Kids' Creations from Karloff's Comics!

In the early sixties, to the late seventies, Gold Key comics had a title called "Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery," a horror anthology featuring different tales of horror and terror every issue, with Karloff in a Cryptkeeper-type horror host role at the start and end of each strip...

While I would love to show you some of these tales, I believe they're still under copyright, so to be on the safe side I've never bothered to post anything from the comic before...However, while looking through scans today, I discovered something that I had to risk sharing with you...

(Click the pics to enlarge them!)

The Gold Key Club put out a request in one of the issues for reader-submitted monster designs, with, as you can see above,  a few ideas of their own to give kids some inspiration! (The sponge-footed Drought Monster is my fave from that lot!)

For the next couple of issues, while they waited for the readers pictures to come in, they ran another couple of sets of freakish creations. The Suction Monster is probably the best from the above bunch....

 The Six-Armed Crocky-Dial only exists to pun, and I have to admire him for that, but the fact there's another creature who is sustained by gulping down noises, and uses manhole covers as tiddlywinks to satiate that hunger, I find particulary inspired... 

In the next issue there was a page with five of the first reader creations, and then one other page with another five...and that was it! Looking through the other issues I couldn't find any other reader submitted drawings of monsters! Whether they weren't receiving any, or whether (as seems to be the case) they decided to go for some more wholesome drawings of natural animals instead of wildly imagined creatures of doom, there were apparently no more that I can find in the issues I have access to...

But here, in all their splendour, are the ones that were submitted...seperated by me so I can post my favourites last...the strange beasts that emerged from 1960's American kids' heads!

The Giant - Eye Monstrosity. It's eye doesn't look that giant compared to the rest of it to me!? Or does it have a bigger one round the other side? Or is it just giant to us, as the creature is huge? I need answers, dammit....

What's going on with this monster? What's that name all about? Is he a good little boy because he eats the monsters who eat people to save other people? Or is he secretly eating those monsters because the ones that eat humans taste better? Again, I need answers....
 

This Godzilla-type monster is pretty straight-forward! Maybe a bit lacking in originality, but seems like an effective creature!

Monster Man bites people on the ankle? So he must be pretty small...but then no, that isn't a doll is it? its a person, which means he's picking people up and then chomping their ankles with his nasty fangs! This is worse than I first assumed....

The Blob Beast changes shape to get his victims, so is this even what he looks like? Is this his default mode, or just one of many forms? I guess we'll never know unless we see him....but then, if it isn't we might be already sitting beside him! HE CAN BE ANYTHING! 

ARRGH!

Clearly, someone has already shot the Green Devil with an arrow, which has done nothing to stop him. In fact he seems to be using it as a fashion accesory now. A truly terrifying creature....

These last four are my faves....above you can see The Mad Wrecker, who demolishes everything in sight, while succumbing to geek fashion! Look at those glasses! And that wonderful sixties hat! 

 

And above, possibly my favourite of the lot....The Melter! When he stares at people, they melt! Love the simple effectiveness of his talent!

The Centennial Monster's loose eye disturbs me. It also seems bigger than the Giant-Eyed Monstrosity's ocular orb! One hundred feet of gooey, destructive mess and legs...Blergh!

And then this last one, who at first seems pretty boring for a monster...Loves everybody? Pfff...that's not terrifying at all! But then you look more closely at the drawing, and it somehow becomes more terrifying and disturbing the more you look at it. And that name! Xam-Us No. 19235....what sort of mad experiment is this? And does that mean there are 19234 other experimental creatures like this that have failed!?

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While I was looking for a cover picture for Boris Karloff's Gold Key comic, I stumbled upon the fact that a brand new, non-reprint comic run is starting this very month! Pre-orders are now available for the comic which is due to launch on the 18th after a successful Kickstarter earlier in the year, and the blessing of the Karloff family, and you can find more information about it by clicking here....

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I hope you enjoyed this lot! Crazy to think that all of the creators of these creatures will now probably be in their sixties or seventies! I had fun checking them out anyway...

Be sure to go see what the other Cryptkeepers, like Dex over at AEIOU....and Sometimes Why, have going on for the Countdown. You can find a list of all the participants by clicking the badge below!