Poe 1979, Pt. 2

(Continued from Poe 1979, Pt. 1)

CREEPY  110
"THE CLOCKMAKER"   ("THE TELL-TALE HEART")

41 months after VAMPIRELLA #49 (3-1/2 years!), the next Warren POE adaptation finally appeared.  I wonder what took them so long?

After an inexplicable appearance in VAMPI (when that story didn't even involve anything sexy), the next one turned up back in its regular, most logical home, CREEPY.  This story is notable for a few points.  For one thing, they changed the name for no apparent reason, as virtually nothing about this could be said to be any kind of "loose" adaptation.  Second, both the writer and artist involved were MIS-credited in the magazine.  And third...  this was the 5th time Warren had RE-done a story they'd already done in the late 60s.  That's 5 out of 6, with the only odd one out being Reed Crandall's "Hop-Frog".

The story this time out, all too obviously, is that perrennial favorite...
     "THE TELL-TALE HEART".  Yes-- AGAIN.

     This was the 19th comics version of this story, following...
Charlton's YELLOWJACKET COMICS #6 (Dec'45),
EC's THE HAUNT OF FEAR #15 [1] (May-Jun'50), 
Gilberton's CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED #84 (Jun'51),
EC's SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES #8 (Apr-May'53),  
EC's THE HAUNT OF FEAR #20 (Jul-Aug'53),
Charlton's WIN A PRIZE #1 (Feb'55),
Warren's CREEPY #3 (Jun'65),
Outubro's ALBUM CLASSICOS DE TERROR #7 (1968),
Gino Sansoni's I CLASSICI A FUMETTI #17 (Sep'69),  
Marvel's CHAMBER OF DARKNESS #3 (Feb'70),

Mundial's MAESTROS DEL TERROR #5 (1970),
Skywald's SCREAM #8 (Aug'74),
Marvel's CRAZY #7 (Oct'74),
Milano Libre's ALTER LINUS #9 (Sep'75),
Novaro's CUENTOS DE EDGAR ALLAN POE (1975),
Marvel's MARVEL CLASSICS COMICS #28 (May'77),
Vecchi's SPEKTRO #2 (Aug'77), and  
Moby Books' TALES OF MYSTERY AND TERROR (Jan'79)
     ...the last one 7 months earlier!

I might have missed this one entirely, if I hadn't-- get this-- run across a Spanish version of it posted online at the Entrecomics site.  Someone there pointed out how it was clearly based on "THE TELL-TALE HEART", and I suddenly realized
I had the story in my collection and had read it when it first came out.  Good thing, I didn't have to do an English translation of a story that was (presumably) originally published in English.

The artist this time is Jesus Blasco.  Inexplicably, both he and writer Bob Toomey had been mis-credited in the magazine, Toomey as "Gary Null" and Blasco as "J. Blasquez".  One can infer that Warren as a publishing company was starting to fall apart right there and then, with this sort of thing going on.

Ironically, the letters page in that very issue made note of the fact that an earlier issue had ALL the credits missing...

Interestingly enough, I just watched a short Spanish film (45 min.) titled "El Corazon Delator" from 1960, in which the old man is also a clock-maker.  This makes me suspect that the Toomey / Blasco version was inspired by that film!

As we continue in the home stretch...
this is the 24th out of 26 Warren POE adaptations!!

Although there would be 2 more POE stories from Warren,
this was the FINAL one in CREEPY.

CREEPY  110
cover by Patrick Woodroffe   (Warren  /  August 1979)

"THE CLOCKMAKER"   (based on "THE TELL-TALE HEART")  /  Version 19
Adaptation by Bob Toomey  /  Art by JESUS BLACSO  /  Page 57

Page 58

Page 59

Page 60

Page 61

Page 62

Page 63

Page 64

Page 65

The reprints...

CREEPY  6
cover by FRANK FRAZETTA   (Toutain  /  Spain  /  1981)

As a bonus, here's an early sample of Blasco's work... from 1942!!

Copyright (C) Warren Publishing  and  the various publishers.

Scan of CREEPY #110 from my collection.
Scan of CREEPY #6 (Toutain) from the GCD site.
Scan of MIS CHICAS from the Lambiek Comiclopedia site.

Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa

For more:
Read about Edgar Allen Poe at The Poe Museum site.

See more Patrick Woodroffe art at his website.
Read Bob Toomey 's "Growing Pains" at the Por Por Books blog.
Read Bob Toomey's "Quirks" at the Diversions Of The Groovy Kind blog.
Read about Jesus Blasco at the Lambiek Comiclopedia site.

Read about THE TELL TALE HEART at Cliff Notes.
Read the complete short story at the Poe Stories site.
See the TELL-TALE HEART Gallery of Illustrations.

      Audio:
Hear the Boris Karloff INNER SANCTUM MYSTERY episode!
Hear the WEIRD CIRCLE radio episode!
See the James Mason cartoon short!
Hear the Basil Rathbone recording!
See the Vincent Price performance!
Hear the Fred Gwynne CBS RADIO MYSTERY THEATER episode!

     Comics:
Read the Rudy Palais TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Johnny Craig TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Jim Lavery TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the George Evans TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Graham Ingels TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!

Read the Jack Kirby / Jerry Robinson TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Reed Crandall TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Nico Rosso TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Gino Dauro TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Tom Palmer TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!

Read the Francisco Blanes TELL-TALE HEART illustrated story!
     (coming soon)
Read the Ricardo Villamonte TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Mike Ploog TELL-TALE HEART parody!
Read the Alberto Breccia TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Guido Del Carpio Rivera TELL-TALE HEART illustrated story!
     (coming soon)

Read the Don McGregor / Yong Montano TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!
Read the Vilmar Rodrigues TELL-TALE HEART illustrated story!
Read the Pablo Marcos TELL-TALE HEART illustrated story!   (coming soon!)
Read the Steve Bissette / Rich Veich TELL-TALE HEART parody!
Read the Jesus Blasco TELL-TALE HEART adaptation!

See my Edgar Allan Poe overview at this very blog!

(Continued in Poe 1979, Pt. 3)