CoronaVirus Captain's Library & Theatre MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Conclusion

When Last We Left Our Protagonist, Prince Prospero...

As the Red Death sweeps across the land, cruel Prince Prospero shelters his toadying "friends" in his castle while forcing the peasants to survive as best they can in the plague-ridden countryside.

He also lusts for peasant girl Francesca and has taken her (along with her father and betrothed) to his fortress.

But the captive Francesca has strange visions where past, present, and a possible future all intermingle.
Prospero dismisses her dreams and considers what fate should befall his two captives, her father and her beloved Gino.
When an escape attempt fails, the Prince devises a public spectacle to punish the two who mean the most to Francesca...

Not quite as bloody as the movie, but even though Dell Comics didn't belong to the Comics Code, they realized there were some things a newsstand comic couldn't get away with in 1964!
Here's a kool bonus just for you...the trailer to the flick!

There's more contagious cinema coming...soon!

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Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

CoronaVirus Captain's Library MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

As the Red Death sweeps across the land, cruel Prince Prospero shelters his toadying "friends' in his castle while forcing the peasants to survive as best they can in the plague-ridden countryside.

He also lusts for peasant girl Francesca and has taken her (along with her father and betrothed) to his fortress.

But the captive Francesca has strange visions where past, present, and a possible future all intermingle...

Who will live?
Who will die?
Will the party really be the social event of the year?

Find Out This Weekend!

Illustrated by Frank Springer, Dell's Masque of the Red Death (1964) is a fairly-faithful adaptation of the Roger Corman movie based on Edgar Allan Poe's stpry of the same name.

However, due to time constraints, in order to have the comic on newsstands when the movie was in theaters, it was produced using only the script and promo photos as reference, so there are some differences between it and the film as released!

AIP Studios knew the value of comics to their target audience ('tweens and teenagers) and a number of their films, including Beach Blanket Bingo and most of Roger Corman's "Poe" flicks, were adapted into Dell Comics (who didn't follow the Comics Code)!

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Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

CoronaVirus Captain's Library MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH Part 1

A cruel ruler who enjoys tormenting his subjects and allows a pandemic to kill them!

Who does that remind us of?

What does Francesca tell Prospero, and how does he react?

Find Out Next Week!

Illustrated by Frank Springer, Dell's Masque of the Red Death (1964) is a fairly-faithful adaptation of the Roger Corman movie based on Edgar Allan Poe's stpry of the same name.

However, due to time constraints, in order to have the comic on newsstands when the movie was in theaters, it was produced using only the script and promo photos as reference, so there are some differences between it and the film as released!

The village is called "Catania" in the film, but Prince Prospero refers to it as "Esteban" in the comic.

AIP Studios knew the value of comics to their target audience ('tweens and teenagers) and a number of their films, including Beach Blanket Bingo and most of Roger Corman's "Poe" flicks, were adapted into Dell Comics (who didn't follow the Comics Code)!

Please Support Secret Sanctum of Captain Video

Visit Amazon and Order...

Masque of the Red Death

(along with Premature Burial in a kool double-feature)

Captain's Library WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP Conclusion

When Last We Left the Nemo-esque Captain...

(Note: it seems some of the foreign distributors couldn't make up their mind if the movie was Poe-esque or Verne-esque since the Italian title shown above translates into "20,000 Leagues under the Earth", yet the tag line mentions Edgar Allan Poe!)

Where were we?

Oh, yes...

Trapped under the sea in a crumbling city left behind by an ancient civilization of mer-men, our heroes (and heroine) are led to The Captain, who explains he and his men were smugglers who found their way there a century ago, and the weird combination of gases in the underwater atmosphere has rendered them ageless and immortal!

The gill-men are the savage descendants of the builders of the city, who have forgotten the technology their ancestors used to create the underwater metropolis.

The scientists were brought to the city to repair the failing systems, but a nearby underwater volcano may render the attempt moot...

The adaptation was illustrated by penciler John Tartaglione and inker Dick Giordano.

The writer is unknown, but is believed to be either Don Segall (who did many of their movie books) or Dell editor DJ Arneson.

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War-Gods of the Deep

Captain's Library WAR-GODS OF THE DEEP Part 2

We Have Already Seen...

After the body of a recently-arrived lawyer is found on the beach, scientist Ben Harris, informs the solicitor's sole client, Jill Tregellis, about the death.

While visiting her, he discovers a strange fish/human creature ransacking a room!

The merman mysteriously escapes, but returns and kidnaps Jill, taking her though a concealed passage...

Is it...The End?

Will Lyonesse...and all within...be destroyed?

The Exciting Conclusion can be found here...

Next Monday!

The film was "inspired" by Edgar Allan Poe's poem "City In the Sea", which is quoted in both the opening of the film and the comic's splash page, and the flick was marketed as part of AIP's "Poe Cycle" series.

In fact, it was released in several foreign markets, including England, as City Under the Sea!

However, unlike Richard Matheson's adaptation of The Raven, this script by Charles Bennett, Louis M (Dr Goldfoot movies) Heyward, and David (Doctor Who) Whitaker is entirely-new, with a plot and characters not in the poem

Dell's War-Gods of the Deep (1965) one-shot is actually #900 in their Movie Classics series.

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War-Gods of the Deep