Detail of the cover for issue #16. Art by Gil Kane, Joe Sinnott and John Costanza
Marvel’s horror/fantasy anthology comic book Tower of Shadows was not very successful, selling pretty poorly, so it was renamed Creatures on the Loose starting with issue #10 (in March 1971).
This iteration featured a seven-page King Kull sword and sorcery story by Roy Thomas and artist Bernie Wrightson and other new stories, by artists Herb Trimpe, Syd Shores and Reed Crandall, but then its contents became all-reprint until issue #16 (in March 1972). Now we got the interplanetary swashbuckler hero Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars and then, in March 1973, the sword and sorcery hero Thongor graced the pages of the comic.
Man-Wolf, the werewolf son of J. Jonah Jameson, took centre stage next. His lycanthropic stories ran from issue #30 to #37.
Here are just some of the Creatures on the Loose covers…
Sword versus tentacles! Cover art by Herb Trimpe, Marie Severin and Morrie Kuramoto
‘Moomba is here!’ Art by Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Marie Severin and Artie Simek
It’s comin’ at ya through the television! Art by Jack Kirby, Dick Ayers, Marie Severin and Artie Simek
OMG! That hill is alive! Art by Gil Kane, Joe Sinnott, Marie Severin and Sam Rosen
Introducing Gullivar Jones, Warrior of Mars! I liked these stories! Art by Gil Kane, Bill Everett and Artie Simek
‘Slaves of the Spider Swarm!’ Art by Gil Kane, Vincente Alcazar and John Costanza
Art by Gil Kane and Morrie Kuramoto
Art by the awesome Jim Steranko
Thongor! Sword and sorcery wonderfulness by Jim Steranko
Lizard-Hawks attack! Art by John Romita, Ernie Chan and Morrie Kuramoto
‘Sword vs sorcery in the land that time forgot!!!’ I like the sound of that! Art by John Romita, Tony Mortellaro and Danny Crespi
It’s Man-Wolf! Woot! Art by Gil Kane, John Romita and Gaspar Saladino
This cover is great! Art by Gil Kane
Art by Gil Kane, Klaus Janson and George Roussos
A pretty eye-catching cover! Art by George Pérez, John Romita and Tony Mortellaro
I have this issue stored away somewhere. Art by Gil Kane, Tom Palmer and George Roussos
Stupendously amazing cover art by Gil Kane, Klaus Janson and Gaspar Saladino
‘Frenzy in freefall!’ Art by Gil Kane and Tom Palmer
The last issue of Creatures on the Loose (number #37) was published in September 1975.
To finish, here’s the interior splash page art from issue #18. It’s bloody awesome! Feast your eyes…
Huge, aquatic monster alert! Art by Ross Andru and Sam Grainger
Detail from the cover of Where Monsters Dwell Issue #37
Where Monsters Dwell, published by Marvel Comics, was a reprint series, featuring stories that had originally appeared in earlier comics like Strange Tales, Tales of Suspense and Uncanny Tales. The artists who provided cool art for the covers included Jack Kirby, Gil Kane and Marie Severin.
Where Monsters Dwell (volume 1) lasted 38 issues and was published from January 1970 to October 1975. I was too young to have seen the stories in their original comics, so Where Monsters Dwell provided the perfect opportunity for me to catch-up with these wild, creature-tastic yarns!
So, come with me… and feast your eyes on such monsters as Sporr, Rommbu, Kraa… and, of course, Fin Fang Foom!
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #1
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #2 – cover art by Jack Kirby
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #4 – cover art by Marie Severin
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #5 – cover art by Jack Kirby
The main story in this 1970 Where Monsters Dwell issue, “I Challenged… Groot! The Monster from Planet X!”, was originally featured in Tales To Astonish #13, from 1960…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #6 – cover art by Jack Kirby
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #7 – cover art by Jack Kirby
A giant gill-man! Awesome! It’s called Gigantus…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #10 – cover art by Jack Kirby
Monster fight! Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #15 – cover art by John Severin
The first story in this issue of Where Monsters Dwell, titled “The Insect Man”, originally appeared in Tales of Suspense #24…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #19 – cover art by Gil Kane. I have this issue!
It’s Fin Fang Foom! Yay! I love this dragon monster! This “Fin Fang Foom” story originally appeared in Strange Tales, back in 1961…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #21 (1973) – cover art by Jack Kirby
Easter Island statues are on the loose! Run away…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #24 – cover art by Jack Kirby
There’s a green monster climbing out of a black box! Woot!
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #30 – cover art by Larry Lieber
Cool cover! Here’s Tragg, the last of a race of subterranean monsters (wiped out by underground atomic testing), ripping up subway train tracks!
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #33 – cover art by Gil Kane
It’s Gorgolla – the living gargoyle!
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #35 – cover art by Jack Kirby
Okay, here’s a final cover, featuring a beaked, tentacled sea-fiend…
Where Monsters Dwell Vol 1 Issue #37 – cover art by Gil Kane
Devoted to every kind of movie and TV monster, from King Kong to Godzilla, from the Blob to Alien. Plus monsters from other media too, including books and comics.
Monster Zone 