One major advantage the photo comics had over their film counterparts was in fulfilling the wildest imaginations of the creators with no worries on budget or special effects feasibility. Plastic toy dinosaurs could be repainted, photographed and collaged in such a way as to make them completely viable to the storytelling. While filmmakers struggled with oversized foam rubber monsters and clunky robot suits that moved poorly if at all on screen, the comics thrived with paper-mache aliens, clay creatures, and painted menaces from vapor beings to fire demons. A trip to a museum could yield enough pics of armor suits and gargoyle statues to feed the creative teams for months. In a strange sort of way, this was akin to the innovation in the face of zero budgets faced by the BBC and Hammer folk, with the freedom of today ’s limitless digital animation and live action special effects.

Take this example at left – Harryhausen meets Cousteau, as a bubble-helmeted scuba Santo wrestles a living skeleton on the ocean floor. NOT going to happen on a lucha film budget.

Here’s a gallery of villains and menaces too deadly for any ring, and that wouldn’t have been possible, or nearly as good looking, if they had been done in a B-movie.

We’ll stay sur la mere for now. Even in the best of vintage monster movies, the fake octopus fight just never looked entirely convincing. But with a good background painter a machete-wielding Santo can battle a truly menacing kraken.

And the idea of Santo caught up in an octopus vs. mythological sea dragon battle would never even be proposed to a film crew. Not a problem with fotomontaje.

Knock-offs of Universal’s classic monster icons were as present in comics as they were in film. Here’s a hairy-chested vampire taking flight.

This wolf-man is half costume and make-up, with some painted extra hair for effect. Nice...

Invisible man? No problem. Note the reverse view of the bandages on the back of the head.

A sea creature is composited from photos of a weightlifter, painted skin textures, and a practical mask with walrus tusks. Over the course of three issues, this creature terrorized innocents, pirates and sharks alike, until being out-grappled by Santo!

Aliens are where the comics really excelled past what the movies could do. These invaders are clay statues, possibly mixed with taxidermed animal parts and painted-on space helmets.

Here’s a sculpted head instead of a mask – a floating cabeza creep right out of the serials.

The same head reunites with it’s former body the next issue, flanked by a squad of skeletal goons. Skeletons were both painted and photographed in the comics.

Embellished Halloween masks looked great with the right “in post” brush work...

...and this effective Dr. Phibes-esque ghoul look was recycled for at least
two storylines.

Here’s a great three-issue story arc that combines several classic creature idioms. A suit of Spanish armor comes to life in a museum and terrorizes the city. The ghostly inhabitant is represented by a photo of a medical school skull, and is right out of Scooby-Doo.

After being decapitated in a swordfight with Santo, the armor is still a ‘headless horseman’ like threat. Santo uses his ring savvy to position the armor in front of an oncoming fire engine, and it is blown to pieces by the impact. A priest then melts down the armor into a cross to exorcize the haunting spirit and case solved.

BUT... a glove scattered into a sewer drain after the crash still stalks the silver-maskedman ala ‘The Crawling Hand’ and the like.

The comics featured an international pantheon of knock-off villains. Here’s the mythological Minotaur of Crete...

...and a “non-union Mexican equivalent” Fu Manchu.

...and a more dapper demon ready for a night on the town.

Demons and devils were common. Here’s a painted photo composite
with wings and copious chest hair...

Via the magic of stock photos and tourist postcards, Santo
could also travel to
any continent on Earth without budgetary constraints. While in Africa, he faces not only rather un-PC headhunters, but also
a panther similar to
the classic porcelain statues.

There’s a strange dichotomy at all times in the lucha photo comics. On one hand, the base appeal of the entire artform is supposed ‘realism.’ The visionary genius of Jose G. Cruz cannot be understated when you look at what he did with Santo — what better medium to employ a real life superstar than the one based on realism.

But then, with said real life star’s actual imagery on your page, surround him with a dizzying menagerie of creatures from the depths of high adventure, horror, science fiction and fantasy. The photographic Santo lends credibility to the clash with the outr é illustrated opponents, while the bizarre and impossible elements surrounding the hero make the subject even more appealing to a comic book devouring public.

But did Cruz really need El Santo to make it all work? Find out in Confessions of a Fake Santo next...

Paper-mache and clay zombies were common as well. This poor kid just fell asleep at the WRONG time!

back to: Photo Comics The Covers Continued in... Confessions of a Fake Santo jump ahead to: Los otros SOURCE NOTES

Article text ©Keith J. Rainville, 2007. Artwork from the private collection of Keith Rainville. Content reproduced is © of the original owners.