More recycled Gespenster Krimi covers

The last few posts have all been about old Marvel comics so Today we´re doing something different : the recycled covers from GESPENSTER KRIMI.

Since I have already written at length about my long relationship with german pulp novels ( another word might be dime novels or penny dreadfuls but I like the term pulp better ) like PROFESSOR ZAMORRA, JOHN SINCLAIR or DAMONA KING I won´t go into a long explanation here.

Suffice it to say that they are still published by BASTEI , one of the pulp novel giants in Germany covering everything from romance to western and espionage with the iconic JERRY COTTON series as one of their flagships. They also do a lot of paperbacks ( I have read hundreds of them ) and don´t ask me how many comics from them I have read. They used to publish such western comics like JERRY SPRING, BESSY, BONANZA, BUFFALO BILL, LASSO, RAUCHENDE COLTS ( Gunsmoke ), SCHWARZER WOLF and probably the most famous german western comic SILBERPFEIL.

They also published classic pulp comics like Lee Falk´s THE PHANTOM, the adventure series WASTL which turned into a superhero series when I was reading it as well as french classics like LUC ORIENT, DAN COOPER, BRUNO BRAZIL, RAHAN, ANDY MORGAN, THE BLUE BOYS or THE SMURFS.

One of their biggest part of comic publications were comics based on tv series and they did everything from BIENE MAJA, HEIDI, CAPTAIN FUTURE and HE - MAN to ALF and COUNT DUCKULA. Not to mention SANDOKAN, STAR TREK, BLACK BEAUTY or KUNG FU. They also had a lot of classic american funnies like DENNIS, THE MENACE, CASPAR or FELIX. The entire list of publications is too long to list ( check out their entry on DER DEUTSCHE COMIC GUIDE for that ) but thanks to them german comic readers came to read Vincente Segrelles EL MERCENARIO, Marvel comics like NICK FURY, LONGSHOT, GEISTER REITER, PUNISHER and - one of my personal favorites - independent comic ABENTEUER IN DER ELFENWELT.

And Terry Hooper would have my head if I forget to mention MYKROS.

But their best know series are the horror titles SPUK GESCHICHTEN and GESPENSTER GESCHICHTEN, the last one running from 1974 to 2006.

But let´s get back to our topic ( I´ll post more covers from BASTEI´s comics Tomorrow if there is enough interest by readers ) : unlike series like JOHN SINCLAIR or PROFESSOR ZAMORRA the main horror series where those and others originated GESPENSTER KRIMI ( Zur Spannung noch die Gänsehaut ) ceased publication on April the 16th 1985.

Until then 597 issues had been published and all these pulp novels needed covers. To cut costs sometimes covers were used twice although in some cases it might also have been out of deadline reasons. Of course most often they used new covers and sometimes different covers for the same story. Here is GESPENSTER KRIMI 94´s John Sinclair story DOKTOR TOD.

Here is the cover for the same story in the 2nd edition of JOHN SINCLAIR ( the first edition continued from GESPENSTER GESCHICHTEN so this was the first time the story was published under the JOHN SINCLAIR title ).

The same cover was used for the audio drama of the story and the 3rd edition. On the 4th edition ( I DID say that it is one of Germany´s most successful horror pulp novel series, yes ? ) they used a different cover.

Sometimes they used different covers for the same story, sometimes they used different covers for different stories and sometimes they used the same cover again and again for different stories. And sometimes they used covers from other magazines or other sources as a basis of their covers. Since I can only speculate on the reasons for that this post is concentrating on where some of the covers may have originated. With an emphasis on comics and the first ones are Marvel comics. Yes, it seems I can´t stop talking about Marvel comics even if I decide to do something different. Which may not come as a surprise to those of you who possess a certain knowledge of the subject. Because the person / undead monster depicted in the first GESPENSTER KRIMI cover of the post bears a striking resemblance to a certain antagonist of everybody´s favorite wallcrawler.

The skin tone was changed from white to green but apart from that it was lifted from the 22nd issue of the spanish edition of VAMPIRE TALES.

Another Marvel inspired cover is issue 88 of GESPENSTER KRIMI

and here´s the original, the second issue of Marvel´s DRACULA LIVES !

 And here´s another Dracula inspired cover on GESPENSTER KRIMI 87

this time based on the first issue of the spanish DRACULA LIVES ! comic

which was quite different from the original US version.

A part of the cover was also used for this book - or whatever it is.

And we´re staying with Marvel´s version of Dracula. The secret origin of our next cover goes all the way back to THE TOMB OF DRACULA issue 6.

In the issue a certain Monster of the Moores makes an appearance

who looks a lot like the monster on the cover of GESPENSTER KRIMI 539.

Another re - used Marvel horror mag was MONSTERS UNLEASHED ! 10.

It was not only used for the cover of GESPENSTER KRIMI issue 301

part of the cover was also used for issue 204 of PROFESSOR ZAMORRA

and a slightly altered version appeared on the spanish comic mag CIMOC.

One last Marvel based cover is issue 26 of JOHN SINCLAIR´s 2nd edition.

Which in this case was not based on an actual Marvel comic but rather the look of an actor who stars in a television show based on a Marvel comic.

But Marvel comics were not the only comic company whose covers were used for this. GESPENSTER KRIMI 399, Das Rätsel des Monstersees.

And here is SILBER GRUSEL KRIMI Band 431, Phytonias Schlangenclan.

And here´s the original cover, DC´s WEIRD WAR TALES issue  70. The skeleton crew has been replaced by a hot chick which is an improvement.

Another comic publisher whose covers ended up on GESPENSTER KRIMI was Warren. The cover for 266, Die weiße Göttin ( The White Goddess )

was the same as the cover on issue 54 of the spanish edition of CREEPY.

GESPENSTER KRIMI 565, Ein Freund aus der Hölle starring Damona King

recycled the cover of EERIE issue 133 ( although mirror - inverted )

which was also used on this collection of Robert E. Howard stories.

Our next cover is JOHN SINCLAIR 251, not a GESPENSTER KRIMI issue,

which is also the cover for issue 44 of spanish horror comic DELTA.

Both are slightly altered versions of Warren´s EERIE magazine issue 58

while the unaltered version also graces the cover of RUFUS 16.

And I have kept the best for last. Classic horror movies have always been an inspiration so it´s no wonder that Boris Karloff from THE MUMMY

appears on the cover of issue fiftythree of EERIE,

on issue nineteen of the spanish edition of CREEPY,

and on issue 30 of the spin - off title VAMPUS.

The Boris Karloff part was also used on GESPENSTER KRIMI Band 325

Geisterfalle Bombay and GRUSEL KRIMI Band 484, Druidenfluch.

You can also see it in the background of GESPENSTER KRIMI Band 580.

And that´s all for Today. There are still dozens - or hundreds - of covers left but this post is long enough as it is. And I don´t want to bore my readers. Now I would like to include the link where I found most of theses covers ( I´d like to say that I´m that knowledgeable that I discovered this all by myself but that´s not true ) but I have no idea where that was. Maybe I´ll find it again someday but for now I can´t provide that link.

Speaking about links, before we come to the videos of this post I want to mention Today´s celebrity birthday babe Ami Dolenz who turns 46. Yay !

Ami Dolenz has been in such cinematic gems like PUMPKINHEAD II and STEPMONSTER but she´s probably best known SHE`S OUT OF CONTROL.



It´s a pretty funny movie with Tony Danza who has to deal with the fact that his little ugly duckling has turned into a Playboy centerfold. And the beach scene with the bouncing action ( which got a PG rating ) is a guarantee that it will be still be shown late at night in coming decades.

I have written about Ami and her films in my MIDNIGHT MOVIE MADNESS : PUMKINHEAD post and since this post is all about horror stuff I wanted to post the link. By the way, I´m stil looking for pictures of the comic book from STEPMONSTER with the instructions on how to kill a Tropopkin.

If you don´t know the movie STEPMONSTER, don´t fear because it´s a forgotten gem ( or utter piece of crap depending on who you ask and how important seeing a young but very buxom Ami Dolenz in underwear is for your enjoyment of a movie ) of american cinema but if you want to know more about it just check out Doctor Iron´s hilarious synopsis of the movie at DOCTOR IRON`S SWAMP OF HORRORS or Dan Kinem´s review on VHShitfest . It´s also included in MOVIEWEB`S A Two Corey´s Halloween list which brings us The Essential Horror Movies of Haim and Feldman.

Just recently german Schlager singer and cultural icon Udo Jürgens passed away. He was best known for such classics like ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK, ABER BITTE MIT SAHNE or GEFEUERT ( I posted that one ). One of his greatest hits was MIT 66 JAHREN ( with 66 years ) and it has since then become the inofficial anthem for german senior citizens. The song proclaims that life really starts at 66 and for Udo who managed to still give concerts with 80 years it seems to have come true. He was on the stage for 60 of those 80 years but for a whole generation he will always be remembered as the guy who sang the intro to Tom & Jerry. 



A video that´s more in synch with Today´s topic of pulp horror is MONSTER MASH by Bobby Pickett and the Crypt - Kickers.



The next video is a different take on the song and I mainly picked it because of Vincent Price´s intro about how inventive humans kill.



I like obscure superhero videos and my last one is a clip I haven´t seen before. It´s the Superhero Party from SATURDAY NIGHT LIFE with Margot Kidder as Lois Lane and Bill Murray as Superman. Other party guests include the Hulk, the Thing, Spider - Man, Ant Man and the Flash.



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Recommendations - horror and underground

 After a few days rest - and some trouble with the internet connection - it´s time for a new post. Since it´s officially spring now Germany is drowning under a tidal wave caused by constant rain ( news links ).

Thankfully I´m not in the parts of Germany that are affected because only thinking about all my comics in the cellar getting wet gives me the shivers. So since the weather is just an open invitation to stay indoors and read some comics here are some recommendations from me.

I was a bit hesitant to do this post since it means that the Spider - Man post on which I toiled so long won´t be on the front page anymore but there are some things I urgently have to post. And the Spider - Man post has to disappear from the front sometime, whether I like it or not. 

EERIE ARCHIVES - THIRD TIME´S THE HARM

Yes, another recommendation for one of Dark Horse´s Eerie collections, this time for EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 12. Man, I´m really assembling some serious shelf porn in my room with these hardcovers.  

I probably shouldn´t order this since I just got the NEW TEEN TITANS OMNIBUS volumes 2 and 3 but these opportunities don´t come around that often and so far I have never regretted taking the chance. Plus, lately I have noticed that I like it more to read my favorite comics again and again in the collected edition format.

Now I probably will have to delay my regular visit to the comicshop a bit longer and I can´t write my post about the GRATIS COMIC TAG 2013 for a few more weeks ( since I still haven´t gotten many of the issues ) but it´s totally worth it. This pretty much blows my budget for this month but since I´m not going to Spain this year anyway - again - what better to spend the money on than comics ? I mean, I still have one season of BONES and THE MENTALIST to watch and around two seasons of ANGEL and DALLAS as well as two thirds of the second season of THE WALKING DEAD. My biggest problem right now is finding the time to read all the comics I buy, do new posts here and getting enough sleep.

But back to EERIE ARCHIVES VOLUME 12, like with the other two volumes before the creators list reads like a Who´s Who of comics with such names like Steve Skeates, Doug Moench, Wally Wood, Bernie Wrightson, Richard Corben, Paul Neary as well as spanish paisanos Isidoro Mones, Martin Salvador, Leopoldo Sanchez, Esteban Maroto and Jaime Brocal who have become mainstays of the book.

Once again it´s now offered for a real bargain price at amazon.de which is 22.14 EUROS ( 23,64 with package and handling ) and I don´t expect it will stay at this price very long so you might not want to wait too much. Contained are issues 56 to 60 of the legendary horror anthology series, or more accurately issues 56 to 58 and issue 60 since 59 is another reprint issue and the stories have already been included in previous volumes.

If you have already ordered volumes 10 and 11 you are probably anxious to read the further adventures of Hunter and to find out how Dr. Archeus´ quest - to kill the 12 jurors who sentenced him to death - continues. And you will probably be delighted to start the new series THE SPOOK.  And if you still haven´t gotten one here´s another chance to get one of these expensive 50 buck books at half price. But don´t just take my word for it, here are some preview pages from Bernie Wrightson´s part of the book, courtesy of Dark Horse and of course you can take a look inside on the amazon page. Man, I really should get some dough for all this pimping.

LIFE IS EASY - MAKING UNDERGROUND COMIX IS HARD

Speaking about pimping I wanted to pimp a new german underground comic - which regrettably is not the new U - COMIX from Underground Comix. Longtime readers may recalled that I mentioned german cult comic U - COMIX on this blog once or twice before.

Back when I started reading comics for adults U - COMIX was the funny pendant to SCHWERMETALL, the german version of HEAVY METAL, and it had all the great american underground creators in it like Robert Crumb, Bill Griffith or Gilbert Shelton as well as french artists like Maester, Edika, Margerin, Gotlieb or Francois Thomas. With time most greats from the german independent scene contributed and many comic artists who are big stars now made their first steps in this book.

Now there is a new version of it on german newsstands and comicshops from german publisher Underground Comix and with such a name you know they must be fans of the original. Sadly, that´s not enough.

So far Underground Comix has online comics as well print comics like the Christmas Horror Comic anthology and the KAKERLAK COMIC ( about which I already wrote in this post ) and now they make a foray to the newsstands with the new U - COMIX. The first issue was a free comic for the GRATIS COMIC TAG 2013 and the second issue is available right now.  My brother brought both issues back from the Comicfest in Munich and he was very disappointed with the new version. As I have heard the entire Comicfest was a bit disappointing this year but that´s what happens when you ignore the old saying to never do a comic convention in Bavaria when Bayern Munich wins any kind of championship. I mean, the regular bavarian probably doesn´t care very much about comics and it really doesn´t help when the city is full of hundreds of drunk soccer fans.

I´m just glad I didn´t take my brother´s invitation to join him that weekend and stayed at home instead. I think it would have been a big waste of time and money.

Now I´m really afraid to make a segueway so let´s stick with the usual BUT BACK TO U - COMIX instead. I really would like to say that this is a worthy continuation of the classic cult comic but I really can´t do that with a clear conscience.

I mean, the talent involved in the comic is not unimpressive and there are even some contributions from Gilbert Shelton himself ( who was one of the guests of the Comicfest this year ) but still it isn´t the same. Now part of that is trying to recreate lightning in a bottle, in this case what was one of the big cult comics in Germany. The other part - at least in my humble opinion - comes from trying to do underground comics without really having an idea of what really is underground. And let´s face it, I don´t think there are a lot of comic artists in Germany who really know what underground is. You see, in Germany EVERY comic artist wants to do underground. Nobody wants to do mainstream. So if everybody is doing underground the real underground would be the mainstream which then leads to such strange incidents like POWER FREAKS being totally underground for trying to be mainstream.

But back to U - COMIX, while the comic in and of itself is not bad it has to fail with the goal it set for itself. Some of the art is really great but too many of the stories are just bland, too long or just not funny. I think the comic which sums this up best is the one about the guy who is on the same plane as german Schlager star Michael Wendler ( you´re so much better of not knowing who that is ) and who is offended because one passenger calls him an underground musician. And that´s the problem.

What some people may define as underground may not be what other people think of as underground because it´s very subjective.

Also, there is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path as a great man once said. In the comic I mentioned the narrator goes on to describe what underground means to him but in the end he´s only reciting the examples the media propagates as underground which means a certain type of music and of course drug abuse.

Now the question is if in these times drug abuse is really part of the counter culture or if that´s just one of the stereotypes that fall into socially accepted norms. Somehow reading this comic you miss a certain edge but not for a lack of trying - instead it seems to be a lack of understanding where underground comix really came from. But maybe I´m just analyzing this too much. I´m feeling like one of these guys who tries to explain the concept of coolness to somebody who has never watched an episode of PARKER LEWIS. Anyway, I´m probably not the most qualified person to talk about underground as I´m probably the least underground - ish human on the planet. The biggest manifestation of alternative culture on my part is still not owning a cell phone. I think I have said my piece and if anybody out there wants to make up his mind on his own ( which I´m always for ) you can find an interview with the guys behind the comic here and a review from somebody who agrees with me here .

FISH SANDWICHES, ALIEN CROCODILES AND TRANSMAT TOILETS - WTF ?

Now you may ask, if there ARE german underground comics ? The answer is YES and one excellent example is Mamei and Leo Kircheis´ ROCKET BLUES - MATIE OR BISMARCK HERRING which won the ICOM Award 2011 .

This comic has everything you expect in an underground comic from weird ideas to over the top characters and an odyssey about the big questions of life that starts with something as simple as a fish sandwich.

Although to clarify things, we are not talking about the kind of fish sandwich you might get at McYouknowwho. No Sir, we are talking about a Fischbrötchen which you get in Dresden - Pieschen at a snack stall where they have 40 different kinds of fish sandwiches. The most common are bismarck herring or maties ( also called soused herring ), which brings us to the main focus of the story : our main character, a plain everyman called Laszlo Lommatzsch, is driving on the Autobahn

when an accident - caused by a fish sandwich - propels him into space where he starts on an adventure right out of the pages of Douglas Adams´ HITCHHIKER´S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY. He wakes from a six month coma in a rocketship with amnesia only to find himself face to face with an alien pinguin, a crocodile that is the doctor, a bare breasted dancer, a rocking cleaning woman ( you don´t know how long I have waited to work this Steve Martin reference into my posts ) and the captain Rocket who bears a vague semblance to a german tv show host.

Although I might be wrong about this since it is never really said to whom this Rocket has an uncanny likeness. Anyway, on his quest to regain his memory and find a way home Laszlo comes across teleporting toilets,

a scientist with an exposed brain who looks like Albert Einstein, Nazis in Space and the most important question is if he had bismarck or maties herring before his accident. If only he could remember.

ROCKET BLUES is advertised as an " intergalactic funny sci - fi adventure road movie, in which road means mainly the milky way "  and it really reads like one of the old underground comics with it´s epic scale and all too human longings and you wouldn´t be too surprised to find it next to ZIPPY THE PINHEAD or WONDER WARTHOG. The real surprise is that it´s by a german creator team and a rather new comic The art is rough, edgy, very detailed and outright funny. I can´t stress that enough : this comic is hilarious and like all the great works of art it takes something as simple as a fish sandwich to explores the microcosmos within ourselves. My recommendation as the feelgood comic of the week.

For more about the comic here´s a review of Rocket Blues ( sorry, it´s in german ) or you can go to the Rocket Blues blog .

As you may have noticed, we didn´t get to talk about NEMI - again - but this post got kind of away from me. Which also is nothing new. But I have been working on this post for over 6 hours now so I´ll call it a day since I have to work Tomorrow.

But no post is complete with a video at the end and Today´s feature is once again Doctor Who related. But instead of another trailer for the big anniversary I thought I should post something my readers - at least the german readers - might not have seen before. This is the 2007 Children in Need Special TIME CRASH in which The Doctor meets.....naaah, that would be telling.



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