Mansion of Evil

by Joseph J. Millard

This is the first graphic novel ever published. It is the complete 1950 edition.

What started for Beth as merely a reception at the penthouse of the famous Artist Maxwell Haimes proved to be the first step into an abyss of terror.
The second step was her entrance into the Mansion of Evil itself, wicked and foreboding, inhabited by those whose eccentricities bordered on madness.

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Joseph John Millard, American author.

Reviews

[Edwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very early graphic novel from 1950, Fawcett Gold Medal 129, declares “A fascinating mystery, told in a new picture-book medium” on the back cover. It’s essentially a 195 page color comic book printed in typical paperback size. The plot is interesting enough telling the tale of a psychotic and highly regarded artist who kidnaps a young woman that happens to look exactly like his dead wife - who he accidentally murdered. A lot of padding here, a slew of unlikely coincidences that only serve to drag out the story, word balloons that needlessly state what is evident from the pictures, etc. The prose is pretty clunky - juvenile Golden Age comic book stuff with plenty of anachronisms and old slang. It’s an interesting enough oddity, but not really worth seeking out.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mansion of Evil (orig. publ. date Nov. 6, 1950) (gold medal # 129) gained fame as the very first graphic novel, essentially a book-length comic book about crime fiction. The rough plot is that one Beth Halliday, who works at an art gallery, is engaged to crack reporter Larry Brennan. Artist Maxwell Haines though, when preparing his exhibit, falls head over heels for the sexiness of Beth, thinking perhaps that she is his former wife Laura, and tricks her into coming to his — drumroll please- mansion of evil to pose for him. Haines has the pencil mustache of Rhett Butler and is thoroughly charming, at least at first, and apparently, even against her better judgment, can get Beth to do almost anything.

But when she gets there she knows that it is a lonely gloomy spot with big nasty gates – not exactly a stairway to heaven – In fact, as they approach, she is told that she is the first outside to ever see this place or where it is located. “In an ecstasy of sheer terror, Beth is thrust out into the steel grasp of waiting hands! She looks into the faces of vast evil!” She awakens in a bedroom surrounded by iron bars as Haimes and his servants plot her death.

Meanwhile, we get some background on who Laura really was as Brennan the reporter plays detective. Beth is the spitting image of Laura Haimes. She resembles her to a T.

Beth awakens, knowing that they are planning to murder her because she resembles Laura. She declares that she will fight the murdering fiends to her last breath. And Beth fights back, slamming the housekeeper with what appears to be a handy mallet.

Slowly but surely Beth (who Haimes thinks is kind of like Laura) figures out what is going on as Haimes makes one confession after another.

The dialogue is so corny sometimes that it actually works. Haimes tells Beth that he has to destroy her loveliness so she could be his forever. She tells him though that he is a loathsome reptile and how dare he talk of love and that she will destroy him somehow if she lives long enough.

All in all, it is a corny over-the-top exciting adventure of insanity and murderous intentions and the bold intrepid reporter coming to the rescue of the poor damsel being held in an evil palace by a mad genius criminal. This is not to be missed!

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Published in 1950, Mansion of Evil was the first graphic novel in color, preceded earlier that year by It Rhymes with Lust by Drake Waller (Arnold Drake, Leslie Waller)

This would actually be a four star graphic novel if it weren't for the cliché dialogue and plot devices--there is actually a painting of a dead woman named Laura. The book has the melodrama of a silent movie, the kind where the villain ties the heroine to the railroad tracks.

But still an enjoyable read. Get your copy here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/56839396/Ma...

[Kyle Vernier · Rating 3 out of 5]

This extremely early example of a graphic novel, meant for adult readers, is kind of corny by today’s standards. When you think of it in terms of its time, when b-noir films were prevalent, it actually fits right in. It is compelling enough to keep the pages turning and at just a few panels per page it flys by. I wish more graphic novels were in this honestly. It tells a story of good length with enough room to put in twists and turns, there is room for character development, it works really well.

[Egghead · Rating 3 out of 5]

When agreeing to
be artist's model, confirm
he's not a wacko.