The SHAZAM Award given out by the Academy of Comic Book Arts for Best Dramatic Story in 1972 went to a memorable short piece that ran in HOUSE OF MYSTERY #201. It was written by John Albano, drawn by the great Jim Aparo and edited by Joe Orlando. It was titled “The Demon Within”, and it’s been reprinted on a few occasions since then. As with a number of the contributors to the mystery titles during this time period, John Albano didn’t simply write a traditional script for this story. Rather, he did what was called a “visual script”, a term coined by Harvey Comics where this process was used almost exclusively. In essence, Albano drew out his story in stick-figure style, showing not just what was to be said but also what each panel was meant to look like. It’s a bit of a fascinating peek into the process to see the choices and decisions that Aparo made from these crude layouts to accentuate the menace and the horror of the experience.
The Tom Brevoort Experience 
“Ah-PAAAR-RO, oh-oh-OH-oh…” So good to see more vintage Jim Aparo work.
Who’s the cute but mischievous kid, “Billy BRATson”? 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
@Tim Pervious: BRAIN-DEAD Billy Bratson, maybe…
LikeLike
Interesting indeed. While I was never an HOM fan in this era, I read this in a Best of DC reprint and damn, it’s horrifying.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great insight into how this story came together. It’s haunted me since I first read it in Best of DC in ’77, and I both love and hate it powerfully. I bet I’m not alone in that
LikeLike