Weird Tales of the Macabre #1
Published and © by Atlas (Seaboard), January 1975
Title: “The Demon is Dying!”
Synopsis: A demon’s human host is dying, and the village bishop hopes to end the creature’s five-year reign of terror.
Writer: Pat Boyette
Artist: Boyette
Review: This B&W white horror mag from Atlas (Seaboard) wants to be Eerie and Creepy so bad it hurts. That said, it’s a reasonably decent knockoff. This leadoff tale by Pat Boyette is a solid effort. The story isn’t anything special, but Boyette’s distinct style looks great in gray-toned B&W.
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Title: “Time Lapse”
Synopsis: A strange clock traps a man in a time loop – where he seems unable to escape his own death!
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Leo Duranona
Review: This time-loop story is both confusing and not that original, but the stark art of Leo Duranona is quite striking.
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Title: “A Second Life”
Synopsis: A man steps out on his wife with a dead girl, resulting is his own grim murder.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Uncredited
Review: This creepy little story is the best of the lot, thanks largely to gorgeous, uncredited art.
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Title: “The Cheese is for Rats”
Synopsis: Two wanderers steal cheese from a man obsessed with killing rats. Needless to say, things end poorly.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Uncredited
Review: This issue’s creepiest story is followed by its silliest tale. The art is cartoony, but appropriate for the script.
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Title: “Tour de Force”
Synopsis: A washed-up actor’s comeback bid playing a werewolf takes a macabre turn when he’s bitten by a real wolf.
Writer: Uncredited
Artist: Uncredited
Review: The story stretches for poignant but doesn’t quite get there. And the art, again uncredited, isn’t the best.
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Title: “Speed Demon”
Synopsis: Race-car driver Neal Evers attacks the course with no regard to human life – including, ultimately, his own!
Writer: Ernie Colón
Artist: Colón
Review: This auto-racing story is a little uneven, but Ernie Colón’s crisp, stylish art looks great in B&W.
Grade (for the entire issue): B
Cool factor: Some really nice art here, beginning with the moody cover by Jeffrey Catherine Jones.
Notable: Also includes a seven-page text essay on “The Many Horrors of Dan Curtis.”
Character quotable: “Phew, That’s as dead a man as I’ve ever seen.” – An unnamed ambulance paramedic, dropping knowledge
Editor’s note: This review was originally published by Comics Bronze Age on Oct. 31, 2010.
