TRICKS AND TREATS

...and so another month is ending.

...and so I never got another review up.

With apologies to my faithful fans, "real life" has just done a number on my time. I am seeing some light at the end of the tunnel though so I'm hopeful to have a review or two up for October (especially with it being the month of Halloween after all).

Of course, I'm not going to leave you totally unsated as September exits.

Instead, I'm going to let you enjoy the delights of Charley Bowers. I was introduced to Bowers by friend Paul Etcheverry whose blog "Psychotronic Paul" often covers similar ground to the cinematic, comic and pop culture delights we enjoy here at Scared Silly.

Others have written more eloquently and extensively on Bowers than I possibly could (to learn more, click here and here and here) but in brief, Bowers was both an animator/cartoon director of the silent era (a run that included the animated series based on Bud Fisher's popular Mutt & Jeff comic strip) as well as a live-action comedian-director from the silent and early sound era. His films were lost for many years but when some were finally discovered there was a resurgence of interest in Bowers.

Bowers stock-in-trade was his penchant for surreal animated effects... and not just in the cartoons he directed. His live-action shorts that survive are chock full of crazy visual effects that are mind-boggling, mind-numbing and everything in-between!

I'm not certain any of the Bowers live-action shorts would technically qualify as "horror-comedy" (as opposed to Mutt & Jeff cartoon, Slick Sleuths) but There It Is certainly comes close. Interestingly, Bowers uses a macabre villain called "The Phantom" in both Slick Sleuths and There It Is. Without further ado, I present to you a slice of cinema that is surely unlike anything you're likely to have seen before. Here it is: There It Is!

GET "SCARED SILLY" FOR CHARITY THIS WEEKEND!

Greetings Scared Silly fans! Just a quick note to let you know about my upcoming appearance at the next Superheroes for Hospice charity comic convention taking place this Saturday, September 17th at the Monmouth Mall in Eatontown, New Jersey on Route 35. I will be there from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m autographing copies of my ARCHIE’S WEIRD MYSTERIES and VINCENT PRICE books along with various comic book projects.


Also on hand will be my pal Thomas Hall who will be signing copies of his award-winning R-13 (aka ROBOT 13) as well as his horror-comedy project KING! (which I recently highlighted – click here to read all about it)...



There will also be plenty of comics for sale from all decades to purchase as well as other great comics creators on hand to autograph comics, do sketches and sell original art. Proceeds will support the patients and families of the Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center. Established in 1981, the Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center, located at 95 Old Short Hills Road in West Orange, provides comprehensive care for patients with advanced illness, and their families, throughout ten counties in the State of New Jersey.



The Barnabas Health Hospice and Palliative Care Center supports inpatient units at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, and Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, NJ, as well as Van Dyke Hospice at Community Medical Center in Toms River. It also provides home care and services for individuals in long-term care and assisted living facilities.

Now enjoy a spooky yet kooky clip from the “Archie’s Weird Mysteries” TV cartoon that takes place… where else?... in a mall!

CARTOONEY CREEPSTAKES: "THE DEADLYS" BY CHRIS M. CANTRELL

Greetings Scared Silly fans!

Welcome to a brand-new new feature on this blog: CARTOONEY CREEPSTAKES. I received a note from a reader asking me to plug one of his favorite horror-comedy online comic strips and I got to thinking, “With my own background as a writer of horror-comedy comic books (namely “Archie’s Weird Mysteries,”) why not make discussion of non-movie horror-comedy a regular feature?”

So, CARTOONEY CREEPSTAKES will be just that. In-between classic horror-comedy movie reviews, I’ll post about how the genre is being tackled by cartoonists, whether doing comic strips, comic books or animated cartoons. Sometimes it may even be take some other form – for example, I have a friend who does silkscreen art that is cartoony and clearly inspired by the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, Charles Addams and Tim Burton. CARTOONEY CREEPSTAKES will be the feature where such folks can be spotlighted.

In addition to new projects, I’ll occasionally dip back into history to feature some classic comic or cartoon from the past.

In truth, I’ve been doing all of the above all along (click here and here and here and here and here for other examples). The difference now is that I’m making this an official feature by giving it a name and by setting a goal of delivering such a post at least once a month. With my crazy schedule as of late it will also help to have such posts in-between my more in-depth movie reviews (and it offers you faithful readers some new content while you await those reviews).

Before I let the preamble ramble on too far, let’s get right into this first official installment. As mentioned above, a reader named Dan Bostaph asked that I please give special mention to Chris M. Cantrell’s web comic, The Deadlys. Here’s his email, reprinted with his permission:



“Recently, Chris' web comic "The Deadlys" got hacked. Everything was either deleted or virus-contaminated. He tried to reconstruct the site from his backups, only to discover that the virus used had contaminated his backups, too. Fortunately, a Data Recovery Specialist helped him get back all his strips.

Nevertheless, Chris was, upset, and just about ready to pack it in. A few of his fans, including myself, encouraged him not to give up. He agreed.

Now, Chris has redesigned the website, with extra security, more features, and he even intends to write & draw a second feature "Vampire Teenage Mystery Solvers", using a younger version of one of his characters.”



Per Dan, “The Deadlys" is “a little slice of Charles Addams's territory, if the Addams' had been written by Hank Ketchum.” It chronicles life in suburbia for Jack Deadly – a goale-masked Jason-esque fiend; his vampire wife, Elizabeth and children Morgan and Viktor.

“They deal with job stress, unwelcome relatives and everything else modern life can dump on a family of monsters,” Dan continued. “In short, fun.”

Dan went on to explain that much of Chris's readership is AWOL, and he needs a hand getting started again. His strip returns today, September 17th. I encourage you to check it out at the new website address, www.thedeadlys.com

One last thing: Dan states that he is “not connected to Chris, and don't get any money from the strip, I just get the enjoyment.” That’s enough of an endorsement for me! Enjoy!