Redartz: Welcome, comics and Halloween fans. Enter freely and of your own will...
Comics and Halloween; both so full of fun, it's only natural they'd pick up elements of each other. Kind of like Reese's Cups- "You got chocolate in my peanut butter"; "You got peanut butter on my chocolate". Today we will chat about some of those blending experiences. And I might have to run out and grab some Reese's cups for our Halloween candy dish...
One obvious area where comics and Halloween intertwine is, well, comics. I've gotten in the habit of, each year, selecting a few appropriate books to leaf through on Halloween night. There might be a "Tomb of Dracula", or a "Swamp Thing", probably some old monster reprints. But there also will be some Archie Halloween tales, definitely a "Sugar and Spike" issue (Sheldon Mayer never failed to salute All Hallow's Eve on the cover of his classic kid kaper). And most assuredly, there will be an issue of Simpson's "Treehouse of Horror".
Speaking of the denizens of Springfield, that brings us to another annual aspect of Halloween: the specials on tv! My wife and I unfailingly catch "The Great Pumpkin", and Garfield's Halloween Special (both on dvd, conveniently). On the Sunday night nearest Halloween, we always devour "Simpsons Treehouse of Horror", a Halloween tradition for many years now. Those episodes are among the series' best. This season wasn't any different...
What else does Halloween have to offer? Trick-or-treating, and costumes, of course. One of my earliest Halloween memories was of dressing up as Casper. Surprisingly I never went as Spider-Man, but in college I did attend a Halloween party dressed as Mr. X (from the 80's Vortex series by Paul Rivoche). I sadly have no photographic record of that occasion, but I looked pretty much like this (bald head wig included):
Now, at our house this year, there won't be any tricks, but there will be treats. But not just candy; also comics! Giving away (age appropriate, of course) comics with the candy might bring a smile to some of the neighborhood kids. It will help clear a few from my 'dispose of' pile, and it may just help create a few future comics fans. And I'm not alone in this: last week I stopped by our local comic shop, and they were selling bags of Casper Halloween comics, already prepped for trick-or-treats! Man, I'd have loved that when I was going door-to-door as a kid.
So we can see there are many ways that the fun of comics and the fun of Halloween can combine. Perhaps you have some more examples. Do you have any Halloween traditions? Any favorite Halloween-themed comics? Maybe you were the one who did dress up as Spider-Man. Tell us your thoughts, and I'll give you an extra handful from the treat bowl!
10 comments:
Charlie has tried to supplement candy with comics several times over the years and not once has a kid taken a comic with their candy. Bummer dudes, :(. But if one of you guys show up at my house I've got you covered!!!!
I've never tasted Reese's Peanut Butter Cups but they are on sale in my local supermarket so I'm intending to buy some soon. So far I've been put off by the cost - £2.30 (about 3 U.S. dollars) for 4 little cakes, bah! I'd also love to try pumpkin pie but it's not available - I see pumpkins on sale (unknown when I was young) but nobody has thought of selling pumpkin pie yet.
"The Great Pumpkin" is the Charlie Brown special, yes ? I've watched that on YouTube but Charlie Brown was/is rarely shown on British TV unfortunately.
I haven't watched The Simpsons since about 1999 - it was broadcast regularly on BBC2 in the 1990s but was then bought by the commercial station, Channel 4 which I never watched. My favorite Treehouse Of Horror is still the first one which featured the poem "The Raven" which I'd never heard of previously. And the two other stories were hilarious -
"Homer, I'm not staying in a house of evil just to save a few dollars"
"How To Cook For Forty Humans"...great stuff :D
I try to watch as many horror films as I can in the week up to Halloween, and this year I'd like to spend the whole of the weekend with them in the background as I plough through some of the more macabre comics from the stacks like Gaiman's Sandman and Moore's Rachel Rising. Also there is a second free comic day now for the fall, and it happens tomorrow. So I might check that out at my local LCS with pumpkin carving probably happening on Sunday.
Speaking of Halloween books, there was The Supernaturals which came out in the early '90's featuring Brother Voodoo, Ghost Rider, Satana, Black Cat, Jack O'Lantern and (I think) the Werewolf which came out with a Halloween mask in each issue. I wouldn't dare remove them, but it is kinda cool to think about wearing that Brother Voodoo mask.
I also liked Ghost, another '90's book (sorry Bronze Agers, I'll stop soon!) from Dark Horse. Lot's of cheesecake, but a very solid story underneath with an everyday-is-Halloween feel. Plus, there was a villain named Dr. October in it who originally wore a pumpkin and candle mask over her horribly disfigured face just in case the audience wasn't feeling it.
Happy weekend all, let's boost the spooky!
I do a special Halloween comic every year and post it on my website. It's usually either a Spider-Man or Batman story that involves them battling some combination of vampires, werewolves, swamp monsters, demons, zombies, and etc.
I'm almost done with the one for this year. It's Spider-Man, Blade, and Moon Knight vs. Morbius and Werewolf by Night and etc. (I should have it done and posted by sometime this weekend).
Meanwhile, here are links to my most recent Spider-Man and Batman Halloween Specials from the last couple of years. If anyone wants to check them out.
http://www.billscomics.com/images/Marvel%20Comics/SM%20Fright%20Night%205/sm_frighnight5.html
http://www.billscomics.com/images/DC%20Comics/Batman%20Halloween%2015/BMHalloween15.html
I always enjoyed the 'Treehouse of Horror' Simpsons episodes.., unfortunately, since marriage (twice now..), I haven't logged sufficient Simpson OR Family Guy time. I usually try to make up for it when I have time alone.
As for comics, I was going to collect some of the great Silver Age Marvel horror comics.., they were always the 'most-awesome' looking of anything.
Costuming these days..? My niece and nephew a few years back encouraged me to engage in some sort of cosplay, so I spent a tidy grand or so piecing together a vintage Colonial Warrior outfit from the '78 Battlestar Galactica series, two years back.
Suffice to say, down to tailored Warrior jacket (with the bronze buckles), the same exact Sony calculators strapped on my calf, and the vintage cam-buckled SIDI leather motorcycle boots, I look quite authentic. I even invested in the same model communications headset they wore often and a screen-used Hughes Compuchron calculator watch.
I had all the surviving BSG cast members (including the late Richard Hatch..), sign the inner lining of my jacket. Trust me, that's the FULL extent of my costuming. :)
I remember on Marvel's Bullpen Bulletins page way back in the early 90s there was a feature about what different creators were doing for Halloween. Somebody (Peter David? Chris Claremont?) said they gave out comics instead of candy because they believed in rotting kids' brains, not their teeth.
Oh, man, the Simpsons' Treehouse of Horror - there's not one of those I've seen that I haven't liked. Colin, yes, that first one with the cookbook was great.
Another of my favorites was the Shining spoof that aired sometime in the late '90s, which featured probably the best line ever uttered by Homer: it's at the point after he'd gone insane from television-deprivation and finally gets a hold of a little portable set, and says: "TV! Mother! Teacher!" and then, sotto voce, "Secret Lover!" Brilliant.
Colin J- Oh man, if you've never tried Reeses cups- be careful. You might get hooked by the first bite...
Selenarch- thanks for the tipoff on "Ghost". I've considered giving it a look, you've convinced me to do so. And that name, "Dr. October"- excellent...
William- can't wait to see your new productions! Your comics are imaginative, fun and loaded with a Bronze Age feel! Anyone who hasn't checked those out, you're missing a treat.
David_b- Oh yes, your costume was incredible! Your niece and nephew were quite right to so inspire you.
Thanks much, Redartz. Just put the new one up.
http://www.billscomics.com/sm_comics.html
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