklaces, the whole thing is such a Gothic set piece that you see it everywhere imagination is used.
