HARVEY
HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 2 (PS Artbooks,
2012; Hardcover)
Collects
Chamber
of Chills
Nos. 8-13 (cover dates May- October, 1952)
Writers:
Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, and other unidentified writers
Artists:
Lee Elias, Vic Donahue, Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, Al Avison, Tom
Hickey, Manny Stallman, John Giunta, Rudy Palais, John Belfi, Warren
Kremer, Abe Simon, Moe Marcus, and other unidentified artists.
I
adore 1950s Pre-Code Horror comics. While Harvey Comics were not
quite as good as my beloved EC Comics they are still solid reads and
belong in the library of Horror comic fans the world over. Without
these comic books we would likely have no Stephen King, no John
Carpenter, no Alice Cooper, no Glenn Danzig or Misfits.
Headless Horror from issue 8 predates the “found footage” fad by nearly fifty years. Vic Donahue's artwork on The Face Of Horror (#10) is incredibly effective. The Dead Sleep Lightly and Devil's Due round out what I consider to be the most consistently satisfying issue in this book, #10.
Truth be told, I doubt that many of these stories will scare modern Horror fans on a steady diet of Saw-inspired snuff porn. For those reared or schooled in what could be called “classical” Horror, however, it doesn't get much better than 1950s Pre-Code Horror. These tales all fall in normal parameters for the era and genre. No real surprises here, just plenty of enjoyable old school Horror comics that gave ninnies like Frederic Wertham fuel for his witch hunt. I am beyond grateful that PS Artbooks has resurrected the corpses of these long gone and buried classics.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- These are some beautifully produced books. Restoration
issues aside, I am thrilled to see these books resurrected in
relatively affordable deluxe editions.
DVD-style
Extras included in this book: Foreword by
Michael T. Gilbert. (4 pages)
Macabre
Maestros featuring artist Lee Elias. (6 pages)
Linework
and Color restoration rating: 3.75 out of 5. These are scans of
original comic books, which means that all of the imperfections of
the four color printing process are present. Line bleed, off register
printing, and yellowing due to age abound. The only major attempt at
color correction has been removing the yellowing from the word
balloons, which are as white as the paper stock. A fair number of the
pages are of mediocre to poor quality, possibly JPEG sourced low
resolution scans, likely 300dpi. Some pages look fuzzy and out of
focus, others look acceptable. Most are good enough that I am willing
to overlook the yellowing.
Paper
rating: 5 out of 5. Thick uncoated stock. It has that wonderful
aroma that Chinese made books tend to have. Out of all of the
Archives lines available from all of the publishers, PS Artbooks
smell the best. I seriously sit there and huff these things as I read
them. The toxic stew of broken asbestos tiles, lead paint chips,
mercury from recalled thermometers, and the blood, sweat and tears of
the Chinese children working the sweatshop printing presses give
these book their delectable scent.
Binding
rating: 5 out of 5. Smyth sewn binding with seven stitches per
signature. The book block is rounded in the casing, enabling this
book to lay perfectly flat as God intended.
Hardback
cover coating rating:
4.75 out of 5. The issue cover images are spot varnished with screen
printing while the rest of the casewrap has a dull matte finish which
is sufficiently resistant to scuffing when handled with reasonable
care.
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