If you missed the last one…
It gets harder to talk about plant monsters in comics because there have been literally hundreds of them. My list has hit over four hundred and I still keep stumbling upon more. They show up when you least expect them. I was hunting for 1980s robots and there they were. 1970s Doctor Who annuals, bingo! And the superheroes are an endless supply as are the jungle comics, where you’d expect to see them. Every jungle lord or jungle lady has tangled with killer vines at some point!
The point is simply this: the comics love plant monsters. Almost as much as I do. This bunch s dedicated to Charles G. Waugh, who has a collection of killer plants and deadly vines with Roots of Evil. I think he will enjoy these. I hope you do, too.
The Golden Age
“The Prime Minister Strikes Back!” (Science Comics #2, March 1940) was written and drawn by Bert Whitman. A tale of underwater kingdoms, this one features a plant monster on only one page. The king of the underwater realm is being fed to the plant by the fish-men. It doesn’t look particularly plant-like.
“The Menace of the Horror Weeds!” (Whiz Comics #150, October 1952) Out on a picnic, Ibis and Taia come across a beautiful woman being attacked by plants. Using the Ibistick, the magician saves Dr. Lorraine Dennison, a botanist. (Taia has jealous thoughts about the woman.) Dennison has been working on a super-growth formula with Dr. Chaney, who the plants killed. The vines ensnare Ibis, Taia and Dennison. They pull the Ibistick from ibis’s hands. Using telepathy, they tell him they want the formula so they can take over the world. Ibis agrees to help, is let loose but sets the plants on fire. He gets his Ibistick back. Taia is happy to see the last of beautiful Dr. Dennison.
“The Blood Blossom” (Fantastic Fears #7, May 1953) This is the reprint in black & white from Weird #12, October 1968. Dr. Sandford brings a mysterious lotus seed home from Japan. Despite warnings, he experiments with it. The plant strangles his wife. Sandford is arrested for the killing. While behind bars, the monster kills Cassidy, a guard, then Kate as well. The thing can move around the house. It is finally trapped and destroyed with axes. Sandford is given a cutting of the vine as a souvenir. The cutting strangles him in his sleep.
“The Lost Kingdom” (Lorna the Jungle Queen #5, February 1954) was written by Don Rico. The plants only make a short appearance in this one. Lorna follows a safari looking for the lost kingdom. After dinosaurs and giant spiders, Lorna is caught by plant monsters. The cavemen who rule the lost kingdom use the plants as guards and can make them release their victims. Everyone escapes in the end because of Greg’s lighter fascinates the cavemen.
“Dick Tracy and the Case of the Killer-Crooner” (Dick Tracy comic strip, November 26-December 14, 1952) was written and drawn by Chester Gould. Dick Tracy discovers criminals using a plant to get rid of bodies.
The Silver Age
“Jann of the Jungle” (Jann of the Jungle #13, September 1956) was written by Don Rico. Jann and Pat are taking pictures in the jungle when they are attacked by killer vines. They cut themselves free then help many animals to escape. When they go to destroy the vines, some of which are gigantic, they are captured by a Russian scientist who plans to use the giant plants to extort money from the African governments. Jann destroys the equipment and the vines do the capturing, catching the evil scientist for her.
“The Menace of the Killer Plants!” (Adventures of the Fly #16, November 1961) was written by Robert Bernstein. The Fly leaves Capitol City to find a jungle growing in the hills. He is captured by a talking tree. It is Roxr, ruler of another world of talking plants. The Fly has to avoid his giant Venus fly-trap, then a needle-shooting cactus and finally he calls giant beetles to help him defeat the plant-king.
“Anti-Fly League” (Adventures of the Fly #21, September 1962) was written by Robert Bernstein. Roxr and his giant Venus fly-trap have joined the Anti-Fly League. The snapping monster plant isn’t any more successful than last time.
“The Terror Trees of Forbidden Island!” (Wonder Woman #143, January 1964) was written by Robert Kanigher. Wonder Woman takes on a forest of evil trees with the Sun Sword. She fails and is turned into a tree herself. Lightning meant to kill her helps her escape and shed the bark trapping her.
“I Broke Through the Supernatural Barrier!” (Strange Adventures #165, June 1964) has a scientist working on a weird helmet that can break through the barrier between realities. His friends tease him by pretending to be swamp monsters. Later real swamp vines attack them. They drive them off using a giant fan. Later the scientist sends the creatures back to their reality using a mirror. A nod to The Heap perhaps? Swamp Thing and Man-Thing are still most of ten years away.
“The Man-Eating Tree of Xingu!” (Lion #13, November 13, 1965) A text story by an unknown author.
“Death World part 4” (Flash Gordon comic strip, June 12-October 23, 1966) was written and drawn by Mac Raboy. Things are tense on Deathworld, where even trees can attack you!
“The Black Blossoms of Death” (Jungle Jim #23, April 1969) was written by Bhob Stewart. Cathy goes in search of her husband, the scientist, Dr. Bell. Jim and Cathy are attacked by killer vines. Jungle Jim hacks them with his machete. The plants scream in pain! The searchers find Bell and his giant insects. The man has grown himself to a giant size. Cathy leaves him behind in the jungle. The screaming plants remind me of “The Sound Machine” by Roald Dahl.
The Bronze Age
“The Plant Master” (Countdown Annual, 1972) begins with Dave Lester joining the Doctor for an adventure. They find a man running from a creepy house. He turns out to be the assistant to a scientist who is breeding a giant monster plant. The creature breaks out and goes on a rampage before dying. The show would get a similar plant monster called the Krynoid with “The Seeds of Doom” (January 31-March 6, 1976).
“Cover” (Dr. Atomic #1, September 1972) Monster pot!
“Wolf Woman” (Conan the Barbarian #49, April 1975) was written by Roy Thomas. (It was adapted from Kothar and the Conjurer’s Curse by Gardner F. Fox) The killer plants are only a two page encounter before meeting with a much nastier monster.
“Beware the Killer Cactus!” (The Witching Hour #79, April 1978) was written by Carl Wessler. Not a monster exactly, just a cactus with a weird spike growing out of its middle. You don’t want to land on it when you are sky-diving.
“The World at Time’s End” (Action Comics #553, March 1984) was written by Marv Wolfman. Vandal Savage attacks the world with killer plants from golden temples around the world. Superman appears to be killed fighting them.
“Counter-Attack” (ManTech Robot Warriors #2, December 1984) was written by Rich Margopoulos. The warriors find a valley filled with odorous giant plants. The scent of these plants make them sleepy before killer vines come for them.
Beyond
“Killer Mutant Trees and Shrubs” (Bade Biker & Orson #2, January 1987) was written and drawn by Jim Lawson. An alien seed comes from outer space and it is up to Bade and Orson to trick it into leaving the soil long enough to get the chainsaw out.
“The Monster Vine” (Richie Rich and Professor Keenbean #1, October 1987) A giant vine terrorizes the Rich household. It is the work of Dr. Keenbean’s rival, Dr. Blemish. Keenbean reverses the process with a shot of his own.
“Priceless” (The Sensational She-Hulk #24, February 1991) was written by Simon Furman. The She-Hulk encounters a superhero that is a plant man.
“Savage Swamp” (2000 A.D. #2170, February 26, 2020) was written by Cavan Scott. Rogue Trooper has to cross a deadly plant-filled swamp to save a tribe from the Norts.
Conclusion
Lots of killer vines this time. They are probably the most popular of all the plant monsters. They are the easiest to draw. They are also the easiest to use in Hollywood. (I did a list of all the plant monsters in films and television here.) A wriggling prop vine or a CGI forest of crawlers, it really comes to the same thing. Vines move (slowly to our eyes). Edmond Hamilton explored this in “Alien Earth” (Thrilling Wonder Stories, April 1949) after seeing time-lapse photography of plants. It was a short leap to using the same in a movie.
Everything visual you see in movies, the comics did it first. The grabbing branches, the snaky vines, the perfumed blossoms, even the spine-shooting cactus. (Ask Mr. Spock. He got it in the face!) The comics offered up these terrors, usually between April through June (allergy season) when any kid walking to the dime store could see the world turn green all around them.
Until next time….You know there will be a next time!
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