Weird Suspense #3
Published and © by Atlas (Seaboard), June 1975
Title: “Mind/Matter=Murder!”
Synopsis: Tarantula goes to eat his alter ego’s secretary, but settles for an Arab supervillain he finds trying to kill her.
Writer: Gary Friedrich
Artist: Pat Boyette
Review: Most Atlas (Seaboard) comics look like B-list Marvel titles. But, thanks to Pat Boyette’s strangely wooden art, Weird Suspense looks more like a good Charlton comic. It’s hard to say if that’s an improvement, but it’s certainly one of the more distinct-looking titles from the short-lived publisher. Of course, the concept helps this one stand out, too: Because of a family curse, Count Eugene Lycosa XI turns into a human tarantula – and eats people! It’s Spider-Man meets the Hulk with a macabre ’70s twist. Add in dialogue that’s as wooden as the art, and this one becomes an acquired taste.
Grade: B
Cool factor: Come on, isn’t a hero who eats his bad guys at least a little cool?
Not-so-cool factor: Abdul Rashad, a stereotypical Arab villain, even by ’70s standards.
Character quotable: “I hunger … I crave the sweet nectar of human flesh! And by all that is unholy … I shall have it!” – The Tarantula, serious about his food cravings
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on May 22, 2009.
