DARK MYSTERIES 23
"THE MARDENBURG CURSE"
Master Comics was originally an anthology from Fawcett Publishing that ran 133 issues and featured such characters as Master Man, Bulletman, Minute-Man, and Captain Marvel Jr., from March 1940-April 1953.
However, it was also a short-lived publisher than produced a single anthology, DARK MYSTERIES, that ran 24 issues from July 1951-July 1955.
In their next-to-last issue, they did what was apparently their only POE story, an updated version of...
"METZENGERSTEIN".
This was the 2nd comics version of this story, following...
Youthful's CHILLING TALES #16 (Jun'53)
...some 23 months earlier.
It seems strange to me that they decided to change the name, since it's so obviously POE's story updated to modern times (1955). But with so many loose adaptations that had next-to-nothing in common with the source material, I suppose the surprise is that they changed so little.
The artist involved is John P. D'Agostino Sr. ("Jon D'Agostino"), best known for his work for Archie Comics., who also did some lettering for Marvel under the psudonym "Johnny Dee". As a penciller, inker, letterer and colorist, he probably did the entire job you're about to see. He also started his career as a colorist, and actually "mentored" Stan Goldberg in that capacity, a detail that really grabs my attention, as I consider Goldberg a huge influence on my own coloring work! He also did a lot of work for Charlton & Gold Key.
A special thanks to fellow fan Ron Harris, who back in October clued me in on the 1964 reprint of this, as well as the 1955 original. I've finally caught up to it, as part of a general setting up of the entire 1950s era again from scratch, with all the POE stories I've got in sequence.
DARK MYSTERIES 23
cover by ?? (Master Comics / May 1955)
(based on "METZENGERSTEIN") / Version 2
Adaptation by ?? / Art by JON D'AGOSTINO (??) / Page 1
STRANGE MYSTERIES 15
cover by Ross Andru & Mike Esposito
(I.W. Publishing / Super Comics / 1964)
Scan of DARK MYSTERIES #23 cover from the Amazon.com site.
Scan of STRANGE MYSTERIES #15 cover & interiors
from the Comic Book Plus site, special thanks to "Kracalactaka"
and to Ron Harris.
Restorations by Henry R. Kujawa
For more:
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at The Poe Museum site.
Read about Edgar Allan Poe at the Biography site.
Read about HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES at the Criterioncast site.
Read about HISTOIRES EXTRAORDINAIRES at the Classic Horror site.
Read about METZENGERSTEIN at Oldtime Stories Press.
Read the complete story at the EAPoe Org site.
See the METZENGERSTEIN Gallery of Illustrations.
Comics:
Read the Vince Napoli METZENGERTSEIN adaptation!
Read the Jon D'Agostino METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
Read the Alexis-Thomas Hinsberger METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
Read the Luis Collado Coch METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
(Coming soon:)
Read the Alarico Gattia Colin METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
Read the Arturo Arnau METZENGERSTEIN illustrated story!
Read the Roberto Barbosa METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
Read the Flavio Colin METZENGERSTEIN adaptation!
See the CHRONOLOGICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
See the ALPHABETICAL list of Edgar Allan Poe stories!
(Continued in Poe 1955, Pt. 3)
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