(pb;
1973─1975, 2006: graphic novel. Collects Dracula
Lives #1─2 and Tales of the Zombie #1─10.)
From
the back cover
“He
lives! He strikes! No grave can hold him! Nothing can stop the man without a
soul! Marked for human sacrifice by voodoo practitioners, Simon Garth was
instead reanimated by mystical means ─ to be controlled by whoever holds the
fabled Amulet of Damballah. And so begins the Tales of the Zombie! Terrors
criminal, corporate and just plain creepy are reprinted here for the first time
in more than a quarter-century! His stare’s the only thing that’s empty about
the adventures of Simon Garth through mad science and madder magic!”
Review
The Tales magazine was a mix of 1970s atmospheric,
pulpy voodoo artwork and stories (their themes often rooted in revenge, greed, lust and redemption) and informative articles about the voodoo religion, and films and
books related to the subject─e.g., White Zombie, 1932, Ian Fleming’s 1954 James Bond novel Live and Let Die (which resulted in the 1973 movie) and George A.
Romero’s 1968 iconic Night of the Living Dead.
Tales also has a recurring, titular character, also
called Simon Garth, whose often-violent and troubling journey through unlife is
recounted in at least one piece per collected issue. Garth is a sympathetic and
subconsciously troubled character: his comic book actions─reprehensible or kind─are mandated by his ever-changing
masters (who hold the Amulet of Damballah, which control Garth).
Brother Voodoo’s loa-based heroics earn him recurring comic book status,
as well. He, like Garth, also has sometimes uneven-in-quality adventures.
Overall,
this is a fun, well-drawn and-inked (and short-lived) series. Some of Tale‘s articles and comic book
storylines are thrilling, others are not. If you are into 1970s Marvel monster
comics or pulpy voodoun works, there is
a good chance you will enjoy Tales.
If you are not, but curious, borrow this from your local library─if it has it─or
pick it up for an especially low price.
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