Lee Brown Coye

Hallowe’en Countdown VII, Day 27

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« I’d rather have my stuff in pulp magazines where people can see it than in a museum where they don’t. » — Lee Brown Coye

Despite the passing of nearly a century, a lot of Weird Tales (“The Unique Magazine”) illustrators are somewhat well-remembered today: Virgil Finlay for his stunning, eyesight-ruining pointillist technique, Margaret Brundage for the cheesecake, Hannes Bok — more pointillism – for his graphic invention…

My own favourites are inarguably the true-blue weirdos in the deck, Matt Fox and Lee Brown Coye (who, at five foot ten and 136 pounds when the Army deemed him unfit for service, kiddingly referred to himself as ‘Lean Brown Cow’); while Fox created a fine passel of WT covers, that frankly wasn’t Coye’s forte, though he did produce his share. In truth, the starkness of black and white was his element.

Now, I could go on quite a bit about Mr. Coye, but as I always do in such cases, I’ll sharpen my focus. So focus I shall: on Weirdisms, a semi-regular feature LBC enjoyed in the pulpy pages of Weird Tales for a couple of years, circa the late 1940s — a precursor, if you will, to Warren’s Creepy’s Loathsome Lore a couple of decades later.

Such a striking composition! This is “Witch-finder”, from the November, 1949 Weird Tales.
“Witchcraft”, from Weird Tales’ issue of September, 1948. Written by E. Crosby Michel.
“Witch-finder Matthew Hopkins”, from the March, 1950 Weird Tales. If Vincent Price is a bit too arch and camp for your taste, check him out in Michael Reeves‘ brutal Witchfinder General (1968).
“Imp” appeared in the January, 1949 issue of Weird Tales.
“Medicine Men”, from Weird Tales’ March, 1949 edition. I’d surmise it unlikely for a platypus to wind up as a wizard’s pet… but it certainly works thematically.
“Sabbat witches”, written by E. Crosby Michel, saw print in the May, 1948 Weird Tales.
“Vampires”, from the July, 1947 issue of Weird Tales. Written by E. Crosby Michel.
“Witches”, written by E. Crosby Michel, from Weird Tales’ January, 1948 issue.
“Wizards and Witches”, from Weird Tales’ March, 1949 issue. I wonder whether their pet boar helps them locate and dig up delicious truffles.

Incidentally, I recommend to the interested Luis Ortiz’s fine Arts Unknown: the Life and Art of Lee Brown Coye (Nonstop Press, NY, 2005), as well as Pulp Macabre: The Art of Lee Brown Coye’s Final and Darkest Era (2015, Sacred Bones). Oh, and Matt Fox is finally getting his own deluxe monograph, which I preordered ages ago and is about to emerge, The Chillingly Weird Art of Matt Fox (2023, TwoMorrows); here’s a preview. I trust Rascally Roy Thomas won’t be ordering a copy.

-RG