Attention Deficit Delirium

Yes, it's true, Jim Salicrup is secretly Papa Smurf.

A legendary Marvel Comics editor, Jim Salicrup arrived during the famed company’s classic period, and his career has been going full steam ever since. He was only 15 years old when he began as a messenger there in 1972, and he worked his way up to editor and tackled such titanic titles as The Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Mighty Avengers and Todd McFarlane’s Spider-Man remake, not to mention writing for Transformers, Sledge Hammer!, The A-Team and others. In 1992 he left Marvel for a six-year tenure at Topps Comics, then spent two years at Stan Lee Media as senior writer/editor, even writing and voicing the Stan Lee’s Evil Clone cartoons, before joining Papercutz as editor-in-chief in 2002.

I first heard about Papercutz because they brought Tales From The Crypt back from the dead. I was skeptical at first because the original EC line was truly classic and special, and while I was expecting vintage style art, the modern approach to the title gradually won me over. I’ve bought many issues since. Then I learned that Papercutz was reviving many older comic book and literary franchises and updating them for a young, modern audience. With my interest piqued, I decided to interrogate Salicrup about his latest publishing venture, his career and the future of my beloved comic book medium.



One of the most famous Marvel titles edited by Salicrup: Spider-Man #1 by Todd McFarlane.

Can you give us the Cliff Notes version of how you came to Papercutz and how it has grown?
How about the Classics Illustrated version, Bryan? In a nutshell, Terry Nantier, pioneering NBM graphic novel publisher and I, got together and decided to start a new company that would create comics and graphic novels for all ages. We both grew up reading graphic novels such as Tintin by Hergé and thought there was a need for such material for today’s kids. So the basic concept was for us to get the rights to popular characters and create great comics and graphic novels for all ages.

As superhero comics still take up a lion’s share of the market, what challenges have you faced in resurrecting titles like Tales From The Crypt, Classics Illustrated and Nancy Drew?
I guess it depends on how you look at it. Superhero comics are really a market unto themselves. Manga is another, and graphic novels for kids is now emerging as the latest new market. Tales From The Crypt Graphic Novel #8, “Diary of a Stinky Dead Kid,” has become a surprise hit for Papercutz. It’s in its fourth printing already, and I suspect there will be many more printings to come. I believe it succeeded because we finally connected with the huge kid’s comics market out there, and they love the parodies we’re running of pop culture hits like Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Twilight. Obviously, a book such as this isn’t competing directly with any superhero comics.

A page from "Classics Illustrated" issue #5.

You can call Jim Salicrup many things, but hatchet man is not one of them.

Even though the art is completely different, I am enjoying the new Tales From The Crypt. What was the inspiration for the reboot and how have people responded to it?
Thanks, Bryan. Terry suggested that we do a horror comic series, and I couldn’t resist reviving Tales From The Crypt. For folks who wanted a copy of the original series, they weren’t thrilled with the direction we went in. Some of the older fans forget that they were kids when they read Tales From The Crypt back in the Fifties, and we’re doing a Tales From The Crypt series to appeal to kids today, not from over 50 years ago. I mean, can you name another comic book that looks exactly as it did over 50 years ago? So we’re getting positive feedback from a new generation of readers, and that’s fantastic. We have eight volumes of Tales From The Crypt in stores now, and we tackle everything — reality TV, drugs, comic book fans, starving fashion models, virtual reality, suicide bombers. We’ve had some straight horror tales by Joe R. Lansdale and John L. Lansdale and plenty of twisted parodies. And there’s much more to come.

Cultural conservatives will never stop complaining.

The Sarah Palin cover was inspired. Do you see comic book censorship becoming an issue ever again like it was in the Fifties?
Well, we have to be very careful with what we do with Crypt and all our graphic novels because they’re all shelved in the kids sections of bookstores. That’s not a problem for us because our plan for Papercutz is to create comics and graphic novels for a young audience. Almost every comic book was suitable for kids when I was growing up in the Sixties, so I don’t have a problem with “censorship” per se. Nor do I have a problem with comics for adults. I just believe there should be comics for everyone, not just adults. What a radical concept, eh?

Despite the huge success of comic book movies, comic book sales are not on a major upswing. Do you see this changing in the near future? Or do you see the industry being driven more by graphic novels, reprint collections and back issue sales?
The reason for that, I believe, is distribution. We lost a lot of comic book stores in the last 20 years, and I believe that accounts for the loss in sales. It’s amazing how good sales are, with so few stores today. Add a few thousand comic book stores, and watch sales skyrocket! It’s great to see new stores opening that are embracing indie comics and graphic novels, and rejecting the old “Android Dungeon” model. These stores are far more inviting to potential new comics readers, and the more the better for everyone, even the superhero comics.





What do you miss most about your days at Marvel and Topps Comics?
Other than the people, nothing! I’m hoping I can apply whatever I learned during my 20 years at Marvel to building Papercutz into a successful comics and graphic novel publisher. I’m still working with some of the greatest writers and artists in comics. Artists like Christian Zanier, Stuart Sayger, Sho Murase, Paulo Henrique, Steven Mannion and the rest are simply awesome. I’ll put ‘em up against the best any of the big guys have to offer — they’re all that good. In fact, that’s part of what’s really exciting about editing comics — seeing such incredible new talents come along. So I’m having as much fun now, if not more, at Papercutz as I’ve had at anywhere in the past.

Salicrup (left) with "DieLite" artist Miran Kim and "Stinky Dead Kid" writer Stefan Petrucha.

It has been argued that the comics industry is starting to go back to the collector’s edition chicanery of the early ’90s, when multiple covers and editions of issues made people think they were investing in something that would be worth more later. Do you see this as being the case?
So far, we’ve only done one alternate cover: the Sarah Palin Tales From The Crypt comic book cover you called inspired. It’s possible we may do more in the future, but generally we want it to be really special and not just a sales gimmick.  You know, I doubt if most comic book store customers are even aware of what we’re publishing at Papercutz. The customers at most comic book stores are just too old. Mostly we’re focused on our titles such as Bionicle, which is based on the hit LEGO toys. I believe these are the Transformers of today’s kids. Every 10 year-old boy knows about Bionicle, but most adults, unless they have kids, are unaware of this huge property. Another good example: Geronimo Stilton. There are about 35 Geronimo Stilton books out there that have sold an average of 185,000 copies each! That outsells virtually every comic book published today. So it’s no surprise that we’re going back to press, yet again, on our Geronimo Stilton graphic novels. As you can tell, most of our sales come from booksellers, schools and libraries. Comic book stores that wish to attract kids as customers, which can be their future customers, can simply order our books, rather than support more of the same old stuff from the same old comics publishers.

These aren't your dad's "Hardy Boys".

What do you think are your most underrated stories as a writer?
Probably the A-Team and Sledge Hammer comics I wrote for Marvel. They were a lot of fun. I don’t really have time to write that much anymore, but I do enjoy writing the intro pages for Tales From The Crypt featuring The Old Witch, The Vault-Keeper and The Crypt-Keeper. Ricko “the Sicko” Parker draws ‘em, and it’s always fun to work with Rick. These days, if I come up with an idea, it’s easier to assign it to a writer. But that happens rarely, and these writers all have brilliant ideas of their own anyway. It’s great working with Stefan Petrucha, Sarah Kinney, Scott Lobdell, Greg Farshtey, Fred Van Lente, Rob Vollmar and so many others.

What is in the future for you and Papercutz?
We’ll be publishing a series of graphic novels based on one of Disney’s hottest and most beloved properties — Disney Fairies starring Tinker Bell — and I can’t tell you how excited I am about that. We’re also planning to publish another huge property in the fall of 2010, but that’s still a big secret, so I can’t say anymore about that.

What does being a trustee at the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art entail?
MoCCA was founded by Lawrence Klein, and he asked me to help out in any way I could. Since I love comics, New York City and museums, I couldn’t possibly resist since those are all things I love. Chairman/President Ellen Abramowitz and Director Karl Erickson are doing an unbelievable job of running MoCCA these days, and I still basically help in any way I can. Mainly I simply offer my advice and try to answer any questions that come up. Most importantly, a non-profit comic art museum needs as much support as possible just to survive. The annual MoCCA Art Fest is our major fund-raiser, but in these tough times we need more help than ever before. People can help by becoming a volunteer, becoming a member of the museum, or by donating money. For more information go to www.moccany.org. With so many museums in New York City, how could they not have one devoted to comic art and animation?

Jim Salicrup (center) and "Stinky Dead Kid" artist Rick Parker (right).

Have you spoken with Stan Lee lately?
December 28th was Stan’s Birthday, and I wished him a happy 87th birthday. The man is my hero and a true living legend. He’s also my biggest inspiration. Every day at Papercutz we’re doing our best to create the very best comics we possibly can. Stan always respected the intelligence of his audience, and never wrote down to them. That certainly holds true at Papercutz — comics for kids shouldn’t be watered-down versions of comics for adults. Stan created comics that were acceptable for kids, but still sophisticated enough for college students and adults. As Stan would say, Excelsior!



One of the wonderful aspects of the DVD revolution has been the unearthing of classic creepy tales from movie and television vaults worldwide. And this Halloween season is bringing us even more deliciously dark treats with the reissue of the following series, some of which have been kept locked underground for many years. A bulk of these are anthologies, the one genre that tends to be very hit or miss both in terms of content and special effects. One has to forgive some of the cheesiness that occasionally pops up in these shows; at least horror fans are a forgiving lot. We crave fresh meat, and the following series offer plenty for this Halloween.

BLOOD TIES — This Canadian series, based upon novels by Tanya Huff, actually managed to make it on to Lifetime during 2007-8, but it’s reception was short-lived. A variation on the vampire procedural drama first pioneered by Forever Knight, Blood Ties focuses on Vicki Nelson (Christina Cox), a headstrong P.I. with degraded eyesight solving supernatural cases with a dashing vampire (who moonlights as a graphic novelist) while also consorting with her former cop partner. Despite a hokey pilot, the show actually developed some teeth, along with a fun sense of humor. Nelson is a strong, savvy heroine, and its nice to see a vampire that does not always have the upper hand while handling supernatural threats and, despite centuries of accrued wisdom, still loses his cool with mere mortals.



FEAR ITSELF — After Lionsgate bought the rights to Showtime’s occasionally controversial Masters Of Horror series, they stripped out the sex, excess violence and political overtones for broadcast on NBC, and the result was a middle of the road shriek show that occasionally delivered a few serious chills. Two of the best: Larry Fessenden’s “Skin And Bones,” with Hellboy‘s Doug Jones in super scary form as a farmer turned flesh eater, and Mary Harron’s “Community,” a Twilight Zone episode-in-disguise with Brandon Routh and Shiri Appleby as a couple who discover that their exclusive new neighborhood makes the concept of a “nice place to raise your kids” seem absolutely terrifying. Routh’s connection to Superman makes this one (un)intentionally extra creepy. There are some worthwhile episodes here, but ultimately it is clear that horror anthologies work better on cable without commercial interruptions. FYI: Five of these stories never aired on NBC.

FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE SERIES –This late-night series from the late Eighties bore no resemblance to the Jason movie franchise, but it played with a fun concept — three antique store owners must retrieve the possessed objects sold by the Satanic former owner. The main cast (Chris Wiggins, singer Robey and, alternately, John D. LeMay and Stephen Monarque) had a pretty good chemistry (with Wiggins clearly the standout thespian), and many of their adventures — involving everything from a cursed mirror to a murderous scarecrow to a wheelchair with supernatural healing properties — were pretty fun. The most poignant episode was Season Three’s “Hate On Your Dial,” in which a magical car radio sends a bitter man back in time to the Fifties to reconnect with his racist father, with horrifying results. The show’s bombastic, dramatic score from Fred Mollin, who also did the music for Forever Knight, was an added plus.






THE HUNGER — Here’s another series with no connection to the movie that spawned its title. Well, that’s not entirely true. The arty cinematography, sensual escapades and metaphysical musings remained, but the vampires were rarely there. Instead, this Tony and Ridley Scott-produced series explored how lust, passion and desire, usually for the wrong things, leads people down the wrong path. Terence Stamp (General Zod himself!) hosted Season One, while David Bowie hosted Season Two, and many episodes were written by established genre authors like Graham Masterton, Karl Edward Wagner and Poppy Z. Brite. Like Tales From The Crypt, The Hunger featured many stars and rising stars — check out the twisted, supernatural “Menage A Trois” with Daniel Craig, Lena Headey and Karen Black — in strange stories. One of the most beguiling is “The Secret Shih-Tan,” with Jason Scott Lee as a master chef who is cajoled into preparing a most distressing dish. Not all of the episodes clicked, but many were worthwhile, and Stamp’s introductions in Season One were devious fun. (Season Two is next for me to watch.) Many argue that The Hunger was for people who liked softcore porn because there were always obligatory nude scenes in every episode; frankly, not all of them were sexy, and purposely so.

MASTERS OF HORROR (on Blu-ray) — Mick Garris’ ominous Showtime series assembled many well-known genre directors (including Dario Argento, Don Coscarelli, John Carpenter and John Landis, among many others) and allowed them to create hour-long short films with the quality of full-length features. With creative freedom and without networking censoring — the lone exception being the banning of Takashi Miike’s squirm-inducing Imprint, which I suspect may have been a marketing ploy since most of its violence and nastiness is off-camera — the veteran filmmakers got to let loose all sorts of ghouls, demons and maniacs on the small screen. There were deranged serial killers, a deformed and sexually predatory woman, patriotic zombies and even a malicious film that drove anyone who viewed it to homicidal madness. Part of what made this show stand out was the way it tackled hot button topics like gun control, abortion and animal rights, most of which popped up in Season Two. One gripe: Season One has been released on four separate Blu-rays, which makes collecting the series expensive. Amazon has a great deal on them right now.

TALES FROM THE DARKSIDE — George Romero’s seminal late-night series from the Eighties has been out-of-print on video and never on DVD…until now. This low budget compendium of fear fare was not overtly scary but usually served up its tales of retribution with a wicked sense of humor, continuing the EC Comics vibe that Romero excelled at with Creepshow. While the budgetary limitations occasionally stuck out, the show did generate some classic tales, including “Monsters In My Room,” with a young Seth Green as a kid who is afraid of the creatures in his midst but whose angry stepfather refuses to believe in, and “The Last Car,” a ghostly tale on a night train free of blood but not of fear. Both have great twist endings. It’s great to see this series available to the masses once again.

Jonesing for classic Fifties horror comic books? You know, the ones where people rise from the dead to torment those who killed them or made their lives hell, where bad people get their just desserts and where all manner of gruesome and supernatural atrocity is splashed across the pages in glorious color? Karswell, the creator of the fantastic blog The Horrors Of It All (and the frontman for “devil rockers” Sons of Black Mass) is the man to give you what you crave. From his massive collection (and the occasional contributions of other posters) he has conjured an online repository of vintage comic fear fare where individual stories from long out-of-print issues are posted in high resolution, page by page. For a fan of EC, Atlas and other Silver Age-era comic companies, it is pure heaven (and hell), particularly because many of these titles can cost $100 or far more on the market.

Karswell (above) and the Crypt Keeper (below). Notice a possible family resemblance?

Attention Deficit Delirium caught up with Karswell to chat with him about his site, love for horror and thoughts on comics that were once considered reading material for delinquents — and inspired censorship and the creation of the Comics Code Authority — but now fetch top dollar on the collectors’ market.

When did your obsession with vintage horror comics start? What attracted you to them originally?
For as long as I can remember I’ve been obsessed with horror. From a very young age in the early Seventies I had the monster model kits, toys, spooky books and records. I collected Famous Monsters of Filmland and constantly scoured the TV Guide for when classics like King Kong and Creature from the Black Lagoon were airing. I loved ghost stories, and television in the early Seventies was awesome for it — Night Gallery, Kolchak, etcetera. I worshiped Alice Cooper as much as Vincent Price — still do, in fact. I was definitely the creepy kid in class, and every day was Halloween for me. But it was sometime in the late Seventies when I was with my grandmother at an antique store in rural Missouri that I found some coverless comics in an old box. I was already fairly obsessed with some of the hero comic books, so to find mags that contained full blown illustrated horror stories and no super powers totally blew my mind.

From "Journey Into Unknown Worlds" #15, February 1953.

Did you collect these comics as a kid or when you became an adult? Have you inherited a lot of the stash you are reprinting online?
I actually got into hardcore Pre-Code collecting later as an adult — when I could actually afford these comics — but through my entire life I’ve always sought out the affordable Atlas and Prize Fifties reprints from the Marvel and DC Silver Age era, as well as the black and white Eerie Pub stuff which re-printed and sometimes “re-made” a lot of the other oddball 50′s publishers like Superior. Anything I could get my hands on, reading was my thing. Still is. And I’ve never inherited any comics. That’s like the dream though for every fanboy, isn’t it? Some crazy old Uncle you never knew leaving you a pile of Harvey horrors or Batmans in his attic. You’re never too old to keep wishing for that miracle.

What is your favorite illustrated horror story ever and why?
Jeez, I get asked this at least twice a week from readers who email me. I really have no clue. I have favorite illustrators like [Alex] Toth or [Bill] Everett, and of course everybody that worked at EC were brilliant. I guess my readers will probably find this shocking since I do not post EC stories, but if I had to pick an “all-time fave” story it would probably come from EC, and probably be one by Jack Davis or Johnny Craig. Is that a good enough answer?

How about this — Who is a cooler EC icon for you: The Vault Keeper, The Crypt Keeper or the Old Witch?
Crypt Keeper.

What do you think of a lot of the late Sixties and Seventies horror titles from DC and Marvel?
I love Silver Age horror, that’s the stuff I mostly grew up on. It was cool when Marvel would mix issues of say Chamber of Darkness with new stuff and older pre-Code reprints. I finally just completed an entire run of DC’s Witching Hour. That stuff is loads of fun.

Karswell rocking out in Sons of Black Mass, a self-proclaimed "heavy hybrid mix of punk/metal/rock that we have christened "Devil Rock". Horns up!

How do you feel a lot of these stories have influenced the horror film genre in the last 50 years?
Well, aside from Creepshow and maybe a handful of others — most notably from England’s Amicus Studios in the Sixties and Seventies — I’d say not hardly at all. Which is surprising, because instead of endless cliche and re-makes, there’s a treasure trove of tremendous ideas sitting in old pre-Code books just waiting to be exploited. And it doesn’t have to be an omnibus film to harken the days of Pre-Code, just make something inspiring with a good ending for once! Christ, some of those one page quickies in Ace Comics have better character development within just six panels than an entire franchise of Hollywood hits containing multiple sequels. This topic comes up [on my site] a lot in the comments, and I love when our occasional deep threads or themes connect comics with film, or even music and TV. I used to concoct contests around it too, with “match a song to this story” or “Casting Call,” where you actually cast the film version of the days post with famous names. I should start doing that stuff again. I suddenly have no idea why I stopped.

What copyright issues have you faced in placing these stories online?
Not a single one. I have heard stories of the occasional scan poster getting an angry email from someone though, and it’s the main reason why I steer clear of EC stories since those great issues in particular seem to have never gone out of print. But if anyone ever has a rights problem with something I post just email me with proof, and I’ll take it down immediately. I sometimes wonder how I’d react if Stan Lee personally asked me to ixnay on the Atlas stuff. On one hand it would suck to have to remove Atlas horror from THOIA, but on the other hand — whoa, an email from Stan Lee!

The cover of Spellbound #15, June 1953.

What do you think of the recently resurrected and more modern Tales From The Crypt comic?
I’ve only seen the very first issue, and I wish it all the best. That’s a lame answer isn’t it? I have to be honest and say I didn’t give it much of a chance. After all, with a name like Tales from the Crypt you have some very big shoes (and coffins) to fill! What I did with #1 is the same thing I do with any new comic book I’m checking out on the stands — the quick flip-through test. Something has to really jump out at me and grab me by the throat to get me excited or interested enough in delving deeper. Especially at today’s prices! More specifically, it’s about the artwork. Since I’m more in tune with Golden and Silver age styles and vibe I was probably turned off by something as simple as a bevel / emboss photoshop filter on a story title. I don’t really remember. Do you recommend I give it another shot? Cuz I will.

Check out The Horrors Of It All for an amazing repository of the creepiest horror comics from the Golden Age.

I confess that I’m not a big fan of blogs. So why am I writing one? Firstly, New Media has become king, and I know it’s imperative to maintain an online presence and keep people up to date with what I’m doing. Secondly, I feel like I’m part of a new (wired) generation, and I’ve got something to say.

When I began my entertainment journalism career back in 1995, the Internet had scarcely made an impact on Old Media. (For writers, that means magazines, newspapers and books). However my fortunes increased considerably between 1998 and 2002, when I wrote for online outlets as diverse as MTV, Launch (now Yahoo! Music) and Amazon. But after the Internet bubble popped and many sites cut back on freelance work, I dove more deeply into popular print media like the New York Times, American Way, Playboy, Giant and Request (R.I.P.), and my career continued to blossom thanks to the solid portfolio I had built up on the World Wide Web.

Now in 2009 the Internet is once again playing a vital role in my career, with my online presence swelling again even as I steadfastly contribute to print magazines. While I believe that the oversaturated blogosphere is generally no substitute for real journalism, and that a majority of blogs are bogus or filled with unfocused ramblings, there are some that have made an impact and provide rich ideas and much needed alternate viewpoints. (And, in the case of one, reprints full color pages of long-lost Fifties horror comics!)

Which leads me to why I’m creating this blog. There are often stories and ideas that I cannot write about or express through mainstream media outlets, for whatever reason. Therefore I plan to use this space to spotlight things that do not always get mainstream attention. Or if they do, I’d like to offer a different take on them.

My personal tastes span a vast terrain – I absorb everything from Japanese monster movies to vintage heavy metal to Broadway musicals to late-night television – hence the title of my blog. I plan to use this space to explore as much media as possible, whether through an essay, short interview, review or other format. While we have become a pop culture nation, there are still plenty of undiscovered jewels to be uncovered in all art forms. There are also many fascinating topics that need to be addressed.

Writing has always been my passion. And I have always prided myself on in-depth interviews and exposing people to new ideas. I plan to bring more of them to light here.