Longbox Junk Halloween 2026 - Aliens: Earth Angel

 Welcome to Longbox Junk, where I write comic reviews even though nobody asked me to!

It's October!

It's that special time of year when Wal-Mart shamelessly displays "Naughty Nurse" costumes that would usually only be found for sale publicly in somewhat sketchy stores on the outskirts of town. . .and one aisle over it's a winter wonderland of  pre-lit fake Christmas trees in every color of the rainbow!

To which I can only quote Will 'Wicky, Wicky, Wild Wild West' Smith and say: "Welcome to Earth!"

ANYWAY. . .

We've been having a nice little Halloween party here at Longbox Junk.  A little of this, a little of that.  Some good, some not so good.  It's been a pretty decent mix in the plastic pumpkin bucket so far.

But you know what we're missing?  A good old-fashioned Invader From Beyond.  I mean. . .come on.  What's Halloween without some cheesy 1950s science fiction horror?  It's not much of a Halloween at all, if you ask me.

So let's throw some invading aliens into the mix, shall we?  WE SHALL!

ALIENS: EARTH ANGEL

Dark Horse (1994)

COVER:  John Byrne

And folded out. . .

THE COVER:

I don't know.  This just isn't doing it for me.  I KNOW John Byrne is one of the most prolific and well-known comic talents out there, but this isn't a great example of his work.  There's just way too much going on.  It's cluttered.  Sorry, Byrne fans.  I don't like it much.  

Let's get inside!

THE STORY:

Earth Angel

SCRIPT: John Byrne

PENCILS: John Byrne

Inks: John Byrne

The late 1950s.  Two teenagers discover a strange object crashed in the forest.  It's like no airplane they've ever seen before.  Inside the wreckage, they discover the pilot and drag him out before the wreck explodes.  As they inspect the pilot, they quickly realize. . .it's not human!  

Dun-Dun-DUNNNN!!

The teens manage to drag the pilot to the local doctor's office, where the doctor discovers that the strange being has a dead object attached to its face.  When the doctor removes the spider-legged thing, the pilot begins to panic. 

 They try to calm it down, but its too late. . .a bloody explosion from its chest, a wriggling creature bursting out, and you know what THAT means. It's ALIEN TIME!

LATER, AT THE LOCAL BIKER BAR. . .

Typical Juvenile Delinquent shenanigans are occurring, just like every other night.  Except THIS night holds a few surprises!  One of the bikers goes outside to water a tree and is quite surprised to find himself getting attacked by a gigantic alien creature!

His friends notice he's taking a bit too long and decide to go looking for him.  

And. . .yep. . .you guessed it!  

MEANWHILE, BACK IN TOWN. . .

After the alien creature escapes, the Doctor hustles home to gather his family and get them out of town before things start to get worse.  But as he heads out past the local biker bar to his Mother-In-Law's house with his wife and daughter, their escape is inconvenienced by a giant alien in the middle of the road! 

 I HATE when that happens!

The Doctor hits the alien and the car goes flying off the road.  Apparently it's one of those 1950s movie cars that explode if you kick the tire because sure enough. . .the car explodes!  

Fortunately, the Doctor and his family were able to bail out before their sedan turns into a miniature sun and burns the attacking alien up.  UN-fortunately, they get thrown down the embankment and right into a big ol' pile of slimy alien eggs!  

And THAT'S when the bikers show up!  They do that thing bikers do in old movies where they ride in a circle around someone while revving their engines.  But the Doctor just destroyed a giant alien with an exploding family sedan, so he's not as impressed as the bikers would have liked him to be. . .

Scattered among the eggs in the makeshift alien nest are the bikers that the alien took earlier.  Their friends rush in to rescue them, but. . .yeah. . .you know what happens next.  The terrified bikers get to witness little aliens bursting out of their buddies with a spectacular goosh of blood!  

When one of the chestburster aliens latches onto another biker and he rams his super-explosive motorcycle into a tree, where it instantly bursts into a massive fireball, the Doctor quickly realizes that the extremely-flammable nature of EVERYTHING in the 1950s is the key to survival!

  "We've got to burn them to death!" He helpfully shouts, even though everyone can already clearly see the alien burning to death right in front of them.

The other bikers aren't so keen on the idea of burning their helpless friends to death, but the Doctor knows what's best.  He grabs a handy can of gasoline off of one of the bikes and dowses the eggs and the bikers before setting them on fire!

The rest of the bikers come to terms with the Doctor's fiery prescription for alien death and they gleefully chase down and do burnouts on top of the few aliens escaping the massive fire the Doctor has set.  We see from an overhead shot that he might have overdone it a bit as his alien cookout quickly turns into a raging forest fire!

LATER. . .

The authorities finally arrive at the scene.  They had to wait a while because the fire the Doctor set was a bit too much.  The military is also there to take a look, and they quickly lock the scene down when they start discovering crispy alien bodies among the human remains.

ELSEWHERE. . .

We find the Doctor and his family safe at a kindly neighbor's house.  When he makes a phone call we discover that his name is NOT Doctor Firedeath but. . .wait for it. . .wait for it. . .Doctor RIPLEY!

Yeah.  This is the Grandfather (Great Grandfather, maybe?) of Ellen Ripley, hero of the Alien movies.

 That's the twist.  M. Night Shyamalan approves.  Maybe.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Let's get something straight here first.  John Byrne is a legitimate comic legend.  He's worked on most of the biggest characters in the business for over 50 years.  He's not my favorite comic talent, but I fully recognize his contributions and his legacy.  Comics wouldn't be the same without John Byrne.

But this is NOT his finest hour.  This comic isn't even acknowledged on John Byrne's Wikipedia page.  

It's got the cardstock cover, the glossy paper, and the $2.95 (in 1994 dollars) price tag of a "Prestige Format" comic, but it's got the length and quality of a longer than usual Bronze Age horror anthology story.

There's just not much that's memorable about the story at all.  I barely remembered enough about it to write the review, and had to go back and re-read parts of it less than an hour after I had read it the first time.  

This story is EXTREMELY light.  Crashed ship with alien is found.  Alien escapes.  Alien starts grabbing bikers.  Doctor gets caught up in fighting the alien and wins.  That's it.  From John Byrne. . .the guy who re-wrote Superman's origin story for the modern age.  The guy who co-wrote the Dark Phoenix saga.  Really? THAT guy also wrote this flimsy thing?

The art isn't anywhere close to his best, either.  There's moments here and there, and it's not BAD, it's just that I would expect a bit more from someone who gave us epic moments like this:

And yes, I realize there's a difference between a dark tale of alien invaders and a hopeful superhero comic, but I still feel a bit disappointed when I know what Byrne is actually capable of.  

CONCLUSION

The story is okay.  The art is okay.  But I was expecting a bit more than okay from a certified comic legend like John Byrne.  There just seems to be a general lack of effort to be found here.  It's not BAD, but it's the sort of thing you easily forget not long after you finish reading it.

If you want to take a look at Earth Angel yourself, it's not hard to find in the bargain bin.  I see this all the time for a buck or two.  It might be something to keep your eye out for if you're a big fan of John Byrne and aren't aware that he did an Alien story, but generally speaking I find it hard to recommend Earth Angel.

Up Next. . .

The Longbox Junk Halloween party continues!   Be there or be square!

Longbox Junk Halloween 2026 - Werewolf By Night #1

 Welcome to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never wanted!

Ah. . .October.  That special time of year when you can go to your local Wal-Mart to buy some Halloween candy while listening to Christmas music on the speakers overhead.  It's also the special time of year when Longbox Junk features horror comics!

It's been a fun little Halloween party.  So far, I've been looking at horror anthologies and their little bite-sized chunks of comic book horror.  But now it's time to head over to a different neighborhood.  Yeah. . .you know the one I'm talking about.  The neighborhood with all the big houses, where they hand out the full size cany bars!

First stop, we've got a Halloween staple. . .the Werewolf!  What's Halloween without the howling creatures of the night?  It's not Halloween at all, in MY humble opinion.  

And so, I present the comic at hand.  A late 90s Marvel publication that was part of an ill-fated "blink and you missed it" project called "Strange Tales".  The project lasted less than a year and only managed to put out two series, Werewolf by Night and Man-Thing.  

Man-Thing lasted 8 issues, and Werewolf by Night lasted just 6.  I guess the late 90s just weren't the right time for mainstream Marvel horror comics.  But let's check out the first issue anyway, shall we?

WE SHALL!

WEREWOLF BY NIGHT #1

Marvel (1998)

COVER: Leonardo Manco

THE COVER:

Leonardo Manco is an artist I like a lot.  Unfortunately, this isn't that great of a cover.  It's sort of spooky, and surreal, but it's also dark and muddled.  It doesn't really catch the eye and make me want to see what's inside.  I mean, it SAYS Werewolf in the title, but the cover doesn't sell Werewolf.  

They should have gone with the cover for Issue #2 for the first issue instead.  Now THERE'S a cover that sells a Werewolf story!

 

THE STORY:

Somewhere South of Heaven

SCRIPT:  Paul Jenkins

PENCILS: Leonardo Manco

INKS: Leonardo Manco

Jack Russell is a mess.  He's an alcoholic stumbling through life.  He's got a girl, but their relationship is always on the edge.  He's a guy without friends. . .without much of anything, really.

Oh yeah.  He's also a werewolf.

Jack USED to be just a normal guy, living the normal life. . .surfing, beach babes, parties.  A simple life.  Until he found out he'd inherited a curse.  Every full moon for three days, he'd change into a violent and bloodthirsty wolf-man.  

Eventually, he learned to control the transformation, and he even became a hero of sorts.  But for those three days of the full moon, Jack had absolutely no control.  So during those times, he was forced to hide underground in a hideout he'd built in the sewers until the curse had taken its course.

It was a pretty lousy life.

We follow Jack as he endures yet another full moon. . .trapped in the body of a monster, hiding in the sewers.  Fighting the bloodlust as best he can, which isn't very much.  He suffers horrific visions of hell and wants nothing more than to kill.  

But after three days, it finally passes and Jack can return to his regular lousy life.  A run-down apartment in the worst part of town and a girlfriend who thinks he's cheating on her when he disappears for three days at a time.   

Jack and Roxanna have a complicated relationship.  They love each other, but she's afraid he's being unfaithful and is getting deeper into the alcohol.  He's afraid that he'll lose control and kill her. 

 They want to be together, but both of them are pushing each other away.  Neither of them know how much longer they can go on this way.

Jack decides it's time to do something.  He can't go on like this.

He's tried and failed before, but he HAS to try again.  He stays up until 3 a.m., scraping through the garbage pits of the internet.  There has to be something, anything.  There has to be a cure!

Finally, he discovers a crumb. . .a thread. . .a clue!  A tiny bit of hope.  He calls an acquaintance, a priest who is an expert in the occult.  He needs information on something called "The Third Moon".

He learns that the Third Moon are a mysterious group of wolf cultists that supposedly have been active for thousands of years.  They worship a nameless demonic being that feeds upon fear.  The modern version of the cult is supposedly in possession of an ancient artifact. . .a knife that could possibly control the demon.

The knife was last known to be in the hands of a cultist named Walter Clark, a wealthy movie star of the past.  It's assumed his estate still has the knife.  

Jack doesn't know if it is what he's looking for, but a thing that can control the best within seems like something he needs to look into.  And so the dark adventure begins. . .

To Be Continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

Not bad!  Not bad at all.  It's a dark, gritty story. . .mostly setup, as this IS the first issue of what was supposed to be an ongoing series, but still a pretty darn good read.

Jack Russell is pathetic, violent, desperate, and dangerous to those around him.  There's some brief reference to the Bronze Age anti-hero version of Werewolf by Night, but this story establishes Russell as a broken, tragic figure desperate to find a way to escape his curse before he kills the only good thing in his life.  He's not a hero, he's a monster.

So. . .this is the first issue of a series, so I'm going to do the Longbox Junk thing I do with EVERY first issue.  I'm going to ask just TWO questions.  Two simple questions. . .or at least they seem to be simple.  You'd be surprised how many first issues fail to answer one or both in a good way.

FIRST:  Does this comic establish the characters and their situation in a new reader-friendly way?

SECOND: Does it make me want to read more?

I think those are two fair questions for the first issue of a series.  Let's see how Werewolf by Night does.

Does this issue establish the characters and their situation well?  I say yes.  Paul Jenkins gives us the origin of Jack Russell and sets the grim tone of what's to come in an engaging way.  The story hooked me in and before I knew it, I was at the last panel.  

Speaking of the last panel. . .does this issue make me want to read more?  Yes it does!  I actually have the other issues in this run (and could probably have done a full review of it, but I want to keep to single issues for now) and I already know where it goes, but this first issue made me want to pull out the rest and read it again!  

So, two for two on the first issue questions!  That's a hell of a lot better than a lot of other comics I've read.  But story is only half of a comic book.  How about the art?

I know Leonardo Manco more for his art on Hellblazer, but he swings for the fences here!  His dark and gritty style PERFECTLY compliments Jenkins' story of a desperate man trying to control a raging beast inside.  Manco's nightmarish version of the werewolf is one of the best I've seen.  I mean. . .just LOOK at it!

The art in this comic is simply a feast for the eyes on every page.  Marvel picked the perfect artist here.

CONCLUSION

It's a dark, brutal tale of a desperate man fighting the beast within, backed up by nightmarish artwork that perfectly compliments it.  This is a comic book that I can't find anything wrong with.  It introduces the main character and his nasty situation quite nicely, and makes me want to read more.  

If you're looking for a good werewolf comic, this is it.  I can actually recommend the whole series. I don't really see these in the bargain bins.  Like a lot of other horror comics, you'll have to get into the regular back issue boxes and pay a few bucks more for the individual comics.

The first four issues of this series have been collected in a trade titled "Werewolf By Night: In The Blood", but for the other two issues (as well as two more that continue the story in Strange Tales vol. 4) you'll have to go on the hunt.  But no matter HOW you get your hands on these comics, I give them the Longbox Junk gold seal of approval!

Good stuff!  So what's next for the Longbox Junk Halloween party? Vampires? Monsters? Witches? Maniac Killers?  So many choices!  Stay tuned and find out!

Longbox Junk Halloween 2026 - Beyond the Grave #11

 Welcome to Longbox Junk, where the reviews are free, and if you're not satisfied, I GUARANTEE a 100% refund!

I've had a nice, long weekend, but it's time to get back to some Longbox Junkin'!

We've been having a nice little Halloween party so far here at Longbox Junk.  Had some nice little fun-sized pieces of horror goodness in our little pumpkin buckets, courtesy of some 1980s horror anthology comics.  

How about we do one more before moving on to something different?  After all, the great part of trick or treat loot is digging in and finding something unexpected.  But until then, let's see what Charlton has to offer in the way of anthology horror, shall we?

WE SHALL!

BEYOND THE GRAVE #11

Charlton (1983)

COVER: Mitch O'Connell

THE COVER:

Now THAT'S a great Halloween cover!  I love a cover that tells a story in a single image, and this is a fine example.  The creepy feeling of not being alone in the house is beautifully illustrated in a clean, classic comic style.  VERY nice!  Let's get inside.

THE STORIES:

Three stories here.  There's some pretty good names in the credits, too.  Unfortunately all the stories are reprints.  I didn't realize that until I spotted Doctor Graves just sort of hanging around in the second story for no reason, and distinctly remembered reading the third story before from my run of Haunted Love.  I had to go back and edit the story credits. 

Anyway. . .Let's do this!

Not For Sale

*Originally featured in Ghostly Tales #117

SCRIPT: Joe Gill

PENCILS: Charles Nicholas

INKS:  Wayne Howard

Philip Colby is a man with a problem.  He's left a successful Real Estate agency to start his own business, but the only house he has for sale is haunted!  

Determined to make a name for himself in Real Estate, he decides to stay in the house until it can be sold.  He'll show those frightened townfolk that he ain't scared of no ghost!

It's not long before spooky stuff starts happening!  He discovers the diary of a woman who died in the house. . .Evangeline Brimm.  A young lady who died at 22 years old of a broken heart after her fiance was killed during the Spanish-American War.  

He decides to go ahead and sleep in Evangeline's bedroom, indeed, upon the very bed where she died!  Philip hears her voice, and even sees the ghostly form of Evangeline herself.  But he's not scared.  He carries on a conversation with her and the two of them hit it off quite nicely.

The next day, a beautiful woman who looks strangely familiar visits Philip's office.  She tells him she's very interested in buying the old Brimm Estate and she won't take no for an answer.  

They visit the house together.  As they move through the rooms, Philip suddenly realizes that this is Evangeline!  They quickly decide to live together and seal the deal with a kiss.  Now THAT'S romance!

The End.

THE REVIEW:

Not a great start.  This story is frankly a bit ridiculous.  A ghost trapped in the house she died in suddenly takes human form through the awesome power of love?  There's no ghost rules here!  She's been dead over a hundred years, but can take on the form of a hot Bronze Age comic girl?  All for the love of a guy she met the night before?  

I'm not sure how it works in comic book world, but how is the actual owner of the house going to take the Real Estate agent just deciding to live there with some woman?  Evangeline can't be the owner of the house.  Who put it up for sale? Not her.

The art has a nice, clean Bronze Age style to it, but that's about the only good thing about this story.  The whole damn thing is nothing but a series of weird plot holes.  I just wasted 5 minutes of my life reading this story, and then another 10 minutes writing about it.  

Moving along.

The Cure

*Originally featured in The Many Ghosts of Dr. Graves #22

SCRIPT:  Joe Gill

PENCILS: Steve Ditko

INKS: Steve Ditko

183 years ago, Lucas Morton was in extreme pain.  Doctor Phineas Robb was summoned and, despite his best efforts, was unable to save Morton, who died vowing eternal revenge against Robb and all his descendants!

FAST FORWARD TO THE PRESENT DAY. . .

Ellen and her Aunt Andrea, distant relatives of Lucas Morton, decide to make their home in the old Morton Estate, despite it's reputation as being haunted.  A reputation that seems well-deserved when the two women repeatedly encounter the ghost of Lucas Morton, moaning in pain and generally being a cantankerous old spectral pest.  Ellen decides to do something about it. . .

Ellen does a bit of research and heads to the local hospital, where a Doctor Robb is in residence. . .a distant ancestor of the very Doctor Robb who failed Lucas Morton almost two hundred years before. 

Ellen asks Doctor Robb to come to the Estate and see what he can do.  Robb agrees.  At the Estate, the disgruntled ghost attacks the doctor, but he ain't scared of no ghost!  He's done some research through Phineas Robb's journals and thinks he's diagnosed what was ailing Lucas Morton all those years ago.

Doctor Robb confronts the grumpy ghost and knocks him out with some gas!  While the ghost is unconscious, he forces some medication down his throat. . .medication for the severe bleeding ulcer he's diagnosed the spirit of Lucas Morton is suffering from.  

With Lucas Morton's pain relived, Ellen and Doctor Robb turn to more important matters. . .romance!  And the two of them lived happily ever after, with the now-cured ghost of Lucas Morton watching over them.  

The End.  

THE REVIEW:

What was THAT?   The doctor just gasses a ghost and gives it a pill to make it feel better?  What kind of "I gotta pay the bills" low effort story is THAT?  Do Charlton "horror" comics not have any rules for their ghosts?  

Normally you wouldn't be able to feed a ghost pills (or for that matter, knock them unconscious with gas) because it's generally accepted in ghostly literature that a ghost DOESN'T HAVE A GODDAMN BODY!  IT'S A SPIRIT! You can't give a spirit pills! 

Like the first story, the art is decent. . .but it's not even close to being Steve Ditko's best work.  It also has the same whiff of "The bills ain't gonna pay themselves" about it as the writing does. But even so, it's still the best part of THIS craptastic story.  

After the first two clunkers I am NOT confident in what the third story here holds.  

But I ain't a quitter, son!

Let's do it.

Curse of the Byrnwyres

*Originally featured in Haunted Love #5

SCRIPT:  Nicola Cuti

PENCILS:  Joe Staton

INKS:  Joe Staton

Susan Murphy decides it's time to take an old college friend up on his repeated invitations to come stay a while at his New England Estate.  

Upon her arrival at the creepy Byrnwyre Estate, the spooky stuff immediately begins when she's greeted with a chilling bestial howl coming from the highest tower of the old mansion. . .

After reuniting with her friend, Emil Byrnwyr, he informs Susan that the strange noises are his brother, Nathan. He's locked in the tower and suffering from the "Curse of the Byrnwyres".  But not to worry, everyone in his family is used to it, and she will be too!

After meeting Emil's mother and sister, Sonya, Susan settles in for a nice night of terror!

Later, she's wandering the corridors of the mansion when she spots Emil heading upstairs.  He tells her that he's going to feed Nathan and she decides to tag along.  

She asks why the family keeps Nathan locked up like an animal and Emil tells her to take a look for herself.  She opens the door and a hideous wolf-man jumps at her!  

THAT will teach Susan to mind her own damn business!

Understandably shaken by her quick encounter with a howling man-wolf, Susan heads downstairs with Emil for some dinner instead of running out of the house like a person with some sense.  

Something something family history, Emil changes into a fairly calm werewolf right there at the dinner table, Susan tells him that he's not actually a Brynwyre and was adopted and his mother has hypnotized him into becoming a werewolf so that she can perform experiments on him and save her REAL son, Nathan.

Susan UN-hypnotizes Emil and they leave the estate together after sternly reprimanding his mother who wasn't really his mother for wanting to do experiments on him.  Thank God this stupid story is over with.

The End.

THE REVIEW:

My God.  I thought the first two stories were pretty bad.  They're masterpieces of fine literature compared to this one.  I don't even know where to start.  You know what?  I'm not even going to do this.

This story is bad.  

And like the great Huey Lewis told the world in 1983. . .sometimes bad is bad.

Joe Staton's art here is just okay, but it's not nearly enough to save this steaming turd.  The best part of this story was that it ended, so I didn't have to read any more of it. 

CONCLUSION

*sigh*

I guess they can't ALL be winners.  But why do the losers have to lose SO hard?  Of the four comics I've reviewed for this year's Longbox Junk Halloween party, this one was the worst.  

This comic is sort of like going to someone's house Trick or Treating.  You're expecting some candy, but the person is concerned about all the sugar you're going to be chowing down on when you're done. . .so they drop a toothbrush into your little plastic pumpkin bucket and smugly close the door in your face, satisfied with their good deed.  In the meantime, you've got a goddamn TOOTHBRUSH.

That's the feeling of disappointment this comic gives me.  It's a toothbrush.

There are only two REALLY good things about this comic book.  The first is that outstanding cover.  The second is that I'm done reviewing it.  I ain't a quitter, but I'm also glad to be through with it.

Up Next. . .

The little bite-sized pieces of horror found in anthology comics are fun, but let's head on over to the neighborhood where they're handing out the full candy bars, shall we?  Let's go!

Longbox Junk Halloween 2026 - Death Rattle #5

 Welcome to Longbox Junk, the place to find all the comic reviews you never knew you wanted!

Fall is in the air!  It's time for pumpkin spice EVERYTHING and seeing your HR Manager wearing a questionable "Sexy Kitty" costume at the company Halloween party. . .MEOW! 

It's also time for the annual Longbox Junk Halloween horror celebration.  So far, I've been having a pretty good time with some 80s horror anthology comics. . .with their little fun-size bites of horror hitting the candy bucket quite nicely.

What's that?  You want MORE?  All right then. . .LET'S DO IT!

DEATH RATTLE #5

Kitchen Sink Comix (1986)

COVER: Rand Holmes

THE COVER:

I really like the art of Rand Holmes, but this cover is just okay.  It's not BAD, but it's also not the sort of thing that grabs the eye and fires the imagination enough to make me want to see what's inside.  It's certainly not a great Halloween cover, but I only have a few issues of Death Rattle, and this is the only one I haven't done a Halloween review of yet, so here we are.  Let's get inside this thing!

THE STORIES:

Three stories on deck this time out.  There's some good names on the creator list. . .Mike Baron, Rand Holmes and a reprint of a Basil Wolverton classic. The "Part 3" on the last story makes me a little nervous, but I guess we'll see.  Let's go!

Junkyard Dog

SCRIPT:  Mike Baron

PENCILS: Rand Holmes

INKS: Rand Holmes

On Asteroid C-135 is the Solar System's highest security prison.  Everyone serves a life sentence.  No parole.  No hope of escape.  But a small group of prisoners are planning to defy the odds and be the first.  Rufus is the ringleader, Jace is the muscle, Howell has access to materials they need to make their break.

Finally, the day comes!  The three inmates put their plan into action and it works!  Rufus turns on Jace and kills him once the trio get to the escape point.  There's not enough room in their makeshift vehicle for three.  Howell tries to bail on the escape, but Rufus forces him to continue on. 

Their plan is to make it to a remote outpost and hijack a supply rocket.  They manage to get there and get inside, but the outpost isn't unmanned like they thought, and they have to fight a guard and her monstrous alien "watchdog"!

Howell and Rufus manage to kill the alien beast.  Rufus tries to assault the female guard, only to discover to his horror that she's actually a psychic alien shapeshifter!  She kills Rufus, using his worst fears!  

Terrified, Howell is sure he's about to die, but the creature changes back into her human form and spares him.  She's psychic, so she knows that Howell is innocent of the crimes he's been imprisoned for, and he's no threat to her.

She hides Howell from the Prison Warden's search and the two of them remain living together at the isolated supply depot. . .there really is no chance for escape, so Howell makes the best of it he can.

But having escaped one prison, Howell finds himself in another.  Trapped and living with a shapeshifting monster that can easily destroy him at will. . .

THE REVIEW:

Not a bad little story!  This issue starts off good with some science fiction horror, courtesy of Punisher writer Mike Baron.  It's got twists.  It's got turns. It's got gruesome body horror.  It's got a hopeless ending.  It's just a fine little horror story!

I didn't really like Rand Holmes' cover, but his art on this story is really good.  I've never really been a fan of the art styles of "Underground Comix" (where Holmes did almost all of his work), but in MY humble opinion, Holmes has a style that stands out from the rest, with a clean and darkly-inked look that really pops off the page, especially in color (most of his work I've seen has been black and white).

Overall, I really liked this sci-fi horror story!  It's just what the Longbox Junk Halloween party needed.

NEXT!

Robot Woman

*Originally Published in Weird Mysteries #2 (1952)

SCRIPT:  Basil Wolverton

PENCILS: Basil Wolverton

INKS: Basil Wolverton

Fozzmo is the most brilliant scientist and inventor of the century.  He is acclaimed far and wide for his accomplishments.  Unfortunately, he's also quite ugly and lonely. . .living an empty life without companionship.

But then he decides to end his loneliness by creating his masterpiece, a robotic woman with synthetic flesh!  He takes great pride in his accomplishment, showing his creation off to the world. 

 But despite the incredible nature of Fozzmo's achievement, others find the robot to be strange and off-putting.  But Fozzmo doesn't care.  The robot woman is completely devoted to only him, and that's the way he wants it.

But eventually even Fozzmo begins to tire of her robotic devotion.  Always around him, interfering with his work, never wanting to be away from his side.  Fozzmo becomes abusive, and accidentally melts her beautiful synthetic flesh face with acid.  

The hideous creature his beautiful creation has become still declares its devotion to Fozzmo, horrifying him enough that he accidentally kills himself  while trying to escape. . .dousing himself with the same acid that deformed her.

Being the recluse that he was, Fozzmo's death isn't discovered until some time later, when a burglar stumbles across his skeleton, guarded by the hideous, but still devoted robot woman.

THE REVIEW:

Let's just start with this: Basil Wolverton was one of a kind.  

His weird art style and creepy narratives stand out from the Golden Age pack as unique, and they STILL stand out as unique.  I'm not normally a fan of reprints, but this crisply recolored presentation of this story stands strong as a fine example of Wolverton's weird storytelling, and holds up well even after almost 75 years.  

Weird Mysteries #2 is a comic that costs hundreds of dollars in ANY condition, and thousands of dollars as you go up the grading scale.  If you've never seen any of Wolverton's work in its original form because of the cost, then a reprint with the quality of this one is a great substitute.  I'm glad that Kitchen Sink Comix included it here.

MOVING ALONG!

Bulto. . .The Cosmic Slug (Part 3): A Mountain of Silver

SCRIPT:  Jack Jackson (Jaxon)

PENCILS: Jack Jackson (Jaxon)

INKS: Jack Jackson (Jaxon)

An old Apache begins to frequent Josef Guzman's saddle shop.  He brings bags filled with silver nuggets and makes strange requests of Guzman, wanting discs with holes in them made, some of them with strange symbols engraved.  

Eventually, after about a year of Guzman trying to discover the source of the Apache's silver, the old man finally agrees to take him and his apprentice to his mine. . .the Silver Mountain.

After a three day journey through the harsh Mexican desert, the trio finally arrives.  Inside the dark cave, Guzman is astounded to see veins of pure silver criss-crossing the walls of the cavern.  

The old Apache tells them to take as much as they want, but to remember that they are sworn to secrecy.  Guzman and his apprentice load up as much silver as they can carry.  The Apache leaves them to return home without him.  He says it will be too dangerous if he's caught with them and the silver.

A harrowing journey back across the desert commences, with Guzman and his apprentice dodging hostile Indians along the way.  They finally make it back and celebrate their newfound wealth.  I'm quite sure that nothing bad will come of this adventure. . .

To Be Continued. . .

THE REVIEW:

I was a bit nervous to see that one of the stories in this issue was labeled as being Part 3 of a story, and truthfully it IS a bit hard for me to try and review something that's just a part of something else.

BUT. . .

I found this to be a pretty interesting little tale.  It's well-written, engaging, and has some pretty cool artwork.  I absolutely LOVE weird western horror stories, so this had me hooked enough that I want to see what happens next, because I KNOW that nothing good will come of the events of this story.

Unfortunately, the only other issues I have of this volume of Death Rattle (there were 3 volumes) is is #1 and #2.  I see from a bit of research that the "Cosmic Slug" story started in issue #3.  It doesn't look like this series was ever collected, so I guess I just have to be left hanging on this story.

But for what it is, I thought it was still pretty good.

CONCLUSION

DING-DING-DING! And we have a winner, folks!  

Of the three comics I've looked at so far for the 2026 Longbox Junk Halloween celebration, this one was the best.  Engaging stories, great art, and just good quality from cover to cover.  Okay. . .the cover wasn't the greatest, but I'll let that slide and stamp an official Longbox Junk Gold Seal of Approval on Death Rattle #5.  This issue is just a really good read.

Like I said in the review of the last story in the issue, Death Rattle doesn't look like it was collected, so if you want to get into it, you'll have to dig and find the individual issues.  

I have issues #1 and #2 of this series and they are ALSO good reads, so I'm going to go ahead and assume that any issue you spot of this series while out on the hunt will probably be a good one.  I know I'M going to keep my eye out for more of this.

Up Next. . .

The Halloween party continues!  Let's get into one more 80s horror anthology comic before we move on to something else, shall we?  WE SHALL!  Be there or be square.