If you missed Part 1: 1948-1953 or Part 2: 1954-1963…
Welcome back for our final visit to the Portrait Gallery. As the Silver Age moved on into the Bronze Age, some of the 1950s fun came back into Horror comics with the independent magazines of James Warren. The rest? Well, we’ve seen it before… not so much with a bang as a whimper…
“Portrait of Father” Unusual Tales #45 (June 1964) was written by Joe Gill and features a photo portrait. Marc buys the picture of his father and slowly begins talking with it. His father did not commit suicide. A business associate, Jerome Courtny, shot him, then made it look like suicide. Marc goes to the killer and forces a confession out of him. In the final panel, Marc thinks the portrait is smiling.
“Image of Evil” Ghost Stories #10 (April-June 1965) was written by Carl Memling. The tyrant Hamo is lured to an artist’s studio to have his portrait painted. Rebels kill the despot. The sword from the portrait falls out of the picture. The artist picks it up and cuts himself. The blade is poisoned. The other rebels each die after a part of the picture disappears. When Hamo has had his revenge, the painting is empty. The people who enter the studio wonder at all the dead and the empty canvas.
“Portrait of Satan” Eerie #12 (November 1967) was written by Archie Goodwin. An over-worked painter tries to avoid a deal-with-the-devil by painting his portrait. Jerry’s careless words bring the Emperor of Hell. In the end, Lucifer takes both the picture and the man home. Again Jerry’s careless words damn him. He says “But I put my heart and soul into that painting.”
“The Dorian Gray Syndrome” Vampirella #18 (August 1972) was written by Donald F. Glut. Barbara Vash is a reporter on topics of the occult and magic. She becomes interested in Gordon Hatfield, a man who never ages. At the funeral for his latest girlfriend she runs into an old woman. She is the daughter of Hatfield. She tells Barbara that Hatfield is very old but he doesn’t age because he sold his soul to the devil. There is a painting in the upstairs bedroom that does all the aging for Gordon. The old woman died but gives Barbara the key to house. She sneaks in and finds the painting. Hatfield also appears, his fangs wet with blood. He is a vampire. Barbara cuts the heart out of the painting, killing him. Glut does a nice job of combining Dorian Gray and vampire lore.
“A Portrait of Amanda” The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #42 (October 1973) was written by Joe Gill. This two part story begins with the history of Amanda Blair’s portrait. In years past, she fell in love with a rascal named Dennis, who left her standing at the altar. She commits suicide by throwing herself off a tall building. The portrait is purchased by another rich woman, Sylvia, who is likewise in the grips of a money-hungry blackguard, Colin. After marrying Sylvia for her money, he plans to have her swim in shark-infested waters. Amanda’s ghost shoves Colin in first.
“Portrait of Evil” Grimm’s Ghost Stories #17 (July 1974) was written by an unknown author. Reverend Ingmann is the new minister in the village. He is blind. All the townsfolk fear the castle of the old Count Calliostro and wear garlic around their necks. The superstition angers the reverend. He takes his sexton, Gregory Thatcher, with him to the castle. He detects the source of evil. It is an old portrait of the man, who looks like a vampire. Thatcher burns the portrait, believing the Count placed his soul in the image on his death. This could have been a good one but the story is rather static without any real thrills. Reverend Ingmann proves there are no ghosts at the castle, and nothing much of interest either.
“The Portrait of an Artist” The Twilight Zone #58 (August 1974) was written by an unknown author. Nigel Garret is a much-sought after painter as well as a good-looking dandy. He is confronted by Basil, an old wretch who knew him before his salad days. Nigel kills Basil but not before he is cursed by him. Garret goes to a rich woman’s house to paint a room. He is tired and has a nap. When he wakes he finds himself trapped inside a two dimensional version of the painting. To escape he must paint his own portrait. There is only one problem: everything is warped. When he walks out to his patron, he is now warped too.
“Portrait of Death” Creepy #66 (November 1974) was written by Budd Lewis. Artist, Delany Bridges, hires a man to help him rob graves for subjects to paint. When the helper threatens blackmail, Bridges kills him. The next night, at a gallery opening, Bridges frightens the audience with his macabre masterpiece. The painting comes alive and grabs the artist.
“When Can You Sit For Your Portrait?” Ripley Believe It or Not #64 (August 1976) was written by Paul S. Newman. The socialite painter, Lawrence Snead, invites a medium to a gathering. Mrs. Chalmers raise the spirit of an Arabian dancing girl. The ghost knows the artist. She reminds him that he once drew her but failed to return to finish the portrait. She explains her jealous lover stabbed her to death. After the trance is broken, Snead shows those gathered the sketch he did long ago. Believe it or … well, you know.
“Portrait of a Ghost” Ripley Believe It or Not #94 (February 1980) was written by an unknown author. Mr. Merton and his gal are looking to buy the home of Colonel Sands. They have heard the place is haunted. While looking around they see a portrait of a smiling woman. They ask the owner about it but he says the painting was taken to Canada twenty-two years ago. When they look for the portrait, it has disappeared. Sands takes this as a sign not to sell the property.
Thank goodness for the Warren comics of the 1970s! The average Horror comic was pretty anemic with stories that weren’t quite stories. Nothing much happens. Certainly not the gore and violence of the 1950s. These were safe comics for children, little more. Most of the DC, Gold Key and Charlton titles disappeared in the 1980s. Sadly, so did the Warren magazines. Later work by Berni Wrightson, Richard Corben and other classic Horror comic artists in magazines like Heavy Metal and in independent comics would bring the ghostly and gruesome back.
Some Other Fun Covers
