PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Horror fans may or may not know it, but today is the birthday of iconic genre actor Jeffrey Combs. I’m sure that over the course of today on social media, Combs and associated tags will be posted alongside Re-Animator, The Frighteners, Masters of Horror and his works with Stuart Gordon and Barbara Crampton. Fellow Trek fans will comment on his numerous appearances in the series since Deep Space 9 (Weyoun and Shran are two personal favorites). Combs is so synonymous with Trek, it’s a bit of a meme:
However, I would like to share some Combs roles I feel I don’t see get enough love on this, his 70th birthday!
HP Hatecraft (Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated)
While this character is only shown in two episodes of this series, it’s a fun way to give younger viewers a look into the tropes and iconography of HP Lovecraft, without all the… problematic elements. The character becomes even more enjoyable when he’s in a love/hate friendship with fellow genre author Harlan Ellison (voiced by Ellison himself).
Doctor Mordrid
The Original Doctor Strange, in all but name. Albert and Charles Band made this movie originally as a Dr Strange film, but the production ended up taking so long that they ended up losing the rights to the character. Combs is Strange in all but name and mustache, fighting off demonic entities from the Dark Dimension, and you can tell his performance has left a lasting impact, whether or not Marvel would openly admit it. For a more recent example of this impact, check out the Marvel game Midnight Suns by Firaxis games; its Strange takes more than a few cues from Mordrid.
THE MOLD (Motivational Growth)
What if you were so beaten down by life that instead of ending it all, you were talked off the ledge by the mold in your grody bathroom? Then, in exchange for a little feeding here and there, a little encouragement, THE MOLD would encourage your own personal growth? Help you stand up for yourself, talk to the girl of your dreams, etc? Well, that’s exactly what THE MOLD is, and exactly what THE MOLD does in Motivational Growth. Voiced by Combs and visually portrayed by rightfully disgusting looking animatronics, THE MOLD is a Combs character unlike any of his others.
The Question (Justice League Unlimited)
Appearing in 5 out of 39 episodes, you could assume that The Question may not be an integral character in the extremely expanded cast from the first Justice League series, but I would strongly disagree. From his building relationship with fellow Leaguer Huntress, to his uncovering of President Luthor’s conspiracy (as well as a few kookier sub conspiracies), Question provides a lot of weird heart to the show and to the team. Combs’ intentional monotone makes all of Question’s eccentricity sell even more, because he’s saying it so straight faced.
Dinosaur Bob (Love and a .45)
Coming straight out of a 90s Tarantino project, Dinosaur Bob is paired with his own Jules to his Vincent with Creepy Cody, but unlike the effortless cool that Pulp Fiction’s Jules and Vincent gave us, we got high strung addicts going 1000mph. Dinosaur Bob and Creepy Cody are two debt collectors for an antagonist mob boss pursuing the leads, and they hound them. Dinosaur Bob is a wild, erratic and extremely high energy performance by Combs. To be honest, I may not have even seen this film if it weren’t for meeting and talking with Combs himself, where I asked him about some of his lesser discussed films that he enjoyed working on, and this came up. Thank you for the recommendation, Mister Combs, and thank you for all your hard work for this genre and this community!
