Review- PRE-CODE CLASSICS SPOOK VOL. 1

PRE-CODE CLASSICS SPOOK VOL. 1 (PS Artbooks, First Printing, 2018; Hardcover)

Collects Spook #22-26 (cover dates January- October, 1953, originally published by Star Comics)

Writers: Mickey Spillane and other unknown writers

Artists: L.B. Cole (covers), Ken Battlefield, George Peltz, Wally Wood, Rudy Palais, John Jordan, Vern Henkel, Jay Disbrow, Howard Larsen, and other unidentified artists

Weird. This series started out as Spook Detective Cases (#22) and was re-titled Spook Suspense And Mystery (#23-on). The series consisted of reprints from other titles until #26. There is a disjointed, decidedly tame bent to the first few issues in this book. Indeed, this series' claim to fame, as far as I can tell, are the brilliant covers by L.B. Cole.

In the first story in this book (Headless Horror!) we see the namesake of the series, Sergeant Spook. Spook is some sort of ghost cop who helps a kid solve a crime. Sergeant Spook was a recurring character in Blue Bolt comics of the 1940s, and two of those stories are reprinted in this book with more appearing in the next volume of the series. Spook is like Casper The Friendly Ghost...if he were an adult...and a cop. Other oddball stories are from true crime type comics of the 1940s and we even get one of those good girl/jungle girl type of tales in #25.

I have to say that this particular book was something of a letdown. Not so much because of the more pedestrian nature of the material for the era, but because I had myself so hyped up when it came out. The book seemed to sell out immediately and required a bit of a hunt for it. Once I obtained it I immediately bumped it to the very front of the reading pile. If it sold out so quickly it can only mean that it must be the greatest of all PS Artbooks, you know? 

No. Sometimes Diamond is just shorted shipments at the time and then the book appears later. Copies of the slipcase edition can still be obtained as of this writing. To quote those kids on the Internet: “It's aight.”

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

All original advertisements are included in these PS Artbooks. Some, like this one, are downright bizarre. 

Linework and Color restoration: Like any PS Artbook, the scanning quality varies issue by issue. This looks decent for a scan and print collection although it could have been better in spots. Issue 23 looks blurry, possibly sourced from one of the many public domain comic book sites. Many of those have lower resolution scans, as they were posted before 1200 dpi scanners became the norm.

Paper stock: I love the paper that PS Artbooks switched to a while back. It's a thick coated stock with a very slight sheen to it. Conventional wisdom is that this sort of paper doesn't work with 'scan and print' collections, but I disagree. There is something oddly pleasing about the contrast.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Hardback cover notes: Image printed on the casewrap. Casewrap has a matte coating which will resist shelfwear.

Review- COLLECTED WORKS: SKELETON HAND

COLLECTED WORKS: SKELETON HAND (PS Artbooks, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Skeleton Hand In Secrets Of The Supernatural #1-6 and Clutching Hand #1 (cover dates September/ October, 1952- July/ August, 1954)

Writers: Richard Hughes, Paul Gustavson, and other unidentified writers

Artists: Ken Bald, Pete Riss, Charles Sultan, Jon Blummer, Frank Simienski, King Ward, Gus Ricca, Edvard Mortiz, Harry Lazarus, Charles Nicholas, Milt Knopf, John Rosenberger, Sam Cooper, Dick Beck, Paul Cooper, Sheldon Moldoff, George Klein, Art Gates, Lin Streeter, Paul Gustavson, Ed Good, Ken Landau, and other unidentified artists

ACG (American Comics Group) is widely considered to be in the top 5 Pre-Code Horror comics publishers. Most of these comic books were thrown away by angry mothers who were aghast that their perfect 1950s children would soil their minds with such trash. These comics remain a sort of forbidden fruit nearly 70 years after they were originally published for that very reason.

Issue 2's The Bat And The Brain features artwork by Gus Ricca, whom I was previously unaware of. His art is incredible and my research revealed that he was a professional artist but only worked in comics for a dozen or so years.

Parenting techniques have changed in the last 70 years.

A lot of these Pre-Code Horror comics tend to bleed into one another after you've read enough of them. It becomes difficult to tell who nicked what and where they might have nicked it from. Most of the series writers are unknown. This series seemed to pick up steam with each issue.

The Clutching Hand one-shot is the best issue in the book. I especially enjoyed Flowering Death!, a tale of a serial killer who chooses his victims by their names (Rose, Aster, Marigold, etc.). It was an effective hook for a story.

This was a neat done in one volume series. PS Artbooks has buried us alive with these books and we love them for it. I likely won't live long enough to read and review them all but I'll give it a go.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.75 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials used in physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

I enjoy huffing these Chinese made books. PS Artbooks smell the best. Whenever I crack one open I sit there and snort it...Oh yeah, that's the stuff.

This book has the ever delectable sweet, sweet toxic Chinese printing press smell, likely* the result of paper sourced from virgin Amazon rainforests and ink which is a concoction of lead paint chips, broken and pulped asbestos tiles, mercury from recalled thermometers, and the final magical ingredient: the blood, sweat, and tears of the children working the sweatshop printing presses. If loving these books is wrong then I don't want to be right!

*This is a joke, folks. Lighten up.

Linework and Color restoration: Like any PS Artbook, the scanning quality varies issue by issue. This looks decent for a scan and print collection although it could have been better in spots.

The raw scan presentation has the benefit of giving the reader the feeling of reading the original comic book. The drawback, which is a huge one subjectively speaking, is that all of the shortcomings of the primitive four color printings presses are apparent. Line bleed, off register printing, and other anomalies are all present. It's a warts and all approach. Your mileage may vary and it all boils down to your preference.

Paper stock: Bright white matte stock.

Binding: Sewn binding. This book is on the thicker side for a PS Artbook and it doesn't lay flat until a little ways in.

Hardback cover notes: Matte casewrap with spot varnish. No dustjacket. Images printed directly onto the casewrap.

Review- SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES ANNUAL VOL. 2

SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES ANNUAL VOL. 2 (Gemstone, 1994; Softcover)

Collects Shock SuspenStories #6-10 (cover dates February/March, 1952- December, 1952/ January, 1953)

Writers: Bill Gaines (co-plotter), Al Feldstein (co-plotter and script), and Ray Bradbury

Artists: Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Joe Orlando, Graham Ingels, and Wally Wood

Shock SuspenStories was an EC sampler series, giving readers an idea of what the entire EC line was doing. Each issue has a Crime SuspenStory, a Shock SuspenStory, a Science-Fiction SuspenStory, and a Horror SuspenStory.

Issue 6's Under Cover! is a subversive tale about the Ku Klux Klan in all but name, pointing out how its membership were really well-respected members of the community. Sugar 'N Spice 'N... has one of those grand EC twist-ending Horror stories, borrowing from one of the greatest fables of all time.

#7 starts out with Beauty And The Beach!, a Jack Kamen eye candy feast. Kamen has a knack for drawing beautiful people doing horrible things to one another. Every story in #7 and 8 are winners. #9's Came The Dawn! is one of my all-time favorite EC stories. I don't go into great details with the whys of these tales because it would be like telling you the punchline to a joke. You need to read these comic books for yourself.

The Sacrifice kicks off issue 10, and it is a sordid tale of murder, love triangles, and double-crosses. Jack Kamen once again delivers a flawless portrayal of the ugliness of the human condition wrapped up in a pretty package.

While it is extremely difficult for me to name a favorite EC title, SS is certainly near the top of the pile. These comics hold up very well with repeated readings, and it is crazy to think that these were originally published 65 years ago.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This is the part where I go into tactile sensations and materials of physical media. Those with heart conditions, high blood pressure, or women who are pregnant should exit my blog at their earliest convenience, as their safety cannot be guaranteed beyond this point.

Gemstone overprinted their single issue reprints in the '90s with an eye toward selling their own back issues. They later repurposed this overstock by trimming and gluing 5 entire issues into a cardstock cover. While this is not technically a trade paperback since it has no ISBN, it is squarebound and has the title on the spine. Close enough for Rock and Roll in my book. The EC Annuals are the most economical and efficient way of getting your EC collection while offering the most authentic reading experience this side of the original comics.

Linework and Color restoration: Shot from the original artwork with a color palette authentic to the original publication. If you want to see EC Comics in full color then this is the best way to do so, as these look superior to the originals in print quality. The only drawback is that the covers to each issue are recolored. Marie Severin redid them for the EC Library sets and those same versions are used here.

Paper stock: Standard pulp paper of the day. The pro is that this looks and feels like a real comic book. The con, and it is a very large one, is that this will age and yellow, just like real comic book paper. I am admittedly less and less worried about this sort of thing as time goes by, as I will likely be dead and gone before this book deteriorates too badly.

Binding: Perfect bound trade paperback. I am impressed by the quality of the glue used in these Annuals, as many Marvel trades of this vintage have fallen apart.

Cardstock cover notes: Thick cardboard with minimal coating. There are signs of wear after years but all in all very solid.

Review- ACG COLLECTED WORKS: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN VOL. 7

ACG COLLECTED WORKS: ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN VOL. 7 (PS Artbooks, First Printing, 2014; Hardcover)

Collects Adventures Into The Unknown #31-36 (cover dates May- October, 1952)

Writers: Unknown

Artists: Ken Bald (covers), Edvard Moritz, Art Gates, Milt Knopf, Al Camy, Al Streeter, Charlie Sultan, Lou Cameron, Rocke Mastroserio, Pete Riss, Frank Simienski, Moe Marcus, Harry Lazarus, Lin Streeter, S. Cooper, Tom Hickey, King Ward, Paul Cooper, Paul Gattuso, Charles Nicholas, Leo Morey, Emil Gershwin, George Klein, Gus Ricca, Robert S. Pious, and other unidentified artists

I love '50s Pre-Code Horror comics. This title is fondly remembered and widely considered one of the better non-EC titles. I think that the main reason for this is that it was the first Horror anthology title and it ran for 174 issues. This particular volume has a noticeable dip in quality compared to earlier volumes. There are any number of other Horror comics of the day that crush the comics slapped between these two covers.

That's not to say that these weren't enjoyable. I'm just saying that these were not the most illustrious examples of 1950s Pre-Code Horror comics. The artwork is solid, done by the usual workhorses and journeymen of the day. It's the writing that sinks some of these stories. It's easy to sit here with 2017 eyes and sophistication and critique 65 year old comic books, but I am referring to the quality within the context of the era when compared to other then-contemporary comics.

Oh man! It's like looking into a mirror. 

One of the reasons that these stories would fall flat for readers today is that people are not as superstitious as they once were. While I enjoy stories about cursed masks from some unknown African tribe, werewolves, ghost ships, pacts with the devil, jungle curses, vampires, serpent gods, possessed paintings, ghosts, zombies, frozen cavemen who come back to life, witches, ghosts, magic, cursed jewels, and split personalities, many of these topics are now boring to modern day sensibilities. People are too smart to enjoy a good ghost story. More fool them.

Issue 36 is the best issue in the book. I am hoping that this is indicative of an uptick in quality, as I have Vols. 8-12 in my backlog waiting to be read someday.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone-PS Artbooks reprint public domain material in a high quality hardcover format. While there are several companies that reprint public domain material via Amazon's CreateSpace print on demand imprint, none of them are as nicely made as these books.

Linework and Color restoration: Like any PS Artbook, the quality varies issue by issue. Some are perfectly acceptable raw scans. Others are blurry, muddy messes sourced from lower resolution scans.

The raw scan presentation has the benefit of the feeling of reading the original comic book. The drawback, which is a huge one subjectively speaking, is that all of the shortcomings of the primitive four color printings presses are apparent. Line bleed, off register printing, and other anomalies are all present. It's a warts and all approach.

This material will likely never be given a full blown Marvel Masterworks level restoration, so this is your only chance to get it in color in hardcover.

Anyone who claims that the four color printing press and "Ben Day" dots were artistic choices are delusional. There is nothing romantic about off register printing.

Paper stock: Bright white matte stock.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Hardback cover notes: Matte casewrap with spot varnish. No dustjacket. Images printed directly onto the casewrap. 

Review- PRE-CODE CLASSICS: THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED VOL. 1

PRE-CODE CLASSICS: THIS MAGAZINE IS HAUNTED VOL. 1 (PS Artbooks, First Printing, May, 2016; Hardcover)

Collects This Magazine Is Haunted #1-7 (cover dates October, 1951- October, 1952)

Writers: Al Schutzer, John Martin, Daniel Sheldon, Earl Hammer, Jr., Eando Binder, Richard Kraus, and other unidentified writers

Artists: Sheldon Moldoff, George Evans, Bernard Baily, Bob Powell, Edd Ashe, Myron Fass, Ed Waldman, Leonard Frank, “Jokerface” (unidentified), and other unidentified artists

I adore 1950s Pre-Code Horror comic books. While EC remain the gold standard for the era, this title, published by Fawcett, gave EC a run for their money. While the writing is better than average for the genre and the time it falls just a pinch short of EC level quality.

The topics of these stories run the gamut of what was typically included in these types of series at the time. There are no real surprises here. It's not the predictable twist ending that offers the payoff here, it is the execution and the craft of these stories that kept me turning the pages so quickly.

The artwork, on the other hand, is where this title truly shines. Take a gander at the list of talent above. There are many Golden Age notables that worked on this series. And while some of these stories have been cherry-picked by other publishers in various compilation type books, it is great to have the complete issues reprinted.

Artwork by the godlike George Evans.

#5's The Slithering Horror Of Skontong Swamp! features artwork by future EC legend George Evans. Evans employs a cinematic camera angle style to his panel composition, with the results being nothing short of incredible. Issue 6's Showcase For Horror! is another brilliant story, reading like an episode of The Twilight Zone. There weren't any bad stories in the bunch, these two were just the standouts for me.

This was an absolute blast to read in the weeks leading up to Halloween. I'll have to read the rest of this series sooner than later. Maybe next Hallowe'en I'll read Volume 2.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- PS Artbooks reprint public domain material in a high quality hardcover format. While there are several companies that reprint public domain material via Amazon's CreateSpace print on demand imprint, none of them are as nicely made as these books.

Linework and Color restoration: Like any PS Artbook, the quality varies issue by issue. Some, like issue 3, are perfectly acceptable raw scans. Others, like issue #6, are blurry, muddy messes sourced from lower resolution scans.

The raw scan presentation has the benefit of the feeling of reading the original comic book. The drawback, which is a huge one subjectively speaking, is that all of the shortcomings of the primitive four color printings presses are apparent. Line bleed, off register printing, and other anomalies are all present. It's a warts and all approach.

This material will likely never be given a full blown Marvel Masterworks level restoration, so this is your only chance to get it in color in hardcover.

Paper stock: This book was released in the era when PS took the EC Annual format and put it into a hardcover. Glossy paper covers with interior paper that replicates the feeling of pulp paper, albeit much thicker. The paper is not as thick as the matte paper that Dark Horse was using in their Archives. It's a matte off white stock that I like a lot.

Binding: Sewn binding.

Hardback cover notes: Matte casewrap with spot varnish. No dustjacket. Images printed directly onto the casewrap. 

Review- THE JOE KUBERT ARCHIVES VOL. 1: WEIRD HORRORS & DARING ADVENTURES

THE JOE KUBERT ARCHIVES VOL. 1: WEIRD HORRORS & DARING ADVENTURES (Fantagraphics, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects selections from Abbott and Costello Comics #10, All-New Comics #10, Black Cat #1, 2, Boy Comics #110, The Challenger #2, 3, Cow Puncher Comics #2, Crime Does Not Pay #142, 143, Eerie #3, 7, 9, Green Hornet Comics #30, The Hawk #2, Hollywood Confessions #2, Jesse James #6, Meet Miss Pepper #5, Parole Breakers #2, Planet Comics #32, Police Lineup Vol. 1 #3, Son of Sinbad #1, Strange Terrors #4, 5, Strange Worlds #8, 18, Three Stooges #1, Weird Horrors #8, Weird Thrillers #4, Whack #2, and Witchcraft #1 (cover dates September, 1944- April, 1955)

Writers: Robert Bernstein, George Vincent, Charles Biro, and other unidentified writers

Artists: Joe Kubert with penciling by Carmine Infantino (Strange Worlds #18 and Jesse James #6), Bob Bean (Meet Miss Pepper #5), and inking by Norman Mauer (Whack #2)

Joe Kubert is as prolific as any of the comic book journeyman of his era. While he is most famous for his Silver Age DC work (Hawkman, etc.), his Pre-Code work for all of the various publishing houses here is interesting as well. The quality of the writing is all over the place, which is common for the era, but his artwork is consistently good. I am unsure if Steve Ditko ever claimed Joe Kubert as an influence, but I can spot many similarities in the ways that they draw the everyman in the crowd.

Pre-Code Horror comics all kind of feel the same after a while, and the ones collected here are no exception. I'm a big fan of the genre so I love them, but I can understand the criticism that some folks have about them all running together into a blur. The Widow's Lover (Weird Thrillers #4) is a cut above the rest, no pun intended.

Some of the genres are of little interest to me. I find most Western comics and War comics to be a chore to read, and some of these old Science Fiction comics can be a bit too silly. I love old Crime comics. I dislike Humor comics, as they are often very unfunny if you aren't aware of the context and reference points. You would have to approach them from a scholarly standpoint. They almost require annotations.

The Son Of Sinbad material was my favorite in the entire book. As hard as it may be to imagine today, there was once a world of no cable television, where three major networks and a handful of UHF channels showing reruns dominated the airwaves. In this world the ABC Sunday night movies were a big deal, and I loved the Sinbad ones in the '70s. I would be all over a collection of Sinbad comics, but nobody aside from print-on-demand companies like Gwandanaland Comics would even consider it.

This was a good but uneven read. One can only assume that there will not be a second volume in this series, as this book is already five years old and a follow up was never solicited. Oh well. I'm over these artist-centric collections anyways.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 3 out of 5.

The OCD zone- This book is wider than a Marvel Masterwork, DC, or Dark Horse Archive.

Linework and Color restoration: High resolution scans with some tinkering. Some line bleed was fixed and some solids were done, which looks jarring when the rest of the panel has the so-called Ben Day dots. All or nothing, folks. I can tolerate full blown restoration and I can tolerate raw scans, but the hybrid approach doesn't work for my money.

Paper stock: Bright white uncoated stock.

Binding: Sewn binding. Lays flat. The book block has room to flex within the casing.

Hardback cover notes: Matte casewrap. No dustjacket.