Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Bernie Wrightson: Two Short Comics

Here's two more short comics by Bernie Wrightson from DC's House of Mystery comic.

The first story, "Scared to Life," is from House of Mystery #180, cover dated June 1969. This three pager is typical of Bernie's efforts for DC during this time period. Although the drawing can be a bit crude, Wrightson does a fine job conveying and atmosphere of dread and weirdness with his twisted figures and lush brushwork. On this viewing I'm really drawn to the second panel on page 1. The low perspective adds a little variety, and it is just a nice drawing of somebody doing something as mundane as putting on a bathrobe. It shows a good grasp of the fundamentals that is not always apparent in panels featuring some supernatural horror or a gothic landscape. Lord Dufferin's face in panel 3 of page 3 is quintessential late 1960's Wrightson.









The second story, "Night Prowler," is from House of Mystery #191, cover dated April 1971. It is a more light-hearted story and does not have any scenes of horror or mayhem. Wrightson's art shows more polish in this story. Particularly effective is Bernie's use of light and shadow on the second page. I suspect part of it is he did because he could do that sort of thing well. It also serves a good purpose to highlight the tension and mystery of that sequence.











Previously posted:Three more early Wrightson short stories.

No comments: