Look, I can't lie...this really isn't that great a cover:
Except. What. The. Hell. Is. THAT?!?!?!?!?!?!
Great, now I'm having nightmares for a month!!
Nothing remotely resembling this guy appears in any of the stories on the inside.
The only art credit GCD has for the cover is "Gill Fox?", so we don't even know for certain who drew this, if "drew" is the right word. Perhaps "conjured from the darkest bowels of hell" might be the more appropriate term...
Hey, DC, you probably own this guy right now...maybe put him on all your covers some month?
Some tiny wooden puppets have been going around town killing people!!
How is this possible? Our evil Geppetto explains...
Wait...
OK, actually, that's a pretty cool idea, especially for a pre-computer age comic!!
Anyway, one of the murder-puppets is on the loose, on a mission to murder Martha, Doll Man's girlfriend!
Fortunately, having a super-hero boyfriend can be a handy thing...
CRACK!
Me too, Martha...me too!
Spacebooger thinks that Doll Man is much cooler than the Atom.
Puppet punching from Doll Man #10 (1946), author unknown, pencils and inks (probably) by Max Elkan
Now is the time for you to go and vote for my fight. Why? Believe it or not, this was the second comic I've read today featuring murderous wooden puppets! It's a trend!! We have to band together!! So vote for me to spread awareness of the evil puppets!! Now go vote!!
It's finally happening!! The wedding we've all been waiting for!!
What the FRAK?!?!?!?!?!?
It case that didn't cause you enough nightmares, let be blow that up:
You see, Lois kind of stumbled into a hidden magical kingdom, because DC, and it's king, who was ashamed of his looks, managed to trade body types with Kal-El, because magic, and...
Never fear, dear reader--Lois is made of sterner stuff than that!
Oh, Lois...
[SPOILER ALERT: Superman gets turned back to normal when Lois throws a rock at the royal wizard and knocks his magic hat off. The end.]
So, who were America's great heroes in 1951 (at least according to Fawcett Comics)?
No big surprises: The Marvel Family, a jungle queen, lots (and lots) of western heroes, and...and...and...what the hell is this:
Who...?
AHHHHH!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
Look, those of you with your quaint and silly fear of clowns...please. That is nothing compared to the terror caused by puppets--especially magician puppets!!!
The Great Foodini (with his assistant, Pinhead) was one of the earliest children's shows. They first appeared on The Adventures of Lucky Pup, but for some unfathomable reason, they proved more popular, and took over the show!! See, they killed Lucky Pup (probably!)!
Here, you can watch an entire episode...just don't blame me if you can't sleep for a week or so:
Thank you for the nightmares, CBS!
Apparently, Foodini and Pinhead (Pinhead!!! Are you listening!! PINHEAD!!AHHHHHH) proved popular, and quickly became masters of all primitive early 1950s media.
They had records:
They were on magazine covers:
There was no escaping the terror of the magician puppet:
And yes, the Satanic duo even infiltrated our beloved comic books:
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
IEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Somebody stop them!!!!
After their series at Continental Comics died, they proved their evil by coming back from to dead to infest Fawcett Comics, in a series that actually lasted longer than the television show!!
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!
That woman, by the way, Hope Bunin, who with her husband Morey, were well known puppeteers, and creators of Foodini and Pinhead. Because in the 1940s & 50s, you could become famous for being a puppeteer and horrifying millions.
Foodini #1-4 appeared in 1950. Pinhead and Foodini #1-4 appeared in 1951-1952. This explains why you're parents are so frakked up. The ad appeared in Worlds Beyond #1 (1951)
Hey, let's start off with a little Sunday morning nightmare fuel:
Holy crap!!
You see, it's the standard horror comic mad scientist...
And of course, instead of claiming the Nobel Prize or something, he sends the guy...uh, thing...on a massive quest for vengeance:
Man, life in the 1950s was a lot rougher than Happy Days led us to believe!
Oh, don't fret--the potion wore off, the thing turned back into a normal octopus, and he killed the scientist. The end! From Black Cat Mystery Comics #32 (1951)
