As I now reestablish tentatively from my self-induced exile and commence posting on my blogs once more, I will attempt to initiate re-entry here with a minimum of blathering and effluvium.
That means that today's post will feature 50% less chattering,
so you can rightly focus 100% on the wonderful artwork's that are mattering.
Urg...terrible word play, but that's what happens when I bite my tongue.
Also, I bleed alot.
Reed Crandall (1917-1982) was an amazing artist and illustrator who brought a quality of professionalism to his work that tended to transcend the comic page. Even though he was said to be extremely humble and almost self-critical of his own work, his peers and fans universally esteemed him to be a master craftsman, and rightly so. His artwork in comics projected a sense of his illustrative skill for detail that could put technical draftsmen to shame. His artwork was basically almost too good to be in a comic book, but there it was, drawing in the reader with every delicate brush stroke.
He received critical fame from the onset of his career in comics, from the early 40's when he brought his talents to heroes such as BLACKHAWK and many others, continuing into the 50's when he was a gargantua among gargantuas in the renowned EC Comics stable (heavyweights all), again into the 60's when he lent his pen and brush to masterpieces such as today's post by contributing to Warren's classic horror line, and right on up through the early 70's. Toward the end of his comics career it was known that health issues as well as alcohol played a role in hastening his downfall, but in 1965 when he drew "CURSE OF THE FULL MOON!" he was still quite able to bring the magic he was known for.
I'm not sure how many werewolf stories Mr. Crandall drew over the course of his life, but there have been an unusually high amount. That is probably because he was so incredibly skilled at it. There were several done for the Warren books alone. This horrifying lycanthropic chronicle was originally published in CREEPY #4 in 1965.
Don't you hate when the carriage you're riding in is attacked by a wolf and your driver gets killed? Whenever that happens to me, I just know it's going to be a long, rough night. Well, sure enough, that's just what happens in this classic tale, too, deftly written by Archie Goodwin.
I now cease my gurgling verbage and present for your enjoyment,
(Remember, click images to enlarge)
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That was good nasty fun, eh?
In case this happens to me, I always wear my wolf-whistle!
If you want to see another masterful werewolf tale by Reed Crandall, this time in color, click right here!
Go on, I dare ya!
Another b/w masterpiece from Warren mags. Thanx for posting~!
ReplyDeleteThank you for your great comment!
ReplyDeleteMore to come!
Pappy has just now posted scans of a Crandall werewolf from almost 20 years earlier. But it wouldn't at all surprise me if Crandall had drawn one or more earlier, fighting Blackhawk or somesuch.
ReplyDeleteDaniel,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info, sir! Pappy's post is one of the very earlier Crandall werewolf stories I was refering to, and I had designs on posting that one myself eventually. Mr. Crandall's comics were always amazing, and Mr. Pappy's post is recommended!
I'm going to check my Crandall BLACKHAWK comics now, because I believe you are correct about that, Mr. Oeconomist. Hopefully I can find one and maybe I can post it before Senor Pappy beats me to it!
Thanks Daniel!
Thanks for posting this excellent and elegant strip by Crandall. I loved his work for Warren, when he was able to use his pen points for such fine effects.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a great strip.
Thank you, Pappy! Coming from you, that means alot (Pappy's is the GREATEST Comics Blog on the internet, that everyone should know by now)!
ReplyDeleteI too love Crandall's Warren work, and I plan on highlighting as much of it as I can here over time. I also can't get enough of his early gems, such as can be found on your blog, and others like Mr. Door Tree's blog, and elsewhere. Reed Crandall was one of the all time best.