Comments on: Scott’s Classic Comics Corner: Big & Cheap Bronze Age Horror

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:12:50 +0000

*sigh* GIANT-SIZE CHILLERS … Most likely I owned all 3 issues back in the ’70s, since as I’ve noted elsewhere Marvel’s horror & sf (specifically, in the latter case WORLDS UNKNOWN & the first couple of issues of WEIRD WONDER TALES) titles are what drew me back into comics in late ’73 after some 3 years of paying only the most desultory attention to the field.

Anyway, back in the early ’90s, about midway through my subsequent & utterly complete quarter-century hiatus from comics, my girlfriend at the time picked up a cheap copy of one of the G-S CHILLERS (#1, dimming memory tells me) at a flea market or thrift shop or something, purely to use in a collage of sorts featuring Gov. Bill Clinton & Hillary as the centerpiece.

Again, *sigh* Nearly 2 decades later, can IIIIIII find an acceptably dirt-cheap copy of any of the ishes? Of course not!

By: benday-dot

benday-dot — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 09:13:23 +0000

Your assessment of the Giant-Size Chillers is spot on Scott. I came by my copy rather accidentally. Some years ago I ordered a copy of Giant Sized Avengers #3, and when the package arrived GSC#1 was inside. At first I was going to contact the vendor, but after flipping through it I realized I stumbled across a nice gem of a book. I never said a word and kept it. And anyway I picked up a copy of that Avengers issue locally later on, for next to nothing.
Sorry… forgot to say great post – can’t wait to read your next one!

By: benday-dot

benday-dot — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 01:04:16 +0000

By: brian

brian — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:47:44 +0000

I’m actually enjoying both Showcase volumes of Phantom Stranger right now. Maybe not outright scream horror, but fun spooky stuff, mixed with DCU Batman appearances. Great work from Adams, Kaluta, Wein and Wolfman… the list of creators goes on. I miss Jim Aparo.

Cheers,

By: Scott Harris

Scott Harris — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:44:37 +0000

It make some sense that they did these reprints even though they came out after the series had been canceled. As you know, in 1972 Marvel was preparing to launch a whole line or horror or at least horror themed comics, such as Tomb of Dracula, Werewolf by Night, Chamber of Chills, Journey Into Mystery, Ghost Rider, Fear, etc. So this looks like it’s either setting the stage for this horror explosion or perhaps capitalizing on it, depending on the exact date of release. It’s possible they were testing the waters to see if sales warranted bringing back those older horror titles as well.

By: Dan Bailey

Dan Bailey — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:33:42 +0000

>>It’s a fairly odd one-shot from 1972, published more than a year after the cancellation of the parent title.

I learned about this one for the first time courtesy of your blog just a few days ago … but as it happens Marvel did the exact same thing a month earlier with a TOWER OF SHADOWS one-shot.