Number 626


This song's a killer!


"Record of Doom" from DC's Tales of the Unexpected #2, 1956, reminds me of the backwards masking scandal of a couple decades ago. You remember when recording artists were accused of sending hidden messages in their songs, backwards, subconsciously influencing their listeners. I couldn't understand what they were saying consciously, much less subconsciously.

The story is drawn by Bill Ely, a longtime comic book journeyman who came into the industry in the 1930s. For DC Comics he later drew Rip Hunter, Time Master.

The suicide theme of the story seems morbid for a Comics Code-approved story, especially so soon after the Code was adopted. (However, in the pre-Code days the guilty party would have done his own killing.) Also, the cops in this story are pretty dumb. They don't notice until several people have taken the plunge that the suicide notes are all in the same comic book lettering. It makes me think of Jack Webb's Dragnet. In my head I replaced the comic book cops with Frank Smith and Joe Friday. Panel 5 and 6, page 5:. "Look at this letter "O", Frank. Notice the break in it on every single note?" "What are you getting at, Joe?" "They were all written by one man."

Dramatic Dragnet theme music rises: DOMM-DA-DOMM DOMM!