Art and Adaptations by Ernie Colon
Publisher: NBM
Hey I really wanted to like Ernie Colon’s “Inner Sanctum“, which are adapted comics stories from what I’m told is a classic 40s radio show. You can listen to a complete collection of those radio shows here. The show featured some great voice actors like Richard Widmark and Boris Karloff.
But the truth is that the stories just aren’t that horrifying. They just don’t work. I can’t tell if its because Ernie has done a substandard work of adaptation or perhaps the original stories weren’t all that impressive. Remember: these radio shows were originally recorded in the 40s. I suppose these stories were cutting edge for 40s radio, now they wouldn’t even match a G Rated zombie video game.
Here’s an example of one of the stories. One’s called “Alive in the Grave”. It starts off with a guy who takes 50 dollars or “quid” from a man who he thinks has died. It later turns out that the guy had some of epileptic reaction according to the card he hid in the wallet he stole. Guy desperately tries to save a man he thinks may have accidently buried alive. He then breaks open the coffin and finds the man to be dead. A helpful police officer comes on by and explains that the man was a pickpocket and a bit disreputable anyway so he probably deserved to die. They all laugh. The end. Are you feeling scared yet? Yeah, me neither.
Really. That’s it. And all of the stories kind of feel that way. They just don’t work. What don’t they compare to? Well, the best horror comics I’ve ever read were probably the adaptations of Clive Barker’s Books of Blood novellas and short stories. He brought top of the line artists to those adaptations as well. There are tons of science fiction and horror writers who have never had their works adapted for comics who would be a better fit. Frederick Pohl would probably love to see his stories illustrated even in his 90th year. Probably not of the quality of either the Twilight Zone or Outer Limit television shows. Probably not as good as those hack stories that Ernie used to draw for Warren. Just not very good.
I should point out that the art and draftsmanship is extraordinary. Here’s a taste:
But great art alone doesn’t make for a great comic. Writers do actually matter. It felt more like a tiny sized art book as its a hardcover and about half the size of your usual comic. I can’t recommend this and I usually love everything that NBM has sent me. Two out of five stars. Related: I am very excited about Ernie Colon’s newest project about slavery called “3/5ths of a Man, a historical account of slavery in America. You can check out Ernie’s blog presence here, where he explains he’s busy learning some new tricks.More Related: the woman on the cover of Ernie’s comic bears a striking resemblance to “True Blood”s Jessica. I’m sure that’s coincidental. You be the judge:
