[movielover]

This week, going with a crime story in Wanted Comics 49, published by Orbit, located here https://comicbookplus.com/?dlid=32683

Focusing on the story Eyes of Vengeance

[SuperScrounge]

Cover - That 'coloring' is what they thought would make it stand out on the newsstands and make kids want to buy it?

Rupture-Easer ad - Just what little Billy needs. 

Eyes of Vengeance! - Eh, okay, but nothing special.

Hot-Rod Killers - I liked this one.

His Last Meal! - Not bad.

The Dog That Cried Murder! - Not bad.

Mini-Gym ad - You can just imagine the NPCs screaming "Toxic masculinity!" if they read this ad. 

[The Australian Panther]

This is a nice change from the last couple of weeks. That John Buscema cover has gone straight into my covers collection. Wonderful! All of the pencilling throughout the book, (by Buscema, Anderson, and Mort Leav or Eddy Roberts) is great, but unfortunately the inking is very heavy-handed on several of the stories. The card on the last page credits George Klein, and that was typical of him.
They are all supposed to be true stories in this one. Given that 'Eyes of Vengance' is supposed to have happened in Turkey, I'm not so sure. But that's not important. Buscema had the skills of a master even at that stage, every panel is well-thought out and adds to the feeling of terror and guilt. There are many stories in the Golden age with this basic plot, 'man or woman commits a crime, usually murder, and guilt becomes the factor that makes them lost their mind or life in trying to escape the guilt' but this is as good as it gets.
My favorite here is the second story, 'Hot Rod Killers'. I'm prepared to believe this is a true story, because the actions of the killers is monsterous and makes no kind of sense at all. And that tends often to be true of real life crime. Elements like Max Pell's meltdown are very powerful. Fictional stories tend to contain certain elements and this story is very atypical, and because of the realism, you feel horror and sympathy for the innocent victims. Andersons's art nails it. .
Just look at the expressions on the faces. [Panel 3 page 1; Panel 2 on page 2; All of page 7] 
'His last meal' is just as good. The writing is as good as the art in this book. Bill Woolfolk had talent.
Thank you movie lover, good choice as always.           

[Captain Audio]

Cover - That 'coloring' is what they thought would make it stand out on the newsstands and make kids want to buy it?

Rupture-Easer ad - Just what little Billy needs. 

I don't think this comic was intended for kids. The brutality of the crimes is more intended for teenagers and young adult readers.

The Black Magic ad on page eleven is a bit of cheesecake for the more mature.

[SuperScrounge]

Not meant for kids??? Have you seen how violent cartoons can get? 8-o

Okay, probably not meant for kids, but still that mostly red cover just kills the underlying artwork and looks more like a printing error than anything someone would try for.

[Morgus]

Actually, I was trying to figure out just WHO the magazine WAS being marketed for...ads for a truss?? Piles?? And that night gown? I didn't read it carefully at first and thought it was for one of those 'life-like mannequins' you inflate.
Nope. You just get the gown.
Wow.

but hey, it's summer and it's a horror comic and Buscema is at the desk. Perfect. And all the violence is JUSTIFIED because it's TRUE and the criminals lose and get the chair. Or in the lead story go stark staring mad. Lots of fun.

The one-colour cover made me think it had a spill on it, especially when I saw it from the inside page.

[misappear]

Good comic all the way around. I especially liked

[positronic1]

Actually, I was trying to figure out just WHO the magazine WAS being marketed for...

Those same ads ran all ALL of the publisher's comics, and in all probability there weren't any marketing demographics to show WHO was reading any publisher's comic magazines. In short, it was a crap shoot. The advertiser was given some idea of average total sales (often inflated by the publisher), and sold space depending on the number of months they wanted the ad to run -- then it was up to the advertisers themselves to track response (via coupons returned, or specific PO box #s) to the ad. The system must have worked for at least some advertisers, since many of them were perennial fixtures of one or several comic publishers' comics.

[Captain Audio]

Not meant for kids??? Have you seen how violent cartoons can get? 8-o

Okay, probably not meant for kids, but still that mostly red cover just kills the underlying artwork and looks more like a printing error than anything someone would try for.

Many years ago, early 60's I think, I ran across a very nicely printed comic with a story that resembled that of the movie ANTZ.
The Ant characters were very well designed and drawn, excellent artwork through out.
After a few pages this story turned very dark. The violence was not at all cartoonish and there were graphic depictions of rape, sodomy and torture along with every sort of wartime atrocity.
I tossed that comic quickly, I didn't go much past the rape scenes.  I wish I had held onto it as a collectors item. If there ever was a need for a comic book code that would have been it.

[narfstar]

Predictable but still fairly well done for what it was and the art was good of course

[lyons]

The Comics Code ('54) effectively killed off crime comics.  Adult readership withered under the Code, and public opinion shifted - comics were now considered juvenile.
In Eyes of Vengeance, the supernatural aspects of the murder gains plausibility from its foreign setting.  Nice artwork, along with a decent plot, ambiguous morality and entertaining characters. A good read.  Thanks movielover.