The Chillingly Weird Art Of Matt Fox by TwoMorrows Publishing

The Chillingly Weird Art OF

by ROger Hill

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TwoMorrows Publishing

The Chillingly Weird Art of

TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina, USA

The Chillingly Weird Art of

by ROger Hill

The Chillingly Weird Art of

Matt Fox

Written by Roger Hill Design, Production, and Editing by Jon B. Cooke Published by John Morrow Cover Art by Matthew Fox Dedication To Matt’s sister, Rose Van Wees, who loved her brother dearly and cared enough to save his art for posterity. The cover is Matt Fox’s unpublished Weird Tales cover painting, circa 1953, and it is © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions. The double-page title spread image is “The Wendigo,” Famous Fantastic Mysteries [June 1944]. Editorial Package ©2023 Roger Hill and TwoMorrows Publishing. Text ©2023 Roger Hill. Copyrights & Trademarks

Weird Tales TM & © Nth Dimension Media, LLC. Adventures into Weird Worlds, Creatures on the Loose, Journey into Mystery, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Marvel Tales, Men’s Adventures, Mystery Tales, Mystic, Strange Tales, Strange Tales of Suspense, Tales of Suspense, Tales to Astonish, Uncanny Tales, and World of Fantasy TM & © Marvel Characters, Inc. Cover painting, illustrations, photos on pages 6, 11, 16, 19, 22, 29, 99, 106, 107, 111–118, 120 are © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions. “Matt Fox: The Strangest Province” introduction © Peter Normanton.

Special Thanks To those who helped with illustrations for this book: Skinner Davis, Bud Plant, Charlie Park, Stephen Fishler, Cory Sedlemeier, and Dr. Michael Vassallo.

TwoMorrows Publishing 10407 Bedfordtown Drive • Raleigh, North Carolina 27614 USA www.twomorrows.com • email: twomorrow@aol.com First Printing • June 2023 • Printed in China ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-120-2

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

Acknowledgments

An Artist’s Life

Art Gallery

Checklist

Early Pulp Art pg. 30 • Weird Tales Covers & Illos pg. 36 • Comics Gallery pg. 70 Later Work pg. 99 • Index of Authors pg. 125

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

FOREWORD

Matthew Fox, Artist D

Many years later, during an interview, Larry Lieber admitted that he struggled himself with the drawing of those stories and didn’t care at all for Fox’s embellishments over his pencils. Lieber claimed that Fox made his work look stiffer than it already was, and made it look like wood cuts, which it no doubt did, in some cases. To this day, however, those stories are remembered more by collectors for the Matt Fox inking than anything else. Comic fans have been discovering and acquiring a taste for this artist’s work for the past fifty years.

uring the early 1970s, Jerry Bails got a hold of Matt Fox’s Connecticut address and sent him the standard Who’s Who of American Comic Books questionnaire to fill out and return. Here’s what the artist wrote himself and sent back to Bails. (The parenthetical (p) and (i) indicate pencil art and inks, respectively.) MATTHEW (MATT) FOX (1906– ) Artist. Major influence: Alex Raymond; Cartoons; Adv art; Lithographs; Pulp illus; Covers of Weird Tales (oils), Color woodcuts; Water colors; Oil paintings; Etchings, Comic book credits: (p) & (i). Youthful: (1952–53) fantasy; Marvel: (1952–56) horror, s-f; (1962-63) s-f, fantasy.

Opinions vary greatly about Matt Fox’s art; you either like it or you don’t. I tend to think that most people would agree there is a certain charm about it, especially his body of work produced for Weird Tales and other pulp magazines during the 1940s to 1950s, only some of which has been reprinted in the ensuing years. Many collectors may not even be aware of Matt’s early pulp magazine contributions.

I first discovered the art of Matt Fox during the early 1960s while reading the back-up fantasy stories he had inked, over Larry Lieber’s pencils, in Marvel Comics titles, such as Journey into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish. In many cases, These stories were more appealing to me than some of the super-hero fare being offered in comics at the time. As an aspiring amateur artist myself, I soon realized just how difficult it was trying to create something with a pencil, out of my own imagination, and then inking it with a Crow Quill pen. My early attempts at art looked crude and, in some cases, overworked, and not very realistic. I couldn’t begin to form slick, quick lines like Jack Kirby or Wally Wood. My drawings had a lot of non-professional scratchings to them. In time, I became pretty good at inking those drawings and adopted the art of stipple for shading; a technique I picked up from other amateur artists at the time, including Matt Fox. I think this may be one of the reasons that I—and other young artists—were first attracted to the unusual work of Matt Fox. In those days, a lot of us wanted to be comic artists, and if we couldn’t be as good as Kirby or Wood, we could at least come close to Matt Fox’s work, right? Well, not really. After all, by that time, Matt Fox was a seasoned pro and had the dedication to stick with something he loved to do.

Matt’s work, on his own, usually dripped with horror and odd-looking characters. The editor of Weird Tales obviously thought his art weird and unique enough to be published in a magazine presenting… “weird tales.” During my lengthy research into Matt’s life and career, I discovered the artist loved to read stories of horror, fantasy, and science-fiction, and even more so, loved to illustrate them. It’s a little too easy to judge an artist’s work based on a few comic stories where he was only inking over someone’s pencils. To fully appreciate the talents of Matt Fox, one must first discover and absorb the cover paintings and interior pen-&-ink illustrations he produced for Weird Tales and other pulp magazines, before coming to comics. And then move on to Matt’s early comic book work where he began to mature even more. Only then, can one form an educated opinion about it. Hopefully this volume, and testament to his art, will enlighten you. We certainly hope so. Roger Hill November 2022

Opposite page: This self portrait of “Ze Arteest” was created especially for a printed promotional poster distributed throughout the town of Norfolk, Connecticut, in October 1975, for a special Matt Fox Halloween exhibit of his art.

INTRODUCTION BY PETER NORMANTON

Matt Fox: The Strangest Province I

t is now over 30 years since I first laid eyes on Matt’s outlandish artwork, and, in all that time, I still find myself unable to decide whether Stan Lee saved his most bizarre stories for Matt’s unorthodox line, or if it was Matt himself who, in a cabbalistic ritual, turned these imaginative stories into the insanity that has subsequently become his legacy. Following that same strange encounter in the pages of Uncanny Tales #6, cover-dated March 1953, published as the escalation in comic book terror was about to reach its peak, I started to wonder. Surely Stan, the good natured genius behind Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, and countless others of my favorite super-heroes, couldn’t have given life to such an abomination; it had to be this man, Matt Fox. Only he could have committed such an atrocity.

became clear these pages were akin to the hideous fairy tales of my earliest years, albeit profoundly darker, no doubt having been borne from the depths of an unfathomable abyss. As I would very soon discover, this was how Matt relished his storytelling. Returning to the wood-cut fashioned technique which defined so much of his work, closer observation suggests those caught up in his stories were possessed in such a way as to make them appear like marionettes carved from the wood of an ancient tree, one plainly bewitched by the most profane of conjuring. Watching them shimmy through the panels elicits the notion of a deranged choreography, damning them to the barest semblance of life, where theirs is a demented dance to Matt’s discordant tune, much like the ill-fated couple on the cover to the May 1948 edition of Weird Tales. Less than twelve months later, this was again illustrated on the cover of Weird Tales, this time dated March of 1949. Here, Matt’s murderous creations, cruelly manipulated by a leering demonic puppeteer, performed a dance of death before a once upright fence, now reduced to a crooked facade of its former self.

But who exactly was Matt Fox? I have to confess I had absolutely no idea. So it would continue, for when a few years later, I began drawing together my notes to write the first of two pieces on Matt’s work for my horror comics fanzine, From the Tomb, there was almost nothing to go on. His contemporaries seemed oblivious to his time in comics, as they were of his invaluable contribution to the pulp magazines of the previous decade. The only citation covering his sporadic comic book career was a concise piece penned by Matt himself for Jerry Bail’s landmark Who’s Who of American Comics edition published in 1973, an odd circumstance which only added to the mystery surrounding this most enigmatic of creators.

This contorted fence wasn’t alone in suffering from Matt’s wayward innovation. He could summon knowledge long since forbidden to unleash the worst of nightmares into our everyday streets, turning them into a world of stark terror, reminiscent of his phantasmagorical predecessors, Hieronymus Bosch and Peter Bruegel the Elder. Such sinister alchemy must have been afoot when he was entrusted with enhancing John Forte’s adept pencils for Adventures into Weird Worlds #21’s “Romanoff ’s Rumor,” and then, at a later date, supplying his artistry to Marvel Tales #159’s “Behind the Iron Gate,” in what was to be the final appearance of this long-standing title. In each of these tales, the cityscapes he constructed acquired a distorted life of their own, awakening memories of Basil Wolverton’s dissolute vision, a grim portent for the horror to come. It’s difficult to imagine this appearance in the final Marvel Tales wasn’t approved by the Comics Code, but, in hindsight, you have to ask whether they honestly scrutinized these pages, for they defied the stipulations imposed on these years, indulging the grotesque in Matt’s crazed perception of reality.

Curiously, I wasn’t instantly enamored with Matt’s style. His embellishment appearing primitive, disjointed—some might even say child-like. In fairness to Matt, these were, in essence, children’s comics, but had he taken it just a step too far? To my mind, these pages had more in common with the woodcuts of a bygone era, rather than the comic art to which I was accustomed. However, as the weeks passed, his artwork began to weave its spell, insisting I return to the terror evoked in this tale entitled “I Was a Vampire.” The blood-sucking miscreant at the center of this piece—one Herr Kronin—bore little resemblance to the vampiric ilk I had come to know; his wraithlike appearance verily a caricature of this undead breed. To add to my discomfiture, there was a palpable foreboding permeating the backdrop to this account, a place far away on the furthest borders of eastern Europe, a domain suffused in the dread of an age-old folklore. With each successive reading, it

Having become entranced by his unsavory narration in Uncanny Tales #6, I set out to uncover more of Matt’s work—not the easiest of pastimes when you live up here, in

the north of England. In so doing, I would come to see the characters he gave life to on his drawing board were rarely a pretty sight, archetypes befitting the horror on show in Atlas’s more notorious titles—amongst them, Adventures into Terror, Adventures into Weird Worlds and Men’s Adventures, where his eldritch philosophy was, every once in a while, on show. He was also invited to introduce an assemblage of similarly blighted individuals to their fear filled counterparts, principally Journey into Unknown Worlds, Mystery Tales, Mystic, Spellbound, Strange Tales, and Uncanny Tales, each of whose despicable reputations would inevitably attract the attention of the meddlesome campaigners seeking to abolish these comics. One such tale had been hidden away in the contents of Strange Tales #18, from May of 1953, where the woeful denizens of an isolated medieval village were about to be thrown into the torment of the “Witch-Hunt.” Just as he had been on previous outings, Matt was far from kind to his cast, his fevered line ensuring they would never be shortlisted for any of the beauty pageants of the day. At this point, we should give credit where it’s due, as this, in part, can be attributed to the dark imaginings of Larry Woromay, the artist who supplied the thoroughly remarkable pencil work, and one of the many unsung creators of the period.

this account brought out the best in this pairing. Matt’s line appeared unusually free flowing, somewhat distanced from the woodcut approach used in many of his stories in its presentation of an alien terror no man would ever wish to confront. The extraterrestrial invaders last seen in “Romanoff ’s Rumor” were in every respect just as ruthless when they made their hostile presence felt in a closing scene so typical of Matt’s appetite for the abhorrent. However, these paled before the lunatic machinations thrust upon our hapless world in Adventure into Weird Worlds #27’s “The Thieves.” This was, without doubt, the pinnacle in Matt’s all-too-brief time in comics, a story so incredulous it could have only come from his studio when the sun had turned a deathly black, just as it almost did during an 85% solar eclipse when I first wrote about him over 20 years ago. It was a truly hideous encounter, one so perfectly suited to the excess of this particular Atlas title. His penchant for star-spanning science-fiction would later come to the fore in the back-up stories of Marvel’s Silver Age monster comics, but none of them quite like this. It’s safe to say Matt Fox falls into that frustrating group of comic book creators of whom we never saw enough. Along with his diabolical talent for the absurd, maybe this is one of the reasons why his contribution to both the pulps and comics remains so special. As to why there is so little of his work, I can only speculate. Where the readers of these horror comics really ready for Matt’s unique approach? You have to wonder, for, when I sift through my collection, I can find so few stories containing his artwork, most of them published during a fleeting period between the summer of 1952 and the summer months of 1954. Surprisingly, only a handful of these stories were both pencilled and inked by Matt. Atlas Comics seemed to have used him as an inker, assigning him to completing the pencils laid out by some of his fellow artists, amongst them the previously mentioned Larry Woromay, Gil Kane, and John Forte; then he would be partnered with Bill Savage, Paul Cooper, Mike Sekowsky, and a rather disparaging Larry Leiber, who never warmed to Matt’s stilted style. A few years after his inking of Larry Leiber, the underground movement began to take shape. Basil Wolverton’s impact on these counter-culture comix of the 1960s and 1970s has been documented elsewhere, but until now there has been no record of how Matt’s woodcut approach influenced some of these inventive creators. His desire to experiment with what was then a fledgling medium should have aroused their attention, affording him a place amongst this avant-garde band. Alas, to my knowledge, we never got to see his work in these pages. Maybe those demons terrorizing the covers to Weird Tales were sat atop his drawing board, just like Pickman’s model, keeping the unknowing at bay, even the luminaries of the San Francisco underground. Maybe we didn’t get to see a huge amount of his comic work, but what we did get to see of his lunatic vision sets him apart as an artist beyond compare.

Every once in a while, Matt was tempted to return to certain of the ill-starred protagonists in his stories. The cadaverous figure climbing from the grave on the cover of Chilling Tales #13, dated December 1952, had previously been exhumed on the cover of the November 1949 edition of Weird Tales. On each occasion this unfortunate was confronted by a creature which could only have been the province of Lovecraft’s “Pickman’s Model.” The same could also be said of his other ghastly conceptions, all of them personified by their maniacal glee as they gathered to wreak havoc across a world that had chosen to forget such malevolence had once held sway over its lands. Adorning each and every one of the covers he produced for Weird Tales, their malfeasance lay in wait, the horrors of which the writers of the tales appearing in those issues could never hope to match. It would, of course, have been entirely impossible, for they had never experienced the recondite chasm of Matt’s delirium. A few years later, this creative madness would continue to manifest itself on the covers to Youthful’s horror comic Chilling Tales. Strangely, although the craft in these images was primitive when compared to his work on Weird Tales, their severe design made this debased menagerie appear all the more ominous. This heinous progeny only deigned to threaten when they were presented on these covers, but in the actual stories he conceived while in the employ of Atlas Comics, the reader saw firsthand the true extent of their evil nature. This was no better exemplified than in the tale of “The Stranger From Space” from the pages of Mystic #24, dated October of 1953, where a twist of fate saw him teamed up with Gil Kane. The collaboration between the two artists would prove to be sheer brilliance, a high point in an issue containing the artistry of both Joe Maneely and Chuck Winter. In a mere four pages,

Peter Normanton November 2022

APPRECIATION

Acknowledgments I

must give thanks to various people who helped me with my research and numerous discoveries about Matt Fox. Let me preface that by saying I started out knowing absolutely nothing about this man, and it seemed nobody else did, either. For years, I struggled wondering what became of the artist. During the 1980s, long before the internet came along, I would search for various comic book and pulp magazine artists by going through the local library’s collection of phone books from all over the country. Naturally, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were the primary locations I searched to find these artists. My hope was that these artistic folks were still alive and might enjoy talking with me about their lives and careers. While I had great success with this particular endeavor, it mainly worked with artists whose last names were uncommon. Unfortunately, Fox is a pretty common name and there were hundreds of them in the New York City and surrounding area phone books.

left was a quote from the artist: “That’s me! Ze arteest who did all zis crazy illustrations, ha!” Also at the bottom, was the name of the town: Norfolk, Connecticut. That was the clue I needed, and that was the clue that sent me on the quest to finding out everything about Matt Fox that I needed to know.

Helpfully, during the early 1990s, I got a lucky break, which occurred through long-time friend and collector Jerry Weist and, of all people, Stan Lee! Yes, the man behind the great Marvel empire, unknowingly gave me the clue I needed in locating Matt Fox. Sometime in 1993, I was employed by Jerry Weist and Sotheby’s Auction House, in New York City, to work as an assistant on their comic book and art auctions. These had started in 1992 and, by 1993, I started traveling to Manhattan for two weeks out of each year to work on the auction catalogs, providing most of the descriptive entries on many of the art pieces consigned. That same year, Stan Lee contacted Jerry, wanting to consign some of the original comics and comic art he had accumulated while working as Marvel’s editor-in-chief for so many years. During Jerry’s visit to California to look over Stan’s collection, he discovered a poster in his closet that Matt Fox had mailed to Stan in October of 1975, advertising an exhibit of Matt’s art. Knowing how much he shared my enthusiasm for Fox’s work in both the pulps and comics, Jerry took a photo of the poster and sent it to me. Stan Lee did not consign the poster to the auction. The poster revealed an exhibit of Fox art, held during the entire month of October, depicting a self-portrait of the artist, surrounded by a variety of fantasy and horrific characters. The title at the top read: “Out Of My Head: but not what you think.” In a box located in the lower

A call to the Norfolk Library soon gave me a referral to a local man who had bought a painting from Fox and, luckily, had been in touch with Fox’s sister, Rose, after Matt’s passing in 1988. Within a week or so, I had called and talked with Rose Van Wees. I’ll never forget her enthusiasm to hear from someone who remembered her late brother’s work in comics and pulps. She adored her brother and had held onto many family memories that she would eventually share with me. When I told her I was coming to the East Coast soon and wanted to visit her, she was so happy, but warned me, “We are very old and on the way out, and if you come here to the Bronx, do not drive in yourself or take a bus. You must come during the daylight hours and take a taxi straight to the front door of the building we live in. This is a very dangerous area.” Shortly after that, I made my trek to the Bronx in a taxi to meet with her and the family. Over the next year or so, I stayed in touch with Rose, getting firsthand information and purchasing some unpublished art for this project. I will mention that the family had no previously published comic art or pulp art in their possession. There were Matt’s own tear sheet copies of his work taken from the pulps, comics, newspaper artist clippings, and a couple of photos. I visited Rose and family one more time two years later and gathered more material for this book. Shortly after that, I took the beautiful drive to the small town of Norfolk, located just 35 miles northwest of Hartford on Highway 44. Here, set against a mountainous backdrop and thick forestry was the Meadowbrook Home for Seniors where Matt moved to in 1974 and spent his final days creating art. He had always wanted to get away from the hustle and bustle of noisy New York City to a place providing the quiet, picturesque surroundings he craved. Here he had started illustrating his ambitious Beezlebub’s Book project and created mostly strange and unusual paintings for his own amusement, some of which he sold to town locals if they were interested.

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Above: This charming (albeit bizarre) Matt Fox etching, “Dancing Devils,” was produced during the artist’s prolific Weird Tales years—circa 1940s.

If only I had found Matt Fox while he was still living! Oh how I could have enjoyed interviewing him and buying more art. But thank God for Rose and her family. Without them, this book would have never happened, and once again, the entire history and mystery behind another Golden Age artist would have been lost to the ages. And a big thank you to Jerry Weist and Stan Lee for providing that “Yellow Brick Road” pathway that led me to Matt Fox and the Fox family in the first place. Horror and science-fiction aficionado Charlie Park helped me with Matt Fox information and images for this book and has plans to publish Matt’s last project called Beezlebub’s Book. This worthwhile undertaking will feature over forty beautifully detailed illustrations by the artist. We wish him the best of luck in getting this project off the ground in the near future.

One other person deserves a special thanks here, and that is one of my oldest and best friends, David Pardee. As long as I’ve known him, David has had an interest in all things horror, fantasy and science-fiction. He and I have shared these interests for over four decades now. At a time of my life where I needed lots of help on this project, David volunteered to scan a lot of the Fox images from our collections to make this book possible. He dedicated many hours of his day and night to achieve this, because that’s the kind of hairpin he is. Just ask him, he’ll tell you. And I truly thank him for those efforts. As far as we know, this book provides the first published checklist on the work of Matt Fox. Entries for this hopefully complete listing came from David Pardee, Mike Wills, and myself. R.H.

AN ARTIST’S LIFE

Out of My Head – But M

by 12, was headed in that direction. He created his own comic strip characters, first using pencil and watercolors, then later graduating to straight pen-&-ink pages in black-&-white. These were drawn in a Sunday page format on small sheets of ruled paper taken from his school tablets. Some of these pages were akin to pulp paper, and a few examples still exist today, only because his sister, Rose, saved them.

arcy Matthew Fox was born in New York City on November 8, 1906. His mother, Minnie Fox (neé Flesche), was born of Jewish ancestry in Russia in 1881 and immigrated to the United States in 1902. Matt’s father, Morris Fox, had been born in Russia in 1879 and came to America in 1900. According to the family, Minnie and Morris had met through a dating service, and as related in the 1910 New York Census, the couple was married on October 28, 1905. After the nuptials, the family settled into a small tenement apartment in the Jewish section of East Harlem. Morris worked in the garment industry.

Even at this young age, Matt demonstrated an interest in the macabre, creating a strip called “Poor Mr. Undertaker.” Later examples show the “Poor Mr.” was dropped in favor of the abbreviated title of “Undertaker.” Although the gags in these early efforts are extremely crude and old fashioned, one can recognize the devotion the young artist applied to these strips. One surviving example, dated August 5, 1921, depicts a young man who decides to become an undertaker in order to make some money. Fox drew the strip in four tiers, with each panel numbered from one to twelve, showing the young man accosting old people on the street, prematurely

Later, in 1909, a daughter named Rita (who would later prefer to be called Rose) was born. The 1915 New York Census lists Marcy’s father as a “shirt ironer,” while the Census from 1925 indicates he is a “traveling salesman.” His occupations varied widely and, according to the family, he was a highly educated man, but couldn’t seem to hold a steady job. This resulted in the Fox family constantly moving and scraping to make ends meet. Minnie Fox and her children were hopeful that things would improve, but eventually the unemployed Morris began showing a darker side with abusive behavior emerging. Morris had a violent temper, which he took out on the family, especially on young Marcy. Exploding in anger, he would aggressively force his son up against the wall and punch him in the stomach. This abuse caused Marcy severe intestinal problems for the rest of his life. During his childhood, Minnie became very sick. With a husband who didn’t believe in working much, times became even harder for the family to get by. In 1918, the Fox family moved to a cheaper apartment located at 339 East 118th Street, on Manhattan’s tough Lower East Side. At some point, Marcy started using his middle name Matthew—or just Matt—for short. As a young boy attending grade school, Matt took an immediate interest in art and, at the age of eleven, he won the Wanamaker Medal for the “Most Outstanding Art Entry” of all school-age contestants in the city of New York. He would eventually win other awards during his school years and soon discovered—and fell in love with—many of the popular newspaper comic strips of the day. He read the funnies whenever he could get access to discarded newspapers and was soon emulating his favorites with ink on paper. At some point, he decided he wanted to become a professional cartoonist and,

not what you think. offering his services before they die. Finally, after being turned down by everyone, he hits an old man over the head with a large hammer, figuring this is the only way to provide his “undertaking” services and earn some income. Not quite yet dead, the old man retaliates by clobbering the young undertaker on the head with a large rock, then carts him off to the hospital to have them “examine his dome.” Two examples of these original strips are reproduced on this and the next page for the first time. Sometime in the early 1920s, Matt’s father’s abusive nature worsened, and Minnie could take no more. So, with help from Matt and Rose, she managed to force Morris out of the household. At first, they had problems keeping him out, but eventually found support from a local neighborhood gang called the “Society of the Black-Hand.” This Italian crime organization—also known as La Mano Nera—understood the family’s situation and, since they didn’t care for Morris to begin with, helped enforce his expulsion. Whenever spotted peering through the windows or trying to sneak back into the neighborhood to make his way home, the Black Hand would quickly expel him. After a few years of this, he finally went away for good and was never heard from again. Neither the family nor Ancestry.com can provide any information as to Morris Fox’s ultimate fate. By this time, Matt only had one year of high school under his belt and, at the age of 14, he was forced to quit school to help support the family. In a 1975 newspaper interview the artist said, “I never had any art training. I absorbed it from people in the art world. It took lots of practice and experimenting.” Matt compared himself to Winslow Homer, whom he said was “self-taught and left-handed.” With no formal training to speak of, New York wasn’t the easiest place for a self-taught artist to find work during the 1920s. Fortunately, Matt was flexible and persistent in doing odd jobs. At the age of 17, he managed to land a gig at a printing company where he learned how to set type, do paste-up work, and run a small press. His artistic interest gave him an edge doing advertising art, sign making, and lettering jobs wherever he could find them. Being the gentle and good-natured soul he was, Matt made friends easily in the printing business.

The only thing holding him back was his health. Besides the abuse suffered at the hands of his father, Matt also suffered from colitis, a crippling disease that eventually caused damage to his legs and body, which kept the lad out of sports during his school years. Although he was tall, with decent good looks, and appeared to be healthy, the malady had a damaging effect on his physical form for the rest of his life. Walking became a labored and restricted effort, and just trying to get around New York City became a painful experience. He could not ride in a car or a subway without experiencing great pain.

Opposite page: Nascent art by Matt Fox. This page: Even before his teenage years, “Marcy” was determined to become a comic strip cartoonist.

This page: Matt worked at refining his “Poor Mr. Undertaker” concept and, by the time he was 15, he shortened the title to simply “Undertaker,” as seen in this page from 1921. Next page: Top left is a painting from 1930 and, bottom right, a portrait of his beloved mother, Minnie [1937].

E. Howard, Edmond Hamilton, Fritz Leiber, Otis A. Kline, C.L. Moore, Jack Williamson, and dozens of other writers who would inspire the young artist to create nightmarish visions in his own work for the rest of his life. At some point Matt and his family moved to 339 East 118th Street, and it was in that apartment where Matt saw a ghostly apparition enter his room while he was awake. Many years later, at the age of 68, the artist put his account to paper with pen-&-ink and titled it, “I have seen this intruder.” Matt soon developed a great love for nature, and early on told his family he wanted to live in the country and get away from the noisy and dirty city life of New York. Matt’s sister, Rose, married Joseph Van Wees, on May 23, 1931, and moved to an apartment on Bolton Avenue in the Bronx. A few years later, in 1935, Matt, still living with and now caring for his elderly mother, also moved to that borough to be closer to his sister and her husband. The new address was 1640 Washington Avenue. Although no official record could be found, it appears Matt’s mother, Minnie, passed away sometime in the mid- to late-1930s, an assumption based on a pencil drawing found in the artist’s estate depicting Minnie reading a newspaper with a magnifying glass. The drawing, signed and dated, “Matt Fox ’37,” has an inscription: “Minnie Fox—My dear departed mother.”

Matt had always enjoyed an interest in fantasy and horror and, after discovering pulp magazines and books, he became an avid reader when he could afford to buy them, mostly from secondhand outlets. At the same time, he developed a love for music. While working at the drawing board, he would listen to the radio, enjoying favorites such as the Nicholas Rosa Opera Company and other local operatic radio programs. Many art jobs offered to Matt had to be turned down simply because his mobility was so curtailed by colitis. Because of this, he had very little social life. Eventually he did meet and fall in love with a young girl, but things didn’t work out because Matt knew he would never be able to support a wife. He entrenched himself into his art and that relationship dissolved.

When the Flash Gordon Sunday newspaper strip came along in 1934, Matt was so taken with the drawing skills of Alex Raymond, he’d eventually claim Raymond’s work was a main influence on his own art. Matt’s interest in the subjects of

In 1923, when Matt was 17 years old, a new pulp magazine called Weird Tales hit the magazine racks. From March of 1923 to September 1954, Weird Tales was the most influential of all pulp magazines in the horror and fantasy genres. The magazine’s main focus was on stories of the fantastical, the bizarre, and the unusual. These sorts of yarns were considered taboo and rejected by most other fiction magazines at the time. Weird Tales explored the possibilities of supernatural occult and served up what the editors termed “highly imaginative” stories. The publication provided the opportunity for many authors to develop and some to experience their first exposure—a number went on to become regarded as founding fathers of modern day horror and fantasy fiction. Through the pages of Weird Tales and magazines of that ilk, Matt was introduced to such great authors as Robert Bloch, August Derleth, Robert

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

fantasy, science-fiction, and the macabre, was reflected in most of his work throughout his life. Halloween was his favorite holiday, and Matt always took special interest in that celebration and the decorations that accompanied it. It wasn’t long before brother-in-law Joseph, who worked as a professional engraver, was teaching Matt the technique of creating etchings. Working in the printing business as well, Matt was able to master the art of producing woodcuts, lithograph prints, and finely detailed etchings. In 1939, the American Museum of Natural History compiled a six-photo display showing 33-year-old Matt Fox enacting the six different stages of etching printing. Each photo measured 16" x 20" for the large display. One of the only surviving photos is reproduced in this book for the first time, on the next page.

and skeleton-like demons and creatures ringing a large bell in the moonlight of darkness. It is one of the most beautifully horrific etchings that Fox ever imagined, let alone engraved to a metal plate. One cannot imagine the hours it must have taken him to etch this image. To give the piece an added jolt, the artist carefully applied a yellowish-green watercolor tint to the eyes of the demons, giving them an extra three-dimensional, glow-in-the-dark sort of eeriness. Fox contributed to Fiction House’s Planet Stories in late 1942, just before joining the U.S. Army in January 1943. He enlisted under the warrant officer program, hoping to get assigned to the Philippines. Unfortunately, due to colitis, his legs just weren’t strong enough to carry on in the military fashion Uncle Sam expected. By December, he received a medical discharge and was soon back home in the print shop, producing etchings and looking for commercial art jobs.

Weird Tales and other science-fiction and fantasy type magazines provided a great escape for Matt who, through their pages, became exposed to talented other artists illustrating these type of stories. Here he found the beautiful color covers and interior black-&-white illustrations of such greats as Hannes Bok, Margaret Brundage, Lee Brown Coye, Virgil Finlay, Boris Dolgov, Frank R. Paul, and J. Allen St. John, to name a few. According to science-fiction fantasy historian Sam Moskowitz, Weird Tales’ pay rates were similar to other pulp magazines of the time, paying as much as $50 for a cover painting. Black-&-white illustrations were bought much cheaper at $8, $10, and $12 each, depending on how extensive the illustration had to be—i.e., a single title page or two-page spread. Weird Tales offered those rates until its 1954 demise.

In early 1943, Matt landed his first Weird Tales assignments. One illustration was for a story by August Derleth titled “No Light For Uncle Henry,” and another for a poem, written by

By 1940, Matt had decided that horror and fantasy illustration work had become his calling in life. He ventured out to become a full-fledged “freelance artist.” This didn’t always provide enough money for him and the family, so to help make up the difference, he also took a job as a sheet metal worker. Matt’s imagination knew no boundaries when it came to visualizing the elements of horror and fantasy, and eventually he connected with leading pulp magazines of the day. His earliest documented published work appears to be an illustration created for “Phantom From Space,” written by John Russell Fearn, and published in the first issue of Super Science Stories, dated March 1940. Next, he turned out a double-page illustration for one of Issac Asimov’s earliest stories, titled “The Callistan Menace,” and published in the April 1940 issue of Astonishing Stories. In 1942, Matt produced one of the most detailed horrific etchings of his career. This signed and dated etching, until now, has remained unpublished and buried in the Fox family archives since its creation. Only two signed prints of this work were found in Fox’s estate. This amazing black-&-white image titled “Gargoyles” (see page 19), depicts a horde of winged Opposite page: In 1931, Matt witnessed a supernatural apparition, which he memorialized in 1974 for this illustration intended for his Beezlebub’s Book. This page: Hand-colored illustration from 1937.

sophistication of “weirdism” that attracted readers. Obviously, his drawing of the human form was lacking in comparison to other artists’ work, but Fox more than made up for that with his bizarre, colorful visualization of demons and like creatures. His imagination ran rampant through shadowy graveyards and moonlit fields filled with dancing ghosts and demons of all description. Humans were not often depicted on Fox covers, unless they were dead, ghostly, or puppets on strings controlled by the hands of winged devils. While Matt’s interior work may have lacked the refinement of a Virgil Finlay or Hannes Bok illustration, he always had a firm grip on the subject at hand and never lacked in effort or detail. Applying a unique blend of art inking techniques, such as stipple, crosshatching linework and charcoal pencil shading, Fox was able to translate the images from his head to the paper in a successful manner. In most cases, he utilized pebble-board art paper—commonly used by pulp magazine artists in those days— which offered an added degree of textural shading depth to an illustration when charcoal pencil was applied. On others, Matt would apply pen-&-ink and do the linework, then painstakingly stipple all over the piece for shading. Obviously he was a

This page: One of six photos of Matt demonstrating various stages of etching printing, exhibited at New York City’s American Museum of Natural History in 1937. Opposite page: Perhaps Matt’s finest etching is the horrific “Gargoyles,” produced in 1942. Note the eerie coloring of the eyes.

Photograph © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Joseph C. Kempe, titled “Frost Demons;” both appearing in the March 1943 issue. Weird Tales would become Fox’s permanent home for his work over the next eight years, as he turned out numerous illos for stories and poems by well-known authors. In Fall 1944, Matt finally got the chance to do a cover painting for the magazine. His first effort, depicting three very strange creatures—one with tentacles, and two playing flutes— was based on a scene out of “The Dweller In Darkness,” written by Derleth, published on the November 1944 cover. Between November 1944 to July 1951, Fox would produce a total of 12 Weird Tales covers and 40 interior illustrations. These works remain some of his most inspired and detailed renditions of horror and fantasy, featuring a vast array of creatures, demons, bats, witches, unicorns, and demonic people of all sizes and shapes. Matt seemed to have a special fondness for inserting devilish-horned demons and flying bats onto many of his covers, most of which were simply done on speculation, hoping that the editor would be interested enough to buy it. Only four of his covers actually depicted stories from inside the respective issue. While some may view these covers as having a crude or unpolished look in comparison to other Weird Tales covers, Fox’s creations had a charm and

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

dedicated craftsmen who spent many hours at the drawing board to get things just the way he wanted it. Like most artists, Fox worked in a size larger than the printed magazine image, which allowed the art to tighten up when reduced for reproduction. He always signed his work before turning it into the publishers, although some of his signatures were partially lost or totally eliminated due to cropping. In time, Matt’s art became well recognized by Weird Tales readers, and it was this work that the artist was most proud of, and remembered so fondly, during the final years of his life. Reader reaction to Fox’s work was generally good. Matt clipped some of the better letters and saved them in a scrapbook. Unfortunately, no dates were noted on these, but a sampling of comments he appreciated were as follows: One Weird Tales letter writer shared: “Get some better illustrators. With the exception of Fox they are terrible, due

mostly to the lack of detail and general barrenness. Also, they are too sketchy.” Another reader wrote in: “The only two artists that are worth keeping are Hannes Bok and Fox.” Yet another opined: “Also, what about some decent inside illustrators? You’ve dispensed with the services of Fox, the best one you had, and did not even so much as mention the possibility of obtaining the services of a better one.” Matt’s final cover for Weird Tales was not accepted or published. In fact, it may have never been submitted to the publisher. Painted just before the magazine folded, with oils on canvas board, and labeled “Weird Tales,” and dated on the back “1953,” it depicts two witches practicing voodoo on a mandoll, surrounded by devilish-looking, horned demons. (The piece is used as this book’s cover art.)

This page: Matt depicts the destitution of the New York Bowery neighborhood during the Great Depression [1938]. Opposite page: Two prints of Matt’s accomplished etching work [circa 1930s].

Fox probably knew that Weird Tales and other pulp titles were on their way out, soon to be replaced by the smaller digest-sized magazines. Even before Weird Tales went defunct in 1954, Matt already had his eye on the burgeoning field of comic books. Horror elements in the comics had been around since their inception, but, by 1947, single titles devoted to the genre were beginning to appear on comic racks. By 1950, horror comics were everywhere and growing exponentially in circulation. Matt worked up samples and began making the rounds of New York publishers. One of the more obscure items found in Matt’s estate is an old Photostat from the 1950s titled “The Little Monster,” depicting in eight panels the story of a bratish little boy who, along with his gang, goes to a local haunted house “to annoy the spooks and wake the dead.” A variety of ghosts, demons and aliens are seen running away in fear as the Little Monster out-terrorizes even the worse type of creatures imaginable. (See the next page.) In the fall of 1952, Matt received his first comic book story and cover assignment from a small New York publishing company. Previously known as Volitant Publishing, owner Adrian Lopez had been publishing detective magazines, joke books, and men’s girly magazines since 1946, and was now fully entrenched in the comic book market, producing horror, science-fiction, war, and Western comics under his Youthful Publications banner. His Beware horror title had just ended with the third issue, dated October 1952, and was about to

continue on under a new incarnation called Chilling Tales, beginning with issue #13, cover-dated December. This was an important step for Matt Fox because it gave him a chance to show editors what he could do with illustration, and brought him exposure to a younger audience than he had ever known. His first comic book story, a seven-pager titled, “The Hand of Glory,”—reprinted in full here—shows many of the various pen-&-ink shading techniques that Matt would become known for in the ensuing years. While the story itself lacks any quality of writing, Matt’s art saves it from total mediocrity. The artist’s cover for this issue makes it a collectible gem for pre-Code horror comic collectors, presenting a reversed image, pen-&-ink illustration, very similar to his November 1949 Weird Tales cover painting. This image, depicting a devilish demon pulling a dead body out of a grave in a moonlit cemetery, with skulls littered about, may have also been spotted by Weird Tales readers and purchased with hopes the stories inside were as good as the pulp. (Of course, they were not.) Matt’s strong cover image for that issue may have boosted sales well enough to gain him two more cover assignments in the coming months. For issue #15, dated April 1953, the artist came up with another spectacular image, depicting four devilish demons preparing to hang a man. In the background, we see trees that look like hands sticking up out of the ground, and in the foreground is nothing but mushrooms. Unlike the previous issue’s cover, this one showed the “Matt Fox” signature clearly at the bottom right.

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

today are still trying to figure out. In some cases, the penciler’s name appeared on a story, invariably receiving full credit for a job that Matt inked.

For his final Chilling Tales cover, issue #17, dated October 1953, the artist turned in another masterpiece, this time showing a full-frontal view of a horned devil walking straight toward the viewer. On either side, in the background, are creatures and demons of all proportions, and behind them a giant red-glowing eyeball. A cover blurb makes reference to the story inside titled “The Evil Eye.” These three Matt Fox Chilling Tales covers are today recognized as among the finest efforts ever produced in the genre of pre-Code horror comics, and rank right up there with the great Basil Wolverton’s Weird Tales of the Future covers. Chilling Tales #17 marked the end of Youthful Publications’ venture into the horror comics field and, months before that issue had gone on sale, Matt had already secured work from editor Stan Lee at the Timely/Atlas Publishing Group. Whereas Matt was a slow penciler and not quite up to the refinement Stan Lee required from his artists, Fox was assigned inking jobs over other artist’s pencils. Atlas was one of the larger publishers of comic books at that time, producing dozens of different titles each month. Fox stories had started appearing in March 1953, in such titles as Astonishing, Adventures into Weird Worlds, Journey into Unknown Worlds, Strange Tales, and others. This collaborative method worked well and brought about a number of unusual mixes that comic historians even

Now over half-a-century later, Fox or Atlas aficionados are pretty much able to identify the artist’s unmistakable inking style, which was his signature on anything he touched. In October 1954, Matt received his only cover assignment while working for Stan Lee. This cover, depicting a car racing through the sky over city buildings below, is not signed, but it clearly features Matt’s pencils and inks. Matt worked on 16 stories for Stan Lee in 1953 and, in 1954, that amount dropped to only three, and in 1955 to one. Unfortunately, when the Comics Magazine Association of America was formed in late 1954 to “clean up” crime and horror comics, Matt, along with many others, were almost put out of work for at least a couple of years. When not working for the comics, he stayed busy creating etchings and prints. Most of these he would sign in the lower margin and sell on the streets of New York at local art fairs. In 1957 and ’58, Matt came back to Atlas, supplying a few more stories and inking stories penciled by other artists. He also started supplying political cartoons to New Hampshire newspaper The Manchester Union Leader to promote the injustices of Korean War veterans

Opposite page: Matt produced this horror-themed humor strip, perhaps to pitch comic book publishers in the 1950s. This photostat was discovered in the Matt Fox archives. This page: Colored illustration titled “Mudhouse,” from 1938.

In 1958, Matt turned in a beautiful ink wash illustration for a fictional story titled “Dig That Crazy Scientist,” written by Alex Merriman. The story deals with a mad scientist and appeared in the second issue of Monster Parade magazine, dated November 1958. The magazine, à lá Famous Monsters of Filmland, was devoted to horror and science-fiction movies, but occasionally featured fiction pieces such as this. Matt returned to Stan Lee’s outfit (now named Marvel Comics) from 1963 to ’64, inking Larry Lieber’s pencils on a number of fantasy stories written by Stan (Larry’s brother). These five-page back-up stories running in Journey Into Mystery, Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense, and Tales to Astonish, would be the last comic book work ever to come from Matt—and likely his most widely viewed, as the Marvel Age of Comics had begun.

being held in Red China’s slave labor camps. This was a result of his 22-year-old nephew—only son of sister Rose Van Wees—U.S. Army Private Ronald Van Wees being reported missing and presumed dead in Korea on November 30, 1952. In 1955, during special ceremonies honoring war deaths, Rose returned the Purple Heart sent to her from Washington, and accompanied it with a stern letter to President Eisenhower, claiming it was really a “day of shame.”

In January 1963, Matt received a nice fan-letter (probably forwarded to him by Stan Lee) from Al Kracalik, editor and publisher of fantasy fanzine Outre, located in Des Plaines, Illinois. Kracalik sent along a copy of his mimeographed first issue and a full-page letter explaining he had discovered Matt’s work in a secondhand copy of Chilling Tales #17. Later on, after connecting with a used copy of Weird Tales (also featuring Matt’s cover art) and making the connection between the two, Fox became the young man’s favorite artist. After noticing that Matt was currently inking back-up fantasy stories for Marvel, Kracalik decided to write the letter, asking Matt if he would write a biographical article for the next issue of his fanzine. Whether or not Matt ever provided such a bio is unknown, as Outre never saw another issue. Around 1966, Matt hooked up with Calvin Thomas Beck, a longtime fantasy and science-fiction fan who lived in New Jersey and, since 1962, had been publishing his own movie monster magazine titled Castle of Frankenstein. In 1966, the

During this author’s 1993 visit with Rose Van Wees, she poured her heart out about her continued efforts in writing congressmen and others in Washington, D.C., seeking information on her longlost son. She was a heartbroken mother who never gave up or lost faith that her son was still alive and being held prisoner. Brother Matt took up the fight the only way he knew how: through his art via political cartoons. The design and detail put into them shows the strong family love for what he was doing at the time. Rose continued to be a voice of strength for all POWs, writing letters to her U.S. Representative and participating in demonstrations for the release of records, until her death in July of 1995.

Fox’s art was not in keeping with a film magazine, then he could have given him space on the back cover as we had done with Hannes Bok. Given several odd incidents that ended with artists being underpaid by Cal, I can speculate that perhaps Cal offered Fox so little money that he refused to do a painting.”

mag’s editor and designer, Bhob Stewart, was introduced to Matt during a visit the artist made to Beck’s home. Many years later, Bhob wrote a blog entry recalling his meeting: “Fox came across as a straight-arrow, no-nonsense sort of a guy, and after a brief conversation about Weird Tales, he quickly got to the point. He was selling glow-in-the-dark posters, and he wanted to run an ad in Castle of Frankenstein. With that, he unfurled his glowing poster depicting demons and banshees dancing in the pale moonlight. We took it into a dark corner of the room, and yes, indeed, it did emit an eerie green glow. He next produced an ad for the posters. He had made a negative Photostat of his ink drawing, so the reversal of black-&-white simulated glowing monsters coming out of the darkness toward the reader. Clever hand-lettering effects added a subtle suggestion of glowing letters seen at night. “The style Fox used on this half-page ad fit in very nicely with the type of art that we occasionally ran in the magazine. I showed Fox how department headings were not permanent, but alternated artwork by different artists. Then I suggested that he create some similar headings. He said, ‘Sure, I’ll do those.’ Calvin was grinning and nodding enthusiastically. The idea of having a few contributions by a Weird Tales illustrator was a nice addition, but in retrospect, I have to wonder why Cal didn’t have Fox create a series of Castle of Frankenstein covers as outré as the ones he had painted for Weird Tales. If Cal felt

Matt Fox’s ad for the glow-in-the-dark prints ran on the last interior page of Castle of Frankenstein #8 [1966]. That issue also featured Fox’s header design for the “Ghostal Mail” section, showing several typical Fox creatures looking on as Dracula and Frankenstein peruse through the letters received from readers. This header art and the ad for the posters were repeated in #9 [Nov. 1966], and #10 [Feb. 1967] saw the glowin-the-dark prints ad dropped, while the “Ghostal Mail” header was still used. Later that year Beck issued the 1967 Castle of Frankenstein Annual, which repeated the “Ghostal Mail” header and featured a new Matt Fox header for a review column of science-fiction fanzines. It was the last issue offering the glowin-the-dark posters. Bhob Stewart went on to recall: “On that Saturday Fox arrived to drop off that cemetery illustration, it was the second time I saw him. I admired his tight rendering in ink and crayon on pebble board. Then I casually asked, ‘So how many orders did you get for the glow-in-the-dark posters?’ He responded bitterly, ‘None.’ After that day, I never saw him and his demonic entourage again.”

Opposite page: Top left is another Fox etching, perhaps intended as a story illustration. Bottom right is a colored rendition of a prospector in the Old West [1921]. This page: Two variants of a scenario entitled “In the Groove,” likely rendered by Matt in the 1930s.

This page: Etchings depicting two locations in the greater New York City region, with (top) a view of the Bronx Zoo’s Monkey House in 1937, and the New Jersey terminal of the Dyckman Street ferry, which crossed the Hudson to connect with Manhattan. Next page: Color print from 1941.

One of the drawings Fox produced for Beck and Stewart depicts Frankenstein and Dracula examining a strip of film being reeled off of a projector, no doubt to be used for a film review column header. It was never published and is seen here in this book for the first time (on page 105). Matt’s “Demons” and “Banshees” prints “made to glow in the dark” utilized a silk-screen-process method, most likely a process the artist learned while working in the printing business years earlier. According to the ad, the cost was $1.98 each or two for $3.98, plus 25¢ for postage and handling. Surprisingly, only two sets of the prints were found in the artist’s estate after his passing and today they are considered some of the rarest Matt Fox prints in existence. Unfortunately, one can only view these unique designs by exposing them to light and then viewing them in total darkness. In August of 1968, at the age of 67, Matt applied and was accepted for Social Security. In the early 1970s, due to his declining ability with his legs and because he was fed up with living in New York City, he applied to the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for assistance in finding a new place to live. In late 1974, they located a senior housing facility in the beautiful little town of Norfolk, Connecticut. It was here, at the Meadowbrook Home Apartments, that Matt

would enjoy his final days as an artist sketching, drawing, and painting the heavily wooded surroundings known as the Green Woods. He lived quietly there for 14 years, out of the limelight and away from the attention of comic fandom, as he produced his art and amassed an abundance of pen-&-ink and watercolor illustrations. In October 1975, the artist mounted a special “Halloween” exhibition of his original art, including a few older published illustrations, clipped out of the pulp magazines. This show ran at the Norfolk Public Library during the entire month of October and was so popular with the locals that it was held over until the end of November. During this show, town residents finally got to meet the artist who was known for his odd and unique pictures. They soon discovered how talented and obsessed with horrific creations Matt Fox was. On October 16, 1975, the local newspaper reported on “the many watercolors which he has done of scenes around Norfolk. Lurking in even some of these familiar scenes are creatures known only to Mr. Fox. A special ‘self-portrait’ poster was printed up advertising this show and was circulated to the schools and art centers of northwestern Connecticut. Fox had worked in many forms of the graphic arts, but a different look steals over his face when he starts talking about his illustrations for Weird Tales and other popular fantasy and horror magazines.” This page: Top right is perhaps a variation of Central Park’s “Still Hunt” statue, which depicts a panther about to pounce. This etching is titled “Park Statue.” Bottom left is a nude in Hades! Opposite page: Photo of the artist in 1975 at his Halloween art exhibit at the Norfolk Public Library.

The special poster for the art show titled “Out Of My Head,” (rendered with pen-&-ink linework and stipple) depicted a self-portrait of Matt, surrounded by many of his wildest creations and characters. A blurb at the bottom of the poster says “That’s Me! Ze arteest who did all zis crazy illustrations, ha!” (See page 6.) From 1974 until 1984, Matt worked on a special book project called Beezlebub’s Book, which, when finished, was to consist of over 40 illustrations of some of the strangest creatures and creations ever put on paper. In theological sources, predominantly Christian, Beelzebub is sometimes another name for the Devil, similar to Satan. At one point, Matt told his sister, Rose, “I’m going to burn all my paintings before I die.” (Thank goodness this didn’t happen!)

Photograph © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

In late 1987, Matt Fox was diagnosed with cancer. He was eventually moved to the Veteran’s Hospital, in New Haven, where he passed away on February 20, 1988. The local citizens of Norfolk built a beautiful memorial for him on the Meadowbrook grounds consisting of a plant arrangement, a large American flag pole, and his name inscribed at the foot of the memorial. After such a hard, grueling life, stricken as he was with pain, poverty, and illness, Matt Fox had finally found a peaceful ending to life. He was laid to rest next to his mother in a New York City cemetery.

The artist at his Norfolk Public Library Halloweenthemed art exhibition, in October 1975.

One of Matt’s pulp illustrations actually made it onto a television program in November of 2010, when the Animal Planet channel aired a series entitled Lost Tapes. The show dealt with mythological creatures, and it featured reenactments of alleged sightings and scientific/ historical segments that placed the creatures in a biological/historical context. Matt’s art from Famous Fantastic Mysteries, June 1944, a two-page illustration for “The Wendigo”—seen on this book’s double-page title spread—was featured on that cable TV show.

Matt Fox Art Gallery

Original art, “Mission from Arcturus,” Science Fiction Quarterly #10 [Spring 1943]. (One of the few surviving pulp illustration originals by Fox.)

“The Devil’s Pocket,” Astonishing Stories #3 [June 1940].

“Phantom from Space,” Super Science Stories #1 [Mar. 1940].

“The Callistan Menace” spread,” Astonishing Stories #2 [Apr. 1940].

“Too Perfect,” Future Fantasy and Science Fiction [Feb. 1943].

Original art and printed clipping, “The Hands,” Future Fantasy and Science Fiction [Feb. 1943].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 38 #2 [Nov. 1944].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 39 #6 [July 1946].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 39 #11 [May 1947].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 40 #1 [Nov. 1947].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 40 #4 [May 1948].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 40 #5 [July 1948].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 41 #3 [Mar. 1949].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 41 #5 [July 1949].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 42 #1 [Nov. 1949].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 42 #5 [July 1950].

Cover art, Weird Tales Vol. 42 #2 [Jan. 1950].

“The Ormolu Clock,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #2 [Jan. 1950].

“No Light for Uncle Henry,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #10 [Mar. 1943].

“A Wig for Miss DeVore,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #11 [May 1943].

“Avalon,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #11 [May 1943].

“Frost Demons,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #10 [Mar. 1943].

“Time and Again,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #11 [May 1943].

On Lake Lagore,” Weird Tales Vol. 37 #2 [Nov. 1943].

“The Glass Labyrinth,” Weird Tales Vol. 36 #11 [May 1943].

“The Weirds of the Woodcarver,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #1 [Sept. 1944].

“To the Moon,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #1 [Sept. 1944].

“Because the Moon is Far,” Weird Tales Vol. 37 #2 [Nov. 1943].

The Path Through the Marsh,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #1 [Sept. 1944].

“Grave Robbers,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #3 [Jan. 1945].

“The Castle,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #3 [Jan. 1945]. “Thorne on the Threshold,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #3 [Jan. 1945].

“Ship-in-a-Bottle,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #3 [Jan. 1945].

“Bewitched,” Weird Tales Vol. 38 #4 [Mar. 1945].

“The Sorcerer to His Love,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #1 [Sept. 1945].

“Remorse,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #1 [Sept. 1945].

“Tree Woman” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #4 [Mar. 1946].

“The Nixies Pool,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #5 [May 1946].

“Long Watch,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #6 [July 1946].

“The Inner Man,” Weird Tales Vol. 41 #4 [May 1949].

“On a Weird Planet,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #10 [Mar. 1947].

“Moon Phantoms,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #6 [July 1946].

“The Seal-Woman’s Daughter,” Weird Tales Vol. 39 #9 [Jan. 1947].

“Mr. Hyde—and Seek,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #4 [May 1950].

“The Man on B-17,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #4 [May 1950].

“The Ubiquitous Professor Karr,” Weird Tales Vol. 41 #5 [July 1949].

“The Shadow of Saturn,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #3 [Mar. 1950].

“The River,” Weird Tales Vol. 40 #6 [Sept. 1948].

“The City,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #5 [July 1950].

“The Rhythm of the Rats,” Weird Tales Vol. 42 #5 [July 1950].

“A Knocking in the Wall,” Weird Tales Vol. 43 #5 [July 1951].

“Notebook Found in a Deserted House,” Weird Tales Vol. 43 #4 [May 1951].

“The Invisible Reweaver,” Weird Tales Vol. 43 #1 [Nov. 1950].

Fox Chilling Comics Gallery

#13 Cover art, Chilling Tales

[Dec. 1952].

“The Hand of Glory,” Chilling Tales #13 [Dec. 1952].

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Cover art, Chilling Tales #17 [Oct. 1953].

Mystery Tales #22 [Oct. 1954] represents Matt Fox’s only cover art contribution to Stan Lee’s Atlas/Marvel comics.

“The Thief” splash page, Men’s Adventures #23 [Sept. 1953].

Inks over John Forte pencils, “Too Good to Be True” splash page, Strange Tales #22 [Sept. 1953].

“Dugan and the Dummy” splash page and page two, Journey into Unknown Worlds #18 [May 1953].

“Witch-Hunt” splash page and page two, Strange Tales #18 [May 1953].

“The Tiny Coffin” splash page and page two, Mystery Tales #22 [Oct. 1954].

“The Thieves” splash panel, Adventures into Weird Worlds #27 [Mar. 1954].

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“Never Say Die” splash page, Mystery Tales #12 [May 1953].

Inks over Gil Kane pencils, “The Stranger from Space” splash page and page two, Mystic #24 [Oct. 1955].

Production photostat, “Behind the Iron Gate” splash page, Marvel Tales #159 [Aug. 1957].

“The Mark of X” splash page, World of Fantasy #8 [Aug. 1957].

“The World-Destroyers” splash page, Journey into Mystery #49 [Nov. 1958].

“The Missing Sun” splash page, Strange Stories of Suspense #49 [Nov. 1958].

Inks over Larry Lieber pencils, original art, “Grayson’s Gorilla” splash page, Tales to Astonish #48 [Oct. 1963].

Inks over Larry Lieber pencils, “The Green Thing” splash page, Tales of Suspense #51 [Mar. 1964].

Image from reprint in Creatures on the Loose #21 [Jan. ’73].

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Inks over Larry Lieber pencils, original art, “No Place to Turn” page two, Tales to Astonish #51 [Jan. 1964].

“Dig That Crazy Scientist,” Monster Parade #2 [Nov. 1958].

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Later Fox Work

“Dracula Moonlight” original art [undated].

As mentioned in the biographical essay, Matt Fox’s sister, Rose, married Joseph Van Wees in 1931 and settled in the Bronx, where they raised their two children, Lillian Marie and Ronald David. Ronald joined the U.S. Army’s 179th Infantry th 45 Division, serving overseas during the Korean War, and the 22-year-old went missing in action on Nov. 30, 1950, and officially listed as dead in 1953. He was posthumously promoted to corporal and awarded the Purple Heart and the Silver Star, with the accompanying citation describing Ronald’s bravery under fire. New York’s Daily News noted, “The citation said that Ronald had volunteered for an assault on a firmly entrenched enemy hilltop position at Songnaedong, Korea. It added that he had helped a fallen buddy as much as he could, and then proceeded ‘with blazing rifle into the enemy’s secondary position.’” Subsequently, Rose became convinced that her son was still alive after seeing him among other American POWs in a photo in Life magazine, and so began her lifelong crusade to demand the government be accountable for U.S. servicemen suspected to remain in captivity. Her brother, Matt, shared his talents for her cause and he submitted vehemently anti-Communist cartoons to newspapers, including New Hampshire’s Manchester UnionLeader, which included this biographical caption: “Matthew Fox, the able artist of this drawing, knows well of Communist brutality. His nephew is a prisoner in a Communist China slave camp.”

New York Daily News article on the plight of Rose Van Wees. From the May 10, 1955 edition. This weathered clipping is from Matt Fox’s scrapbook.

Editorial cartoon, Manchester Unio

n-Leader, Nov. 12, 1962.

100

Editorial cartoon (unpublished?), 1959.

Editoria

Editorial cart

59.

ader, Aug. 2, 19

ester Union-Le l cartoon, Manch

oon, Manches

101

ter Union-Lea

der, Dec. 12,

1958.

Castle of Frankenstein column header illustrations [1966–67].

102

103

Ad page, positive and negative, from Castle of Frankenstein magazine, [1966].

104

Unused Castle of Frankenstein illustration [1967].

105

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Ad layout [1952].

106

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Unused science-fiction illustration for unknown project [1967].

107

“Haunted House and Forest Spirit,” mixed media [1974]. From the collection of Charles Park, Jr.

108

109

“Lady in the Trees,” watercolor [1974]. From the collection of Charles Park, Jr.

110

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Proposed book cover [1974/75].

111

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

112

Illustration [1974].

Illustration [1975].

113

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

114

Illustration [1975].

115

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Illustration [1976].

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

Back cover illustration, Whispers #8 [Dec. 1975].

116

Illustration [1980].

117

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

118

Artwork © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

“Long Watch” [1983]. (Note that this is a revised version of Weird Tales illustration seen on page 60.)

Illustration [1975]. From the collection of Skinner Davis.

119

120

Photograph © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

The artist at his Norfolk Public Library Halloween-themed art exhibition, in October 1975.

Matt Fox Checklist COMICS Journey into Unknown Worlds #19 [ June 1953] “Beelzebub”—5 pages

Adventures into Terror #19 [May 1953] “Meet the Bride”—5 pages

Journey into Unknown Worlds #21 [Aug. 1953] “The Dead of Winter”—5 pages

Adventures into Terror #25 [Nov. 1953] “The Terrible Trophy”—5 pages

Journey into Unknown Worlds #22 [Sept. 1953] “Too Timid to Live”—5 pages, inks over Forte

Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 [Sept. 1952] “Down in the Cellar”—5 pages

Marvel Tales #159 [Aug. 1957] “Behind the Iron Gate!”—3 pages

Adventures into Weird Worlds #21 [Aug. 1953] “Romanov’s Rumour”—5 pages, inks over John Forte

Men’s Adventures #23 [Sept. 1953] “The Thief ”—5 pages

Adventures into Weird Worlds #27 [Mar. 1954] “The Thieves”—4 pages

Mystery Tales #12 [May 1953] “Never Say Die”—4 pages

Astonishing #23 [Mar. 1953] “The Woman in Black”—4 pages, inks over unknown artist

Mystery Tales #21 [Sept. 1954] “Hate”—4 pages

Chilling Tales #13 (first comic-book work) [Dec. 1952] “The Hand of Glory”—cover and 7 pages

Mystery Tales #22 [Oct. 1954] “The Tiny Coffin”—cover and 4 pages

Chilling Tales #15 [Apr. 1953] Cover

Mystic #24 [Oct. 1953] “The Stranger from Space”—4 pages, inks over Gil Kane

Chilling Tales #17 [Oct. 1953] Cover

Spellbound #16 [Aug. 1953] “Only a Rose!”—5 pages

Journey into Mystery #49 [Nov. 1958] “The World-Destroyers”—3 pages Journey into Mystery #93 [June 1963] “The Man Who Wouldn’t Die!”—5 pgs., inks over Larry Lieber Journey into Mystery #98 [Nov. 1963] “The Purple Planet!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Journey into Mystery #99 [Dec. 1963] “Stroom’s Strange Solution!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Journey into Mystery #100 [Jan. 1964] “The Unreal!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Journey into Mystery #101 [Feb. 1964] “The Enemies!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Journey into Mystery #102 [Mar. 1964] “The Menace!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Journey into Unknown Worlds #18 [May 1953] “Dugan and the Dummy”—5 pages

Strange Stories of Suspense #16 [Aug. 1957] “The Missing Sun”—3 pages Strange Tales #18 [May 1953] “Witch Hunt!”—5 pages Strange Tales #22 [Sept. 1953] “Too Good to be True!”—4 pages, inks over Forte Strange Tales #110 [July 1963] “We Search the Stars”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Strange Tales #111 [Aug. 1963] “Beware the Machine”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Strange Tales #113 [Oct. 1963] “The Search for Shanng”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Tales of Suspense #42 [ June 1963] “Escape into Space”—5 pages, inks over Lieber

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MAGAZINES Tales of Suspense #43 [July 1963] “I Was a Victim of Venus”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Tales of Suspense #45 [Sept. 1963] “I Come From Far Centaurus!—5 pages, inks over Lieber

Castle of Frankenstein #8 [1966 ] One illo—heading for “Ghostal Mail” letters column. Two illos—“Monsters that will glow in the dark” ad page

Tales of Suspense #51 [Mar. 1964] “The Green Thing”—5 pages, inks over Lieber

Castle of Frankenstein #9 [1966] One illo—heading for “Ghostal Mail” letters column Two illos—“Monsters that will glow in the dark” ad page

Tales to Astonish #47 [Sept. 1963] “The Smiling Gods”—5 pages, inks over Lieber

Castle of Frankenstein #10 [Feb. 1967] One illo—heading for “Ghostal Mail” letters column

Tales to Astonish #48 [Oct. 1963] “Grayson’s Gorilla!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber

Castle of Frankenstein 1967 Annual [1967] One illo—heading for “CoFanaddicts” science-fiction fanzine review column Two illos—“Monsters that will glow in the dark” ad page

Tales to Astonish #50 [Dec. 1963] “The Secret of Sagattus!”—5 pages, inks over Lieber Tales to Astonish #51 [Jan. 1964] “No Place to Turn”—5 pages, inks over Lieber

Monster Parade #2 [Nov. 1958] One third-page illo—“Dig That Crazy Scientist” PULP MAGAZINES

Uncanny Tales #6 [Mar. 1953] “I Was a Vampire”—5 pages World of Fantasy #8 [Aug. 1957] “The Mark of X!”—3 pages World of Suspense #8 [July 1957] “The Secret Room”—4 pages, inks over Forte REPRINT COMICS Creatures on the Loose #21 [Jan. 1973] “The Green Thing”—r: Tales of Suspense #51 Dead of Night #3 [April 1974] “Only A Rose!”—r: Spellbound #16 Dead of Night #6 [Oct. 1974] “Down in the Cellar”—r: Adventures into Weird Worlds #10 Fantasy Masterpieces #9 [June 1967] “We Search The Stars!”—r: Strange Tales #110 Giant-Size Dracula #3 [Dec. 1974] “I Was a Vampire”—r: Uncanny Tales #6 Spiderman vs. Dracula #1 [Jan. 1994] “I Was a Vampire”—r: Uncanny Tales #6 The 3-D Zone #11 [Apr. 1988], subtitled 3-D Dance Macabre Reprints Chilling Tales #17 cover and “The Hand of Glory,” 7-page story from Chilling Tales #13

Astonishing Stories #2 [Apr. 1940] Two-page illo—“The Callistan Menace” (by Issac Asimov, only his second published story) Astonishing Stories #3 [ June 1940] One illo—“The Devil’s Pocket” (by F. E. Hardart) Famous Fantastic Mysteries [June 1944] Two-page illo—“The Wendigo” (by Algernon Blackwood) Future Fantasy and Science Fiction [Feb. 1943] One illo—“The Hands” (by Vernard McLaughlin) One illo—“Too Perfect” (by Wilbur S. Peacock) Planet Stories [Winter 1942–43] One illo—“Planet of No-Return” (by Wilbur S. Peacock) Science Fiction Quarterly #10 [Spring 1943] One illo—“Mission from Arcturus” (by Robert Abernathy) Super Science Stories #1 [Mar. 1940] One illo—“Phantom From Space” (by John Russell Fearn) Weird Tales Vol. 36, #10 [Mar. 1943] One illo—“No Light For Uncle Henry” (by August Derleth) One illo—“Frost Demons” (verse by Joseph C. Kempe) Weird Tales Vol. 36, #11 [May 1943] One illo—“A Wig For Miss Devore” (by August Derleth) One illo—“Avalon” (verse by Janet Hall Quilligan) One illo—“Time and Again” (by Helen W. Kasson) One illo—“The Glass Labyrinth” (by Stanton A. Goblentz)

122

Weird Tales Vol. 37, #2 [Nov. 1943] One illo—“Because the Moon Is Far” (by Katherine Simons) similar to cover illustration of July 1948 issue One illo—“On Lake Lagore” (verse by Dorothy Gold Weird Tales Vol. 38, #1 [Sept. 1944] One illo—“The Path through the Marsh” (verse by Leah Bodine Drake) Two-page illo—“The Weirds of the Woodcarver” (by Gardner F. Fox) One illo—“To the Moon” (verse by Stanton A. Goblentz) Weird Tales Vol. 38, #2 [Nov. 1944] Cover illo—“The Dweller in Darkness” (by August Derleth) Weird Tales Vol. 38, #3 [Jan. 1945] One illo—“Ship-in-a-Bottle” (by P. Schuyler Miller) One illo—“Grave Robbers” (verse by Marvin Miller) One illo—“The Castle” (verse by Glen Ward Dresbach) One illo—“Thorne on the Threshold” (by Manly Wade Wellman) Weird Tales Vol. 38, #4 [Mar. 1945] One illo—“Bewitched” (verse by Willard N. Marsh) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #1 [Sept. 1945] One illo—“Remorse” (verse by Page Cooper) Two illos—“The Sorcerer to His Love” (verse by Clark Ashton Smith) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #4 [Mar. 1946] Two illos—“Tree Woman” (verse by Dorothy Quick) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #5 [May 1946] Two illos—“The Nixies Pool” (verse by Leah Bodine Drake) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #6 [July 1946] Cover illo—“Shonokin Town” (by Manly Wade Wellman) One illo—“Moon Phantoms” (verse by Dorothy Haynes Madle) One illo—“Long Watch” (verse by Dorothy Quick) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #9 [Jan. 1947] Two illos—“The Seal Woman’s Daughter” (verse by Leah Bodine Drake) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #10 [Mar. 1947] One illo—“On a Weird Planet” (verse by Stanton A. Goblentz) Weird Tales Vol. 39, #11 [May 1947] Cover illo—Devils and Witch (not illustrating any story) Weird Tales Vol. 40, #1 [Nov. 1947] Cover illo—Demons and figure in coffin (not illustrating any story)

Weird Tales Vol. 40, #4 [May 1948] Cover illo—Phantom violinist above bats and graveyard (not illustrating any story) Weird Tales Vol. 40, #5 [July 1948] Cover illo—Flying Unicorn, comet, planet, snakes— very similar to illustration on page 49 of Nov. 1943 issue Weird Tales Vol. 40, #6 [Sept. 1948] One illo—“The River” (verse by Dorothy Quick) Weird Tales Vol. 41, #3 [Mar. 1949] Cover illo—Devil operating puppet theatre (not illustrating any story) Weird Tales Vol. 41, #4 [May 1949] One illo—“The Inner Man” (by Arthur J. Burks) Weird Tales Vol. 41, #5 [ July 1949] Cover illo—Two scaly demons in combat (not illustrating any story) One illo—“The Ubiquitous Professor Karr” (by Stanton A. Goblentz) Weird Tales Vol. 42, #1 [Nov. 1949] Cover illo—“The Underbody” (by Allison V. Harding) Weird Tales Vol. 42, #2 [Jan. 1950] Cover illo—“The Ormolu Clock” (by August Derleth) One illo—Line drawing of Fox cover to Weird Tales Nov. 1949 issue for subscription ad Weird Tales Vol. 42, #3 [Mar. 1950] Two-page illo—“The Shadow of Saturn” (by E. Hoffman Price) Weird Tales Vol. 42, #4 [May 1950] One illo—“The Man on B-17” (by Stephon Grendon) One illo—“Mr. Hyde—and Seek” (by Malcolm M. Ferguson) Weird Tales Vol. 42, #5 [July 1950] Cover illo—Bat, devil, pen, and demons (not illustrating any story) One illo—“The Rhythm of the Rats” (by Eric Frank Russell) Two-page illo—“The City” (verse by H. P. Lovecraft) Weird Tales Vol. 43, #1 [Nov. 1950] One illo—“The Invisible Reweaver” (by Margaret St. Clair) Weird Tales Vol. 43, #4 [May 1951] Two-page illo—“Notebook Found in a Deserted House” (by Robert Bloch) Weird Tales Vol. 43, #5 [July 1951] One illo—“A Knocking in the Wall” (by August Derleth)

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ETCHING PRINTS

ADVERTISING ART

Gargoyles [1942] 7¼" x 11¼" (signed and numbered)

Conway’s Sportsmen’s Shop, New York 1952—Spacemen battling aliens in space

Dancing Devils [circa 1940s] 3" x 4½"

POSTERS

Nude Woman in Flames [circa 1940s] 5" x 7" Park Statue Panther [circa 1940s] 6" x 8"

Out of My Head 1975—Self-portrait black-&-white poster for Matt Fox art exhibit, Norfolk Library, Norfolk, Connecticut FANZINES Whispers #8 [Dec. 1975] Back cover—Demon

“Planet of No Return,” Planet Stories Vol. 2 #1 [Winter 1942].

124

Fox Index of Authors Abernathy, Robert: “Mission from Arcturus,” Science Fiction Quarterly [1943], one illo

Lovecraft, Howard Philips: “The City” (verse), Weird Tales [July 1950], two-page illo

Asimov, Isaac: “The Callistan Menace,” Astonishing Stories #2 [Apr. 1940], two-page illo (Asimov’s second published story)

Maddle, Dorothy Haynes: “Moon Phantoms” (verse), Weird Tales [July 1946], one illo

Blackwood, Algernon: “The Wendigo,” Famous Fantastic Mysteries [June 1944], two-page illo

Marsh, Willard N.: “Bewitched” (verse), Weird Tales [Mar. 1945], one illo

Bloch, Robert: “Notebook Found in a Deserted House,” Weird Tales [May 1951], two-page illo)

McLaughlin, Vernard: “The Hands,” Future Fantasy and Science Fiction [Feb. 1943], one illo

Burks, Arthur J.: “The Inner Man,” Weird Tales [May 1949], one illo

Merriman, Alex: “Dig that Crazy Scientist,” Monster Parade [Nov. 1958], two-page illo

Cooper, Page: “Remorse” (verse), Weird Tales [Sept. 1945], one illo

Miller, Marvin: “Grave Robbers” (verse), Weird Tales [Jan. 1945], one illo

Derleth, August: “A Knocking in the Wall,” Weird Tales [July 1951], one illo; “A Wig for Miss Devore,” Weird Tales [May 1943], one illo; “Dweller in the Dark” Weird Tales [Nov. 1944], cover painting; “No Light for Uncle Henry,” Weird Tales [Mar. 1943], one illo; “The Ormolu Clock,” Weird Tales [Jan. 1950], cover painting and one illo

Miller, P. Schuyler: “Ship in-A-Bottle,” Weird Tales [Jan. 1945], one illo Peacock, Wilbur Scott: “Planet of No-Return,” Planet Stories [Winter 1942–43], one illo; “Too Perfect,” Future Fantasy and Science Fiction [Feb. 1943], one illo Price, E. Hoffman: “The Shadow of Saturn,” Weird Tales [Mar. 1950], two-page illo

Drake, Leah Bodine: “The Nixies Pool” (verse), Weird Tales [May 1946], two illos; “The Path Through the Marsh” (verse), Weird Tales [Sept. 1944], one illo; “The Seal Woman’s Daughter” (verse), Weird Tales [Jan. 1947], two illos Fearn, Russell: “Phantom From Space,” Super Science Stories #1 [Mar. 1940], one illo (Fox’s first published pulp illustration) Ferguson, Malcolm: “Mr. Hyde – And Seek,” Weird Tales [May 1950], one illo Fox, Gardner F.: “The Weirds of the Woodcarver,” Weird Tales [Sept. 1944], two-page illo Goblentz, Stanton A.: “On a Weird Planet” (verse), Weird Tales [Mar. 1947], one illo; “The Glass Labyrinth,” Weird Tales [May 1943], one illo; “To the Moon” (verse), Weird Tales [Sept. 1944], one illo; “The Ubiquitous Professor Karr,” Weird Tales [July 1949], one illo

Quick, Dorothy: “Long Watch” (verse), Weird Tales [July 1946], one illo; “The River” (verse), Weird Tales [Sept. 1948], one illo; “Tree Woman” (verse), Weird Tales [Mar. 1946], one illo Quilligan, Janet Hall: “Avalon” (verse), Weird Tales [May 1943], one illo Russell, Eric Frank: “The Rhythm of the Rats,” Weird Tales [July 1950], one illo Simons, Katherine: “Because the Moon is Far,” Weird Tales [Nov. 1943], one illo Smith, Clark Ashton: “The Sorcerer to His Love” (verse), Weird Tales [Sept. 1945], two illos St. Clair, Margaret: “The Invisible Reweaver,” Weird Tales [Nov. 1950], one illo

Gold, Dorothy: “On Lake Lagore” (verse), Weird Tales [Nov. 1943], one illo

Ward, Glen Dresbach: “The Castle” (verse), Weird Tales [Jan. 1945], one illo

Grendon, Stephen: “The Man on B-17,” Weird Tales [May 1950], one illo

Wellman, Manly Wade: “Shonokin Town,” Weird Tales [July 1946], cover painting; “Thorne on the Threshold,” Weird Tales [Jan. 1945], one illo

Hardart, F.E.: “The Devil’s Pocket,” Astonishing Stories #3 [June 1940], one illo Harding, Allison: “The Underbody,” Weird Tales [Nov. 1949], cover painting Kasson, Helen W.: “Time and Again,” Weird Tales [May 1943], one illo Kempe, Joseph C.: “Frost Demons” (verse), Weird Tales [Mar. 1943], one illo

125

The 3-D Zone #11 [Apr. 1988] (reprints Chilling Tales #13 story and Chilling Tales #17 cover).

126

Business signage [undated].

127

TWO-FISTED COMIC BOOK ARTIST

OUR ARTISTS AT WAR

A spirited biography of EC Comics mainstay (with HARVEY KURTZMAN on Mad and Two-Fisted Tales) and co-creator of Western strip American Eagle. Covers his 40+ year association with Cracked magazine, his pivotal Marvel Comics work inking HERB TRIMPE on The Hulk & teaming with sister MARIE SEVERIN on King Kull, and more! By GREG BIGA and JON B. COOKE.

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AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES The AMERICAN COMIC BOOK CHRONICLES is an ambitious series of FULL-COLOR HARDCOVERS, where TwoMorrows’ top authors document every decade of comic book history from the 1940s to today! Don’t miss all the other riveting, informative volumes, all edited by KEITH DALLAS.

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THE LIFE & ART OF

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WITH 16 EXTRA PAGES OF “STUF’ SAID”! Examines the complicated relationship of Marvel Universe creators JACK KIRBY and STAN LEE through their own words (and Ditko’s, Wood’s, Romita Sr.’s and others), in chronological order, from fanzine, magazine, radio, and TV interviews! By TwoMorrows publisher JOHN MORROW.

The final complete, unpublished Jack Kirby stories in existence, presented here for the first time, in cooperation with DC Comics! Two unused 1970s DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET tales, plus TRUE-LIFE DIVORCE, and SOUL LOVE (the unseen black romance magazine)! With historical essays by JOHN MORROW.

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JOHN SEVERIN

The COMPELLINGLY NIGHTMARISH ART of a forgotten MASTER of HORROR!

Matt Fox, 1937

Comic book and pulp magazine artist Marcy Matthew Fox [1906–1988] first developed a cult of admirers with his peculiar stylings as illustrator for Weird Tales between 1943–51, and then was noted for his gruesome, almost primitive art on Stan Lee’s line of horror titles at Atlas Comics in the ’50s. Yet most might remember Matt Fox as the idiosyncratic, hyper-detailed inker over Larry Lieber’s pencils on sci-fi stories in the early Marvel Comics—and whose work seemed to all but vanish by 1964. But, as you will find in this captivating look at the artist’s life and work, Fox’s finest achievements were still ahead! For the first time ever, the life of the fascinating artist is revealed by renowned historian and art aficionado Roger Hill, who shares his amazing collection of Fox art—much of it unpublished until now—and other rarities the author has accumulated over the decades.

THE CHILLINGLY WEIRD ART OF MATT FOX includes: All of Fox’s Weird Tales covers and interior illustrations • Fox’s very first comic book story • Over 25 pages of previously unpublished Fox artwork • Never-before-seen Fox photos, early work, etchings, and rare editorial cartoons • Plus an introduction by From the Tomb editor Peter Normanton

Cover art by Matt Fox Weird Tales TM & © Nth Dimension Media, LLC. Original art and photo © the Matt Fox estate and EC Fan-Addict Productions.

ISBN: 978-1-60549-120-2 $29.95 in the U.S.

Printed in China

TwoMorrows Publishing Raleigh, North Carolina