Cryptology #2 February 2025 (magazine review).
Something I should point out about all TwoMorrows publications and magazines, often seen in their ordering information, is that they tend to be at least half a year ahead with scheduling. As a result, new magazines such as ‘Cryptology’ are in the process of establishing their identity, persuading writers to contribute content that aligns with their needs, or, similar to the first feature, sourcing content that aligns with the horror genre.
Interviewer Roger Hill (1958–2023) pointed out that comic book artist Don Heck (1929–1995) had only done three interviews and none about his early career and chose to talk to him about it. There’s a wry sense of irony that when he was seeking work, editors would refuse based on his samples and yet go back another week with the same samples and get work. Heck did a lot of horror comics before working for Marvel, and the samples are here. He didn’t ink his work, so it’s unclear how much the inker actually contributed. Some of the work is very basic, but they had their own particular power. Later in his career, Heck inadvertently got a negative reputation for fast work, but really, a lot of the time he was pinch-hitting for artists who were really late, and he could work fast. His early work shown here moves from more straight art to cartooning.
I never realised just how many films—some dozen—with hand transplants were made, as writer Steve Kronenberg goes over them. Quite how people could believe that they could become murderous still beats me. Thinking about it, I suspect a lot of people have had fears of their own hands being out of control, so it is probably only a small jump to hand transplants doing the same thing for their original owners. If I were to be critical here, I wish Kronenberg had pointed out that ‘The Hands Of Orlac (1924) was a silent movie.
Speaking of which, its star, Conrad Veidt (1893-1943), has his own feature, as covered by editor Peter Normanton here. He’s also known for ‘The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) and ‘The Man Who Laughs’ (1928), among others, and more famously for ‘Casablanca’ (1942). The German actor made a lot of films across his career as he wisely fled before the Nazis rose to power to join his Jewish wife in the UK.
Write Barry Forshaw has a look at Nigel Kneale’s ‘Quatermass’ work on TV and films. I would draw attention to page 50’s top photo if you’re interested in seeing actress Christine Finn, who later did the voice of TinTin Kyrano in ‘Thunderbirds.’. I should also point out that with all the articles, you’re probably getting a different selection of photos than the usual ones. In a follow-up article, Peter Normanton looks at ‘The House Of Hammer’ comic strip of the same.
Like writer Steve Kronenberg, I agree that ‘Not Of This Earth’ (1957) does have its moments.
Picking out goodies here, including the Shadow’s own comics, amongst others, should also keep you interested.
There was an oddity in writer Tim Lese’s article on ‘The Hound Of The Baskervilles.’. The UK’s ‘The Strand’ serialised it in 1901, while the US released it in 1891. Wikipedia seems to think it was the same year. There was no time travel involved. He was simply paying attention. I’ll forgive him for misspelling Francis de Wolffe’s first name.
Haven’t I piqued your interest by now?
GF Willmetts
January 2025
(pub: TwoMorrows Publishing. 82 page illustrated magazine. Price: $10.95 (US). ISSN: 2997-4-416X. Direct from them, you can get it for $10.95 (US))
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