I would have sworn this art, found in one of DC's "mystery" titles, was from one of the many Filipino artists who put new life into US comics in the 1970s. It is signed, however, by one William Payne, who, according to the Lambiek site DID do work on these titles...but was Canadian!
2 comments:
That's wild, especially that manic last page! Even the lettering is all askew!
A cursory check through the internet showed stuff by William Payne in French, which might suggest he was from majority Franco-phone Quebec. The examples of his comic strip work also feature a different art style than this, making me think that he had maybe grabbed a bunch of American comics as guides for entering the Anglo-phone comic book market. You see the Philippino school, but I also see Gene Colan, Frank Robbins, Pat Boyette & others peaking out. It's certainly a heady, feverish mix!
This tale reminded me of 'The Night People' by the late great Steve Ditko. Both have a similar plot (thief tries to rob a department store, mannequins drink the thief's blood) This tale has a different ending but is just as effective as Ditko's tale was.
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