''Death Rattle'' was an American black-and-white horror anthology

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

series published in three volumes by

Kitchen Sink Press Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. ''Death Rattle'' is not related to the Australian one-shot comic ''Death Rattle'', published by Gredown in . Starting out as an

underground comix Underground comix are small press or self-published comic books that are often socially relevant or satirical in nature. They differ from mainstream comics in depicting content forbidden to mainstream publications by the Comics Code Authority, ...

homage to classic horror comics like ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

'',Sabin, Roger (1996). "Going underground". ''Comics, Comix & Graphic Novels: A History Of Comic Art''. London, United Kingdom: Phaidon Press. pp. 92; 94–95; 103–107; 110; 111; 116; 119; 124–126; 128. . ''Death Rattle'' did not fall under the purview of the

Comics Code The Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA allowed the comic publishers to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. T ...

, allowing the title to feature stronger content — such as profanity, nudity, and graphic violence — than other comparable horror titles.Fox, M. Steven
"Death Rattle, Volume 1"
ComixJoint. Accessed Oct. 23, 2016.

Publication history

''Death Rattle'' volume 1 was published from June 1972–June 1973 under the

Krupp Comic Works Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcov ...

imprint, putting out three issues in all. Twelve years later, ''Death Rattle'' was revived for volume 2, publishing 18 issues between October 1985–October 1988 under the Kitchen Sink Comix imprint. The first five issues were in full color, but for issue #6 onwards the title reverted to black-and-white. ''Death Rattle'' volume 3 ran five issues from Dec. 1995–June 1996, again under the Kitchen Sink Comix imprint.

''Death Rattle'' Vol. 1

The early 1970s saw a number of underground publishers putting out horror comics, from the San Francisco Comic Book Company's ''Bogeyman'';

Rip Off Press Rip Off Press Corporation, Inc. is a comic book mail order retailer and Distribution (business), distributor, better known as the former publisher of adult-themed series like ''The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers'' and ''Rip Off Comix'', as well as ...

' ''Skull'' and ''Up From the Deep'';

Richard Corben Richard Corben (October 1, 1940December 2, 2020) was an American illustrator and comic book artist best known for his comics featured in '' Heavy Metal'' magazine, especially the ''Den'' series which was featured in the magazine's first film ad ...

's ''Fantagor''; the

Print Mint The Print Mint, Inc. was a major publisher and distributor of underground comix based in the San Francisco Bay Area during the genre's late 1960s-early 1970s heyday. Starting as a retailer of psychedelic posters, the Print Mint soon evolved into ...

's ''Insect Fear'' and ''Deviant Slice''; Shroud's ''Gory Stories''; and

Last Gasp Last Gasp or The Last Gasp may refer to * Last Gasp (publisher) * ''Last Gasp'' (''Inside No. 9''), a TV episode * ''The Last Gasp Impaled is a death metal band from Oakland, California. The band's name is a backronym, standing for "Immoral M ...

's ''Two Fisted Zombies''. Kitchen Sink Press joined the wave with ''Death Rattle''. The first volume of ''Death Rattle'' featured the work of Tim Boxell as well as contributions from a number of other creators, including

, Peter Poplaski, John M. Pound,

Mike Vosburg Mike Vosburg (born July 23, 1947) is an American comic book artist primarily known for his work on the ''Tales from the Crypt (TV series), Tales from the Crypt'' TV series. Biography Mike Vosburg's comics career began in the 1960s, when as a 15- ...

, and

Tom Veitch Tom Veitch (September 26, 1941 – February 14, 2022) was an American writer, known for his work in the comic book industry. He was also a novelist and a poet. He was the brother of comics writer and artist Rick Veitch. Early life Veitch was ...

''Death Rattle'' Vol. 2

''Death Rattle'' volume 2 was notable for being one of the few horror titles published during the 1980s, rivaled only by

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

' ''

Swamp Thing The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental List of swamp monsters, creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or mo ...

'' and

FantaCo Enterprises FantaCo Enterprises was an American comic book store and publishing company founded and created by Thomas Skulan and based in Albany, New York. As a publisher, FantaCo was known for its idiosyncratic line-up of mostly black-and-white titles, inc ...

's ''Gore Shriek''. The second volume of ''Death Rattle'' was lead-edited by Dave Schreiner; the series is most notable for

Jaxon Jaxon may refer to: *Jaxon (name), given name and surname (including a list of people with the name) *Jaxon (cartoonist), American cartoonist, illustrator, historian, and writer *Jaxon (musician) (David Jackson, born 1947), English progressive ro ...

's 11-part, 126-page "Bulto… The Cosmic Slug", about a space creature's effect on the people of the ancient Southwest.

Rand Holmes Randolph Holton Holmes (February 22, 1942 – March 15, 2002) was a Canadian artist and illustrator probably best known for his work in underground comix. His work was of a higher level of quality than was seen elsewhere in the field, and is cons ...

did many of the covers. Mark Schultz's story "Xenozoic!", published in ''Death Rattle'' #8 (Dec. 1986), launched its own title, ''

Xenozoic Tales ''Xenozoic Tales'' is an alternative comic book by Mark Schultz set in a post-apocalyptic future. Originally published by Kitchen Sink Press, the series began in 1986 with the story "Xenozoic!" which was included in the horror comics anthology ...

'', shortly thereafter. This book was soon to be labeled one of the best books of all time in the year 2009. It became a new york best seller and became extremely popular from there. Other notable contributors to the second volume of ''Death Rattle'' were Charles Burns, Charles Dallas,

Will Eisner William Erwin Eisner (March 6, 1917 – January 3, 2005) was an American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur. He was one of the earliest cartoonists to work in the American comic book industry, and his series ''The Spirit'' (1940–1952) was no ...

Steve Stiles Stephen Willis Stiles (July 16, 1943 – January 11, 2020) was an American cartoonist and writer, coming out of the science fiction fanzine tradition. He won the 2016 Hugo Award for Best Fan Artist. Early life and education Steven Willis Stil ...

Mike Baron Mike Baron (born July 1, 1949) is an American comic book writer. He is the creator of ''Badger'' and the co-creator of ''Nexus'' with Steve Rude. Biography Mike Baron entered the comics industry with an illustrated text piece in ''Weird Trips Ma ...

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and ''Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

Basil Wolverton Basil Wolverton (July 9, 1909 – December 31, 1978)
at the

Stephen R. Bissette,

Spain Rodriguez Manuel Rodriguez (March 2, 1940 – November 28, 2012), better known as Spain or Spain Rodriguez, was an American underground cartoonist who created the character Trashman. His experiences on the road with the motorcycle club, the Road Vultures M ...

William Stout William Stout (born September 18, 1949) is an American fantasy artist and illustrator with a specialization in paleoart, paleontological art. His paintings have been shown in over seventy exhibitions, including twelve one-man shows. He has worke ...

, Joe Coleman,

Al Williamson Alfonso Williamson (March 21, 1931 – June 12, 2010) was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy. Born in New York City, he spent much of his early childhood in ...

Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...

Don Simpson Donald Clarence Simpson (October 29, 1943 – January 19, 1996) was an American film producer, screenwriter, and actor. Simpson and his producing partner Jerry Bruckheimer produced hit films such as ''Flashdance'' (1983), ''Beverly Hills Cop'' ...

Dan Burr Dan E. Burr (born November 14, 1951)
''Lambiek's Comiclopedia''. Accessed Jan. 16, 2014. is an American citizen, ...

, and

Frank Miller Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American comic book writer, penciller and inker, novelist, screenwriter, film director, and producer known for his comic book stories and graphic novels such as his run on Daredevil (Marvel Comics ser ...

(who illustrated the cover of the final issue). The

letters page A comic book letter column is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns (or lettercols), letter pages, letters of comment (LOCs), o ...

was known as "Fang Mail".

''Death Rattle'' Vol. 3

Contributors to the third volume of ''Death Rattle'' included

Brian Biggs Brian Biggs (born March 9, 1968, in Little Rock, Arkansas) is a children's book author and illustrator. He has been published by HarperCollins and Random House, among others, and has illustrated two Little Golden Books. Early work Brian Biggs g ...

, Mark Schultz,

Mark A. Nelson Mark A. Nelson (born 1953)Nelson entry
''Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999''. A ...

John Wagner John Wagner (born 1949) is an American-born British comics writer. Alongside Pat Mills, he helped revitalise British comics in the 1970s, and continues to be active in the British comics industry, occasionally also working in American comics. ...

, Alexander Maleev,

James O'Barr James O'Barr (born January 1, 1960) is an American comics artist, writer and graphic artist, best known as the creator of the comic book series ''The Crow''. Early life O'Barr, an orphan, was raised in the foster care system. Career In 1978, O' ...

Tony Millionaire Tony Millionaire (born Scott Richardson in 1956) is an American cartoonist, illustrator and author known for his syndicated comic strip ''Maakies'' and the ''Sock Monkey'' series of comics and picture books. He lives in Yarmouth, Maine at Pleas ...

John Wooley } John Steven Wooley (born April 4, 1949) is a writer, novelist, historian, lecturer, filmmaker, and radio and TV host who specializes in the movies, literature, and music of the 1930s and ‘40s as well as other pop-culture histories. He has w ...

Tom Sutton Thomas F. Sutton (April 15, 1937 – May 1, 2002) He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force after graduating from high school in 1955, and worked on art projects while stationed at Fort D.A. Russell (Wyoming), Fort Francis E. Warren, near Laramie, Wyom ...

Matt Howarth Matt may refer to: *Matt (name), people with the given name ''Matt'' or Matthew, meaning "gift from God", or the surname Matt *In British English, of a surface: having a non-glossy finish, see gloss (material appearance) *Matt, Switzerland, a mu ...

, and Thomas Ott. ''Death Rattle'' volume 3 was edited by Phil Amara, N. C. Christopher Couch, and Catherine Gornie; it was nominated for the 1997

Harvey Award The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

for Best Anthology."1997 Harvey Award Nominees and Winners"
Hahn Library. Accessed Oct. 22, 2016.

References

Sources

* * * * * *

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Death Wish Industries' review of all three volumes of ''Death Rattle''
1972 comics debuts 1985 comics debuts 1995 comics debuts Horror comics Kitchen Sink Press titles