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The Horror! The Horror!: Comic Books The Government Didn't Want You To Read! (2010)

by Jim Trombetta(Favorite Author)

4.02 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0810955954 (ISBN13: 9780810955950)

languge

English

genre

Horror

publisher

Harry N Abrams

review 1: If you are into the EC and other published horror comics that came before the comics code, then you must have this book on your shelf. It also includes a DVD with the October 9, 1955 episode of "Confidential File" that explains how horror and crime comics contribute to juvenile delinquency. I saw this show when first broadcast, which was the time that I was reading these types of comics and I never became a juvenile delinquent.
review 2: This is an interesting collection that goes some way towards testing the theory that EC was the gold standard of 1950s comics. OK, it was, but this book goes a long way towards demonstrating that there were many other talented artists working for other interesting companies at the time. Reprints several stories, a few excerpts,... more and a whack of covers, mostly from horror books but also from crime and SF ones, to explore the range of subversive and transgressive subjects tackled in these books. Excerpts are frustrating, but I guess they allow a bit more breadth. There's no shortage of that here, actually, with many short chapters (text-short, that is--a page or two of commentary on the subject) on a wide array of subjects--creature kinds, motifs, censorship, etc. Several of the stories reproduced demonstrate that the EC formula of the twist ending mainly offering poetic justice was far from the required structure for horror stories; there are many here that offer far less conforting resolutions, and there's some dandy art from relatively lesser-known hands, though there's also stuff from greats like Wood and Wolverton (who seems to have done a fair bit of loopy horror stuff, given how relatively frequently he comes up here). Those curious about the fooferaw about pre-Code 1940s and 1950s comics might find this book especially useful, but I think many a comic fan will find much to appreciate here. The reproduction is generally pretty good, and there are many unexpected treasures along with some more familiar stuff. Haven't watched the accompanying DVD yet. less

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