Eerie Comics #1, 1947

What terrors lurk behind...


Yes friends, it is the least imaginatively named horror comics story ever: THE EYES OF THE TIGER. It has tigers.

Our story begins on a typical rainy horror comics afternoon. Here, we are introduced to our strapping elderly protagonist, Doctor Manton.


It seems that Doc Manton has been called to check the health of a particularly "queer bird." One obsessed with...

CATS!

A shocking revelation to be found in a story called The Eyes of the Tiger, I'm sure.

But we find that not all is happy in the manor of the eccentric millionaire who we will call Kenny Cattler (even though his name is Carl). Doctor Manton refuses to write Kenny off as an acceptable insurance risk. It seems that Kenny has a bad heart (this is a very, very common theme in horror comics). But that doesn't sit too well with Kenny. Though he has no family, he needs that insurance policy. It has to go to...

CATS!

And so Kenny sends Flame, his pet tiger who who claims has never tasted meat after the poor, elderly Doctor Manton. And since this is a horror comic, Manton promptly faints.


My hero.

Kenny celebrates his apparent victory by... Well, I don't know. It's not really a victory at all. But he does gloat in an evilish fashion, thus assuring us that he will most certainly survive the tale.

But things go awry in the dead of night as Flame apparently tastes blood that oozed from nowhere out of Kenny's foot. And this turns him from a harmless pussycat into a stone cold killer.


A chase ensues, as Kenny fires off shot after shot. He kills the cat. And yet...

The cat continues to pursue him!


How utterly eerie. Kenny flees from the manor and comes face to face with...

Did I mention that Kenny keeps a stuffed tiger on his lawn? I thought for sure I did...

Anyway, Doctor Manton awakens after a blissful night sleep and wonders...

What would cause a man to flee from a cat that was already dead?


The answer of course is... Well... I'm not sure. These stories usually have some contrite ending, but I'm not seeing it here.

Don't try to domesticate tigers? Don't send tigers after elderly doctors? Patience is its own reward? Hell if I know.

Stay tuned next time for more...

EERIE COMICS!