Adventures into the Unknown: The Pre-Code Horror Anthology Vol. 1 Review: Repetitive by Nature

Ghosts, vampires, curses and damsels in distress. “Adventures into the Unknown: The Pre-Code Horror Anthology Issues 1-4” takes you back to the 40s with comics featuring tales of terror and the macabre. But is this anthology worth taking gearing up that time machine for?

Sort of.

This anthology collects the first four issues of the popular 40s popular comic series “Adventures into the Unknown” which feature your classic 40s horror stories of supernatural beasts wreaking havoc with a damsel in distress in the middle. That’s where this anthology will try the patience of 2012 readers. Almost all of these comics follow the same format: introduce supernatural element, have it set in modern-day (1940s), have the supernatural baddie go after the main female lead, have the main female lead struggle for her life and then have her get saved by her male lover.

It’s not that the stories are poorly written, it’s just that it’s gets boring reading what’s essentially the same story over again after a while.

Good thing the two page comics and the one page short stories add some variety. These
stories focus more on haunted locales and spooky legends. These are well worth the time and effort to read and more than make up for the sameness of most comics.

The artwork is, obviously, 1940s comic horror style art. If you ever wanted to know what a horror comic in the 40s looked like, here you. The monsters may look basic and tame to today’s standards, but back then these were pretty scary monsters. All you need to do is put yourself in the mindset of a child growing in that era and you’ll think these guys are the coolest things you’ve ever seen.

One good thing this collection does is that it kept all the old mail-in advertisements. It gives it that old 1940s comic feel of day when you can fill out a form for a watch, piano lessons by mail or a movie projector. Makes you feel like a child of the 40s.

“Adventures into the Unknown: The Pre-Code Horror Anthology Issues 1-4” is a good look into what horror comics were like in the 40s. Just don’t read these stories all in one sitting or else you will be annoyed by how alike every story is. The inclusion of the mail in advertisements gives it a nice touch and will make anyone who is interested in classic horror want to seek this out.