Hello and welcome to Cover Story, diving as little into the
world of comic books as possible.
Well it’s a new year and with a new year comes the annual Twilight Zone marathon. In case you’ve never encountered it
before, every year on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July the SciFi channel
hosts a massive marathon of the sci-fi/horror/fantasy anthology TV series the Twilight Zone. Given that just happened and there’s nothing else topical to
base this week’s Cover Story on we’re taking a look at the Twilight Zone comics
that were published alongside the original show back in the 1950s. Given that comics of that era were all
about weird stories and anthology storytelling the Twilight Zone was the perfect fit for a comic adaptation. So, let’s dive into the shallow end and
get the cover story on the top 12 Twilight
Zone comic covers.
12.
This is actually the first issue of the series and it’s kind
of beautiful in its own way. One
of the cool things about the Twilight
Zone comics was that they were completely unhindered from the realities of
budget that restricted the TV show.
So, if they wanted to have some random worker stumble onto a massive
underground city of 17th century colonists they could do it with
nary a second thought. Pretty much
all of these covers will be cut from the basic cloth of Silver Age cover
theory, IE making the cover as shocking and crazy as possible in order to try
and compel people to grab the book off the newsstands.
While this one isn’t that crazy yet it
is pretty great in a number of areas, especially those massive blunderbusses
the colonists are carrying. My
favorite part though is how incredibly nonchalant the sewer worker looks. He’s not freaking out or even that
shocked at his discovery, he just looks over this hidden massive arch system
below the city and exclaims a resounding “eh? I’ve seen better.”
11.
Now this cover is a lot less “shock and curiosity” and more
gothic horror. The coloring on
this cover is just phenomenal, especially the blend between the steely blue
sky, the sickly green grass, and the slat gray of the stone. I really love that looming statue of
death that I think is a tombstone, though if it is that’s a really creepy and
messed up tombstone to have. The
old gnarled tree in the corner of the cover is also a very nice touch that adds
to the creepiness of the cover design and helps evoke that brooding, eerie
Gothic nature to the scene.
This
is the kind of pulp imagery that Crimson
Peak was drawing so heavily from.
The only downside to this cover is how dopey the guy on the horse with
the scarf looks. I’m not sure if
he’s supposed to be wearing a mask but from what I can tell he’s got mirrored
sunglasses and the most outrageous moustache I’ve ever seen, it’s like if Nick
Offerman gave up acting and just decided to torment women passing by graveyards
in carriages. I’m also not sure
who the giant looming man is or if he’s somehow related to Mr. Scarf but he
sure does look silly up there because, again, it’s hard to look menacing with a
big bushy moustache.
10.
Well this is just amazing. I’m actually really surprised this is a Twilight Zone cover, mainly because it’s SO out there it feels more
at home in Weird Tales or Strange Adventure. However, the idea of specific gifts
tailor made to induce an ironic fate is extremely Twilight Zone, or at least it’s Twilight
Zone enough for us to all recognize the trope. I’m also note sure if the titular Poster Man (was that a
thing once?) is an alien himself or is just being transformed into a space man
by his poster for reasons that elude me.
I also really love how his poster just seems to be for nothing. He’s not advertising a business or a
film just “Space Man, Coming Soon.”
It actually feels more like a parody of the Twilight Zone than a real installment but at the same time the Twilight Zone did just as many humorous
episodes as serious ones. I also
seriously wonder what’s happening to the mother and children behind the corner
and what crime they committed to fall prey to the Poster Man’s evil, but then
again given that his poster clearly features Triton of the Inhumans it could
just be turning them into Marvel superheroes.
9.
Now that is incredible color blending, especially in the
clean, crispness of the blur effect.
I really like the looming evil head in the foreground with some of the
creepiest teeth I’ve ever seen.
The thing about really creepy teeth is that they don’t need to look
sharp to be imposing, the fact that you’re seeing teeth at all is honestly
pretty bad especially given they’re bigger than this guy’s eyeballs. Speaking of his eyes are pretty
terrifying in their own right with the bulging eyeballs in sunken sockets, also
he’s a sickly green color in a fedora hat just to complete the bizarre terror
of it all.
The weirdest thing and
honestly creepiest is that I’m not sure what emotion the looming face is meant
to convey. It might be anger but
the eyes seem far too bulgy and unformed to really confirm that and his mouth
isn’t exactly snarled. It looks a
lot more like he’s screaming for no apparent reason, which is pretty terrifying
in its own right. This cover is a
lot more in line with the Gothic horror one in that while there is a mystery at
hand it’s not promising answers so much as enough information to make it all
the more horrifying.
8.
Oh my God those are some of the most adorable alien menaces
I’ve ever seen. That big orange
one in the middle is my favorite, he just looks so perplexed and
befuddled. Given this is the Twilight Zone there’s every possibility
that the spaceman in red there isn’t actually Earth’s defender and that the
cover text is all set-up for an elaborate twist but even so this is still a
glorious image in its own right.
The weird, alien robot monster designs are, as I said, fabulous in the
extreme mainly because they’ve chosen to give the robots like a round
torso.
It looks like the creators
of the robo-menace just decided “we shouldn’t enforce unrealistic body types”
and built their robots with beer bellies so most folks wouldn’t feel
intimidated. I also like that
their limited robo-fingers make it look like they’re all wearing mittens, which
is adorable. I do kind of wonder
why all the robots are painted bright pastels but maybe that’s the color of war
on their planet.
7.
“Their bark spoke words of revenge!” Now, why wasn’t THAT the slogan for
that rise of the dogs, White God,
movie? I’m a massive dog person
myself so seeing a pack of angry canines seek brutal revenge on fat Colonel
Sanders there was pretty much a win-win for great covers. However, there’s more to this cover
that I really like, like how it’s not just big dogs seeking revenge but little
babies like that terrier and the poodle.
I have no idea what this dumpy Ben Franklin looking dude did to bring
down the ire of all the world’s dogs but I trust the dogs a lot more than him,
mainly because he’s a weirdo who matches his shirt to the color of the floor in
his laboratory. It’s also pretty
great that they’ve got him up against the giant super computers that you only
tended to see on the old Adam West Batman
show, presumably because he needed them for “science.”
6.
While there’s every possibility that this cover is more
metaphorical of the books I actual content I pray to God it’s not because these
chess pieces look amazing.
Seriously, this cover is just phenomenal and the crux of that is the
creepy, detailed, almost medieval design to the chess pieces. The idea that a game is alive and maybe
trying to kill you is a pretty great one on its own but playing living chess is
always a blast given all the parallels and allegories one can make with the
figures.
Additionally, the
checkerboard background along with that incredible off-panel lighting scheme
looks beautiful. It’s more likely
that this is just the story of two guys playing chess and agreeing the loser
has to drink poison but it’d be way better if it was like magic chess and the
two sides came to life and fought each other like little gremlins across the
house. I’m also not sure why the
old guy in the corner is flipping the board, maybe he’s a sore loser.
5.
Now this cover is almost certainly literal. Alright, I’m not positive this cover is
meant to be taken literally but it certainly seems like it could fit given the
story is space based. I haven’t
read the comic so I don’t know if this woman is the astronaut in question but
if she is that’d be shockingly progressive for this period in comic
history. Even if this isn’t a
literal cover it’s still a wonderfully striking image that gets the idea of the
story across perfectly, especially the lurking menace of that giant hand. I really love the coloring on this
cover thanks to that murky, steely shade of blue.
It’s a kind of cobalt blue that’s just instantly unique and
chilling, similar to the shades of the ocean or the sky in the deepening gloom
as the last light of day slips away.
The color balance overall is top notch, moving from the cool blues of
the top to the much warmer reds and salmons around the mid-section. If this isn’t meant as a literal
depiction of the comic’s contents then that ring on the hand must surely be
intrinsic to the “moon’s first secret,” which is probably a love of counterfeit
jewelry.
4.
I think this is actually my favorite cover in the entire
run, mainly because I have a weird and unexplainable obsession with ‘20s
gangsters, especially cartoonish stereotypical ones like this Edward G.
Robinson looking joker here. In
all seriousness though, this is a beautiful cover featuring some of the most
incredible interweaving of larger iconography and symbolism with an actual
scene from the book, which is a nice change of pace.
It’s a little hard to make out but that giant gold thing
that’s circling the two gangsters is a charm bracelet, making the blurb
description for this issue the most amazing pun of all time. All the charms on the bracelet are
pretty weird in their own right, giving off a kind of archaic strangeness that
fits the ambiguous nature of the Twilight
Zone. It’s also pretty cool to
see some intangibility powers getting used here.
3.
I’m not sure if this cover is ‘problematic’ or not but it’s
pretty great regardless. Again,
haven’t read the issue so I don’t know if this is some “Indian Magic” situation
you have with like Manitou or just
the kind of vengeful ghost stuff you’d see in the Poltergeist films but this is just a cover and as a cover it’s
pretty great. Just the idea of
fire ghosts is a brilliant concept and feels like a great film or video game
just waiting to happen but they’re so well rendered here.
Again, this comes down to color work,
especially the unique hues required to convey these spirits as part of the fire
wile remaining unique and identifiable.
The clever part is how low in the flames they are, keeping them in the
lighter yellow sections so that the deeper reddish orange of their coloring
shines through without bleeding into the upper sections. Even putting aside the brilliant
monster design the situation is a pretty great laugh too, especially the look
of that mustachioed gentlemen with the chainsaw on top of the tree, guy was so
startled his helmet flew off.
2.
Again, I know, this is a problematic cover that features a
pretty definitive example of “Indian Magics,” but this list is about artwork
more than content and in that department this cover is just phenomenal. Actually, based on the description
blurb there’s a very good chance these guys are more Native American ghosts and
that train was just barreling through their sacred burial grounds so I’m less
inclined to come down hard on these for the problematic “Indian Stuff.” My favorite part is that giant guy with
the drum who appears to be summoning a storm to destroy that train, which is
actually kind of small based on the foreshadowing image.
Going back to the coloring, which has
been just phenomenal throughout this entire run of comics, this is some of the
crispest color work I’ve seen. The
Native riders and especially that towering giant pop incredibly well against
the darkened sky or the dirt grounds.
I also especially like the eerie green glow along the horizon, which
itself emphasizes the bright sunshine yellow of the train. I don’t blame anyone for having trouble
with the content of this cover but there’s no denying the great craftsmanship
of it.
1.
Behold the most terrifying goddamn thing I will ever
showcase here. I don’t even know
where to begin with this carnival of terrors, aside from the fact that once
again the coloring is absolutely beautiful. Everything pops, everything is beautifully shaded to create
a wonderfully front-lit design to the whole thing and the red, green, blue, and
purple scheme is wonderfully balanced.
And then of course there’s the actual content which is the stuff of
nightmares.
Firstly there’s those
two horrifying devil children riding on carousel figures with covered in snarls
of hatred and contempt for that poor circus barker down in the lower right
corner. Not only are these things
just terrifying monstrosities they’re wielding guns! They’re horror movie villains…with guns, mankind’s worse
nightmare come to terrifying plastic life. Then there’s giant handed clown bastard in the middle right,
with the giant looming blue head of an evil button-eyed clown to punctuate just
how wonderfully horrifying this is.
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