Vincent Price

Tentacle Tuesday: Return to Bizarro World!

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Today’s entry is fun and light-hearted, but as this is the last week before Hallowe’en, let’s open on something with a bit more decorum!

Once upon a time, Vincent Price accorded his (paid) stamp of approval to Creamettes, a brand of elbow macaroni. You can read all about that in Vincent Price’s Supper Casserole! on the Dinosaur Dracula blog (where there are plenty of other things, too). I far prefer the version below. Who was this delightful parody created by? Is it something that would be served at The Monster Club with a nice glass of ruby red what-is-this-liquid-anyway? So many questions!

*No actual octopuses were eaten in the making of this post

And now, back to our regularly scheduled pogrom… I mean programme: Bizarro! Visit Tentacle Tuesday: Let’s Get Bizarro and Tentacle Tuesday: That Bizarro Look in Your Eye if you’ve missed previous instalments.

~ ds

Hallowe’en Countdown II, Day 12

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« Having a shrunken head is like having Halloween all year ’round! »

A classic, fondly-remembered ad from the back of comics published in the fall of 1975.

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How cool is it that even the box art is hand-drawn? One of these will set you back a pretty penny on eBay these days.

The artwork is by Mad Magazine pillar (and arguably their artist most adept at capturing celebrity likenesses) Mort Drucker (b. 1929). Check out that fabulous signature!

Seems like, out of the classic “Usual Gang of Idiots” tontine, it’s down to Mr. Drucker, Paul Coker Jr. (b. 1929) and Al Jaffee (b. 1921!) among the artists, and Frank Jacobs (b. 1929… it was a very good year!) among the writers. I’m not playing odds or picking sides, I adore each of these bons vivants.

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Of course, I’d always longed to snag my own kit, and a few years ago, I succeeded.

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« Each apple will be different from any other; no two will be exactly alike. This is due to variations in many factors, but mostly in the moisture content of the apple. »

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« Caution: Do not use in excess of 40 watt bulb. »

Should you find yourself with some extra apples after a productive head-shrinking session, why not make the most of your leftovers with Vincent’s recipe for æblekage, which is to say Danish Apple Cake? Waste not, want not.

Incidentally, was there ever a more Hallowe’en-friendly toymaker than Milton-Bradley? Let’s see… Voice of the Mummy, Alfred Hitchcock’s Why?, Séance, Ghosts!, Which Witch?…

– RG