Hey there, horror-obsessed ones.
Once again a new episode of The Longbox of Darkness has hit the airwaves. I know it’s been a while, but thank you for bearing with me.
I figured that, this being the month of October and all, and with Halloween peeking it’s head around the corner, it would be remiss of me NOT to celebrate my favorite genre with at least an episode or two. And indeed, as I’m writing this, a new ep of LoD is stalking the interwebs, looking to ensnare listeners and feast on their cochleas…
This episode (Ep. 16) was all about a discussion I recorded with Billy D from magazinesandmonsters.com a couple of months ago. We mainly talked about The Phantom Stranger, and it was so much fun I just had to put it on the air. What can I say, Billy knows his stuff, especially where comics are concerned.
So without further ado, here are some factoids and images from the issue we talked about. Hope you enjoy looking at them as much as we did talking about them.
The Phantom Stranger NO. 11
Publisher: DC Comics
Date released: July/August 1971
“The Man With No Heart”
Writer: Len Wein
Artist: Jim Aparo
Editor: Joe Orlando
Here we are introduced to the villain Broderick Rune, a Kingpin lookalike with at least half the Kingpin’s cojones. I mean, the Phantom Stranger isn’t someone you choose to make an enemy out of. But Broderick does this with impunity.
The Stranger is overcome with ‘mystic fumes’. Note the excellent and unsettling lettering by Aparo, haloed in a blood red script.
The fateful operation that saw the heart of the Phantom Stranger transplanted into the body of Broderick Rune. Throw in some drug-induced dreams and an unexpected trip to the ‘Realm Beyond The Gate’, and you’ve got yourself one heckuva trip.
You can’t keep a good Supernatural down. The Phantom Stranger torments Rune, even from beyond the grave, or wherever he went sans his ticker.
Rune’s story comes to an end, with a dramatic soundtrack of Lub-Dub Lub-Dub as his funeral dirge. A fitting end, don’t you think? Killed by his own stolen heartbeat. That’s gotta be an original way to buy the farm.
And then comes our back-up tale, along with a total disregard for story logic. Gaze ye now upon…
“The Spectre of the Stalking Swamp”!!!
Writer: Len Wein
Art: Tony Dezuniga
Editor: Joe Orlando
The much-maligned Dr. Thirteen story. Poor Terry Thirteen gets up to some James Bond-style shenanigans, but he can’t even hold a candle to the Scooby Doo gang.
Terry VS the Faux Swamp Monster. Some nice art from Tony Dezuniga.
Introducing, THE SWAMPSTER, aka Professor Zachary Nail and his trusty Fungus Gun.
A bit of Terry Thirteen showing off in front of his wife. Say what you will, he acquitted himself well against a fellow bookworm. Nerdfight!
And that’s it, folks. Send us some feedback, and tell us your thoughts on this issue and the other topics we discussed on the show.
Oh, before I forget, here are some of the books we recommended at the end of the episode. Happy hunting (or hoarding), horror peeps.
Until next time
H
