The Hip Horrors

 

The Hip Horrors first appeared in a short story titled "Animal Friends", in HIP HORROR COMICS, one of my hundreds of home made comic books, in 1982, but which I cover-dated June 1968.

I was always a fan of horror movies, especially the Universal horrors of the 1930s and 1940s.  I also liked Roger Corman's productions of the 1960s, and anything with Vincent Price in it.  But I also really liked the mixture of horror and humour, such as the classic ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, or the Bowery Boys, when they found themselves in haunted houses, and Corman's THE RAVEN, with Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff, who also starred in another horror spoof, THE COMEDY OF TERRORS.  Every week I watched the monotonous but entertaining HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN.  The list goes on.

I also bought Stan Lee's MONSTER MADNESS, and collected the "You'll Die Laughing" bubble gum cards, circa 1973.

The Hip Horrors are a quartet of London hippies whose favourite hangout is a nightclub called the Ganymede Spectrum Sanctuary.  They also take it upon themselves to battle vampires, werewolves, zombies and other supernatural creatures that cross their paths.  The group consists of Mary Jane Jones, the brains of the bunch, and perhaps the most fearless; Carl Caine, calm and rational, the voice of reason; John Bedford, a Jughead Jones-type character, who is often found sleeping or eating, and is somewhat indifferent to monster hunting; and Jim Spencer, a gravedigger by profession, who is cowardly and would rather steer clear of monsters, but is the toughest member, and won't back down if the fight is brought to him.

The following 10-page story, "He Was A Middle-Age Vampire", was extemporaneously written and drawn in pencil on 8.5" x 11" sheets of paper folded in half (as was HIP HORROR COMICS), probably in 1983.

Hip Horrors pg1

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Hip Horrors pg10