Shandor, Demon Stalker

[Steve]

Ade's upcoming interview with Dez Skinn (good luck with that, K.C.) has reminded me of something else I've been meaning to do for some time - write something about the only supporting character from a Hammer film who went on to get his own regular comic strip; Father Shandor.

The good Father's first appearance in comics came in December 1976 when House of Hammer magazine printed their adaptation of Dracula, Prince of Darkness. He didn't actually appear until the end of chapter two and the script, by Donne Avenell ('Axa'), is just OK but picks up noticeably when Shandor enters the action for the final act. The most impressive thing is definitely the artwork by John Bolton. As was generally the case with these things, Bolton modelled the character closely on the actor who'd played the part originally - in this case, Andrew Keir.

And that appeared to be that. Next issue it was business as usual in HoH and the regular "illustrated adaptation of a Hammer Horror Classic" spot was filled by Chris Lowder's take on Twins of Evil. In the following issue though, No.8 (March-April 1977), Shandor had not only relegated the first part of that month's Hammer Classic, The Quatermass Experiment, to page 29 but was featured on the cover as well (Quatermass would have to wait until the next issue). A piece on the editorial page explained all;
"In Dracula, Prince of Darkness Hammer introduced us to the unique vampire-slaying hero, Father Shandor... We were so knocked out by the unusual concept of a rifle-toting, horse-riding, vampire-slaying priest, that we felt we just had to develop the character further. So, Christopher Wicking (of Hammer Films) and editor Dez Skinn put their heads together and came out with Shandor, Demon Stalker."
HoH had always been something of a balancing act between text articles and comic strips. Apart from the regular film adaptations, most issues had a three or four page back up strip, 'Helsing's Terror Tales', but the emphasis was still largely on reviews, film news, and photo features. The introduction of 'Shandor, Demon Stalker' seems to have been a step towards taking House of Hammer in a more comic-based direction.
It wasn't an entirely new idea. In the first three issues of HoH, Dez Skinn had experimented with a strip featuring Hammer's Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter in original adventures (the film itself wouldn't get a full adaptation until issue 20, by which time House of Hammer had changed it's name to Hammer's House of Horror, and in fact Captain Kronos would be one of the last Hammer films to get the comic strip treatment). However Kronos had only ever been support to that month's main feature. Shandor was being given top billing.
John Bolton was wisely kept on as artist but Steve Moore (AKA 'Pedro Henry' - Sounds, Warrior, 2000AD) was brought in to write scripts based on plots written by himself and Dez Skinn.
Shandor's first original adventure, 'Spawn from Hell's Pit', is a simple affair plot-wise but Moore's writing was much more engaging than Avenell's rather pedestrian walk-through of Dracula, P.O.D. Here Father Shandor really comes alive on the printed page for the first time.
We find him in the library of his Transylvanian monastery studying forbidden books to aid him in his ongoing battle against the forces of darkness. His monastic contemplation is broken by the discovery of a missing volume, the Grimorium Verum, and the sinister smell of brimstone from the room of Brother Kaspar. Kaspar it seems has fallen away from the true path and is now consorting with demons who may not be all that they appear (i.e. sexy semi-naked ladies).

Shandor does some casting out but when the Abbot gets to hear about the goings on he's not best pleased. Armed with the Talisman of Megistus, the Sword of Archimelsus, and a magical tome "so hideous that it has no name", Shandor journeys to the very edge of Hell itself to do demonic battle. But it's not just the demon Angorfarax who ends up cast out. The Abbot's had enough of Shandor's unorthodox methods - "You've fouled the name of this monastery with your black dabblings!" and our hero priest is condemned to wander the earth, 'cursed by both Devil and Church', battling whatever evil may cross his path.
"We've some really great new Shandor stories in the pipeline and eagerly look forward to your reaction..." the issue's editorial piece concluded. And judging from letters printed in 'Post Mortem', HoH's letters page, reader response seems to have been generally very favourable. However, it was almost a year before Shandor was to reappear...

[andydecker]

Great entry, steve! Thanks!

I only read about HoH, but Bolton alone is enough reason to seek this out.

Shandor sure is an interesting character. I don´t like D:PoD much, but the angry monk was always fun. Intimidating, self-righteous, class-minded, a real baptize or die type. One of the most interesting thing about Hammer´s early Draculas is how they took pieces from the novel and transformed them. Not Shandor, I mean the Renfield part. But I digress.

Didn´t they reprint a lot of the HoH material later in book form?

I would have liked to see the comic adaption of Twins of Evil I bet they emphasized the witch-hunt and cut out the heaving bosoms, as this was a child´s comic at the time.

[Johnlprobert]

I would have liked to see the comic adaption of Twins of Evil I bet they emphasized the witch-hunt and cut out the heaving bosoms, as this was a child´s comic at the time.

Sorry to disappoint (?) you Andy, but I remember that strip being full of heaving bosoms, low cut cleavages, and only the barest (sorry) of discretion in that bedroom crucifix scene (I think the nudity was silhouetted a bit).

Was HoH a kid's mag by the way? I remember one of Van Helsing's terror tales, the one about the princess who turns into a dragon, had nudity in it.

[killercrab]

Dracula Prince Of Darkness was only John Bolton's second strip for HOH ( he produced the Van Helsing's Tale :Curse of the Leopard Men in #4). This short strip was originally presented to Dez Skinn in pencil before John was told it had to be inked !). No such mistake second time around when DPOD's art hit Dez's desk , arguably the best adaption in the magazines run with heady competition from John himself ( Curse of the werewolf #10) and from Brian Lewis excellent Quatermass Experiment , The Reptile and Legend of Seven Golden Vampires strips. The Brown and Watson annuals were being produced upstairs at the Wardour address and John was one of their star artists. It didn't take long for John to be working downstairs too!

Incidently the demon stalking priest's name was misspelled in magazine - in the film it was Father Sandor. Thanks Steve for an excellent post looking forward to what comes next.

ade


Was HoH a kid's mag by the way? I remember one of Van Helsing's terror tales, the one about the princess who turns into a dragon, had nudity in it. >>

Yes in the Brian Lewis drawn Lair of the Dragon ! Lewis fans should also look out for Vampirella #82 which contains the Lewis's Prey of the Wolf - a western horror strip with nudity. I'm guessing that Warren saw Brian's work in HOH!

[bushwick]

Don't think HoH was ever a kid's mag as such. Some of the strips were quite grim and violent (remember a scary one drawn by the great Brian Lewis, about a guy haunted by nightmares).

I guess it was that 'grey area' you used to get in UK mags and comics...not specifically 'mature' but not really kid's stuff either (in my eyes early 2000AD fits this bill too).

The short lived HoH relaunch was really good, when Skinn brought it out alongside Warrior. Great mags.

[andydecker]

Sorry to disappoint (?) you Andy, but I remember that strip being full of heaving bosoms, low cut cleavages, and only the barest (sorry) of discretion in that bedroom crucifix scene (I think the nudity was silhouetted a bit).

I am shocked! Disappointed and shocked!

Lol, not really. I just assumed that in the UK newsstand comics at the time were rather conservativ and playing it safe. I read somewhere (2000AD I think) that comics had sometimes hard times because of violence and stuff.

[Steve]

Jun 30, 2009 17:21:41 GMT andydecker said:

I just assumed that in the UK newsstand comics at the time were rather conservativ and playing it safe. I read somewhere (2000AD I think) that comics had sometimes hard times because of violence and stuff.

I don't know how historically accurate this is but my very subjective memory, as someone who was an avid reader of comics in the '70s, is that everything changed following the so-called Action 'ban'. The reaction of certain sections of the media and the 'moral majority' (as perhaps best exemplified by Mary Whitehouse) may have been conservative but British comics, particularly those published by IPC, were displaying a refreshingly anarchic spirit at the time.
As far as HoH goes, I think being a magazine rather than a weekly comic it could get away with being more 'adult' themed. At least when it came to depictions of violence if not sexual content (which did tend to be toned down a bit).
Here, for anyone who may have missed it, is a selection of heaving cleavage and gratuitous violence from 'Twins of Evil'.

_{Art by Blas Gallego}

More so than the comic strips though, it's some of the stills used to accompany film reviews in HoH that I remember having a particularly high gore content. Even though it seems to have been acknowledged that a lot of their audience were 'younger readers', a good percentage of the films they featured were 'X' certificate, and not just the campy Hammer stuff.

[Johnlprobert]

More so than the comic strips though, it's some of the stills used to accompany film reviews in HoH that I remember having a particularly high gore content. Even though it seems to have been acknowledged that a lot of their audience were 'younger readers', a good percentage of the films they featured were 'X' certificate, and not just the campy Hammer stuff.

Also, HoH kind of existed in a 'horror film limbo'. To be fair Hammer & Amicus had just died, but Halloween, Dawn of the Dead et al were yet to come out and the US horror renaissance of the late 70s and early 80s was yet to begin. Which meant that HoH tended to review and feature the obscure and bizarre stuff that came out during its short run - stuff like Larry Yust's Homebodies. Cathy's Curse (the still from that scared the shit out of me), The Child, Oliver Stone's Seizure (another scary picture) and Satan's Slave (with still of Martin Potter's skewered eyeball). I remember a reader's letter saying 'Why don't you cover Pete Walker?' who I'd never heard of. They never did. Maybe Tony Crawley was on better terms with Norman J Warren

[franklinmarsh]

Jul 1, 2009 6:47:13 GMT Johnlprobert said:

Also, HoH kind of existed in a 'horror film limbo'. To be fair Hammer & Amicus had just died, but Halloween, Dawn of the Dead et al were yet to come out and the US horror renaissance of the late 70s and early 80s was yet to begin. Which meant that HoH tended to review and feature the obscure and bizarre stuff that came out during its short run - stuff like Larry Yust's Homebodies. Cathy's Curse (the still from that scared the shit out of me), The Child, Oliver Stone's Seizure (another scary picture) and Satan's Slave (with still of Martin Potter's skewered eyeball). I remember a reader's letter saying 'Why don't you cover Pete Walker?' who I'd never heard of. They never did. Maybe Tony Crawley was on better terms with Norman J Warren

Hee! Great stuff chaps. My HoH's are long gone - for some reason their contemporary reviews of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (with young bloke being made up as Grandpa pics) and the sounds absolutely brilliant but isn't really Blue Sunshine stuck in the mind.

[killercrab]

Even though it seems to have been acknowledged that a lot of their audience were 'younger readers', a good percentage of the films they featured were 'X' certificate, and not just the campy Hammer stuff. >>

I distinctly remember finding issues 1,2,4 and 6 and sneaking them into the house! They definitely felt adult to me and I wasn't sure I should of bought them. I still remember avidly pouring over them that sunday afternoon. The photos made me uneasy but the familiar names on the strips massaged the fear. I can't think of another magazine that changed my life like HOH did.

A

[The Lurker In The Shadows]

Jun 30, 2009 11:46:46 GMT Johnlprobert said:

Sorry to disappoint (?) you Andy, but I remember that strip being full of heaving bosoms, low cut cleavages, and only the barest (sorry) of discretion in that bedroom crucifix scene (I think the nudity was silhouetted a bit).

Yep, the bare boobs were in silhouette, though it was still a bit of a surprise to spot them when this strip, as well as the adaptation of the original Hammer Dracula film, were reprinted, with terrible blocks of blue, pink and yellow colouring, in a kids' annual, "Dracula's Spinechillers Annual", which WAS for kids.

[vaughan]

My memories of these days were thus:

Monster Mag was adults only, and you had to find a newsagent who didn't care - which was harder to do back then. From issue 3 onward it had an "ADULTS ONLY" stripe across the title on the front cover.

HOH you could get anywhere, and they sold to kids and adults alike. It was much more tongue-in-cheek in its outlook.

While I recall HOH from those days, I've never felt compelled to collect them again, while Monster Mag is still a huge favorite.

[killercrab]

HOH you could get anywhere, and they sold to kids and adults alike. It was much more tongue-in-cheek in its outlook. >>

In what respect? Contrast it with the American genre magazines ( which had funny captions) - HOH was a pretty serious contender and I think the reason of it's success was partly the way it took horror seriously. The strips ( especially the Van Helsing Terror Tales) were near the knuckle visually in comparison to anything else on the stands. Of course Monster mag included big fold out gory posters - but that has never been a sign of maturity - lol

A

[vaughan]

Sadly I don't have a single copy here for me to reference - this is my recollection only. I guess I could maybe find a couple copies online somewhere......

My comment was mostly about distribution, and the ability to purchase them. Reading Monster Mag today is quite interesting, in that it was poorly edited, and it was largely full of press releases mascarading as reviews (or so it seems to me). Whether one considers that "adult" or not is mute really - it was certainly of its time.

However, it seems to me it was aimed at an adult audience. This is supported by the "adults only" banner, and the fact that several stores wouldn't sell a youthful me a copy. I never had that problem with HOH.

And well, Monster Mag even had its second issue banned from the UK..... I never took HOH very seriously to be honest - maybe that's why I've never felt compelled to collect them. Which is not to say it isn't good, I just felt Monster Mag was far superior, and I hold it in higher regard, personally.

[andydecker]

Nice covers, typical of their time. Very busy. Found a gallery. They even did Vampire Circus? I have a deep affection for this one. It´s pacing is terrible and the story doesn´t make any sense, but what a mean streak ;D

Imagine my surprise when I saw that Monster Mag had a german edition in 1974. I never knew. Maybe because it was seized by the authorities because of the pictures of "vile and gruesome atrocities" They seized 85000 copies of the No.1-4 and the publisher had to pay a fine. The ones which were already in circulation fetch high prices today.

The more things change ...