Thursday, October 19, 2017

The Convert by E. Puchades

Here's a few potato-quality photos of some pages (not all) from a memorable short story in Monster Hunters #16 by Charlton Comics in October 1978. You can see a better cover at https://www.mycomicshop.com/search?TID=200801 . One thing conspicuously missing from a lot of old comics is credits! But thankfully we live in the future now so I found out the artist's name is E. Puchades.

Print quality was not always optimal for comics in the 70s, especially if they weren't Marvel or DC. That made it even easier for young and undiscerning eyes to miss the qualities of Puchades. Sketchy styles were done but they weren't exactly popular yet (and wouldn't be until Sienkiewicz's work in the mid 80s, which might sound like a short time away but was truly still an age away, from this consumer's perspective).

Puchades did not feel confined to filling a bunch of rectangles. The work spills from panel to panel in places, giving it depth that helps to immerse readers into the dark atmosphere. Nor did he strictly adhere to a single drawing style, changing it up in some panels. And though the story is remarkably short and simple, it seems like he devoted a notably consistent form to the two characters.

If you dig "old" horror comics (it's only 39 and by no stretch a pre-censorship relic), shell out the $ and order this one to see the other pages. There are two other stories in it as well, including the very inspirational Kilgore Monster.







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