| The Great Black Crab of Brittany | |
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Real Name |
n/a |
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First Appearance |
Airboy Comics vol. 9 #8 (September 1952) |
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Original Publisher |
Hillman |
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Created by |
Ernest Schroeder |
Origin[]
A black crab was caught off the coast of Brittany by two fishermen, Pierre and Jacques, who are both in love with the same girl, Maria. Pierre declares the black crab to be a thing of evil, demanding that it be thrown overboard at once. Jacques, however, refused to do so and in an ensuing fight with Pierre accidentally killed him. Getting rid of the body, Jacques told Maria and the other townsfolk that Pierre was swept overboard by a gigantic wave and drowned. That evening, after storing his catch in a tank close by, Jacques attempts to retire but is plagued by thoughts of Pierre. Hours later, he found the black crab that had been caught earlier creeping towards him and raced out into the night. The village folk disbelieved his story, however, and Jacques was told to return home and let them rest. On the outskirts of the village, the black crab enters Maria's room through a chink in the stones of the walls, but just as it approaches her, Jacques arrived at her doorsteps and began pounding at the door. The black crab scuttled into hiding, and as the fear-crazed Jacques spotted the crab coming his way, he confessed to Maria that he had killed Pierre.
As the black crab pursues him, Jacques stumbled to the ground in his attempt to flee from the clawed evil and was killed. The Great Black Crab then returns with its claws upraised, approaching the unconscious Maria, who had fainted from shock. However, as the sea monster advanced on the girl, the Heap, who had been observing these events from afar, grabbed the black crab and threw it against a rock wall. The Heap threw a huge boulder at the giant crab, and the crab burst into hundreds of tiny replicas of itself. The wave of black crabs began to swarm all over the Heap, who was brought down in agony. The fall knocked many of them off, however, and before they can recover the Heap flung a fishing net over them. After tearing the rest from his grassy coat, the Heap safely deposited them in the net and hurled them out into the sea.
Public Domain Appearances[]
- Airboy Comics vol. 9 #8