Review- HOWARD NOSTRAND'S NIGHTMARES: THE CHILLING ARCHIVES OF HORROR COMICS VOL. 8

HOWARD NOSTRAND'S NIGHTMARES: THE CHILLING ARCHIVES OF HORROR COMICS VOL. 8 (Yoe Books/ IDW, First Printing, 2014; Hardcover)

Collects selections from Chamber Of Chills #13, 17-21, 23, Witches Tales #18, 20-25, Black Cat Mystery #44-46, 48, Tomb Of Terror #8, 11, 12, and Ripley's Believe It Or Not Magazine #1 (cover dates October, 1952- August, 1954)

Writers: Nat Barnett and Howard Nostrand (unconfirmed but suspected on many of these stories)

Artist: Howard Nostrand

Every single one of these stories except for one has already been reprinted and collected in PS Artbooks' Harvey Horrors line, making this book a double dip for me. The main problem lies not in this book as a book but rather the lack of content information in the text copy when the book is originally solicited. The only saving grace that this book has for me is that seven of the stories reprinted here are scanned directly from the original artwork, making this kind of a poor man's Howard Nostrand Artist Edition.

If you do not own the aforementioned PS Artbooks then this book is a pretty cool read. It is a complete overview of Nostrand's 1950s Harvey Horror output (with the exception of stories that he inked for other artists). Nostrand's artwork has a cartoony feel that is completely removed from the era and the genre. It seems almost humorous in appearance and it wouldn't surprise me if it helped inform the underground “Comix” of the 1960s. I also appreciate the cinematic feel of much of his work. His panel composition could serve as a camera angle guide for a film or television show.

The stories themselves all kind of run together, as non-EC Pre-Code Horror comics tend to if you read a lot of them in a row. They were still enjoyable on the reread and made for splendid pre-Hallowe'en reading. I would recommend this book to folks who like Pre-Code Horror comics who do not own the PS Artbooks or purists who want to see the scans of the original artwork, which is something of a treat. So much of the original art from this era is lost that it is great to see complete stories reassembled with it. Blessed be the curators and collectors.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4 out of 5.

The book was originally solicited with this cover, although it was never used. 

The OCD zone- Yoe Books are high quality presentations, with lots of thought put into the design and layout. Overall production values are very high. My only complaint is that they are a hair wider than, say, the Creepy or Eerie Archives from Dark Horse, meaning that they are too wide to be stored in a white acid free magazine box.

Linework and Color restoration: High resolution raw scans with the yellowing removed. This warts and all approach is favored by some fans while others prefer full blown restoration. I appreciate the benefits and drawbacks of both. If good source material (film, original art) is unavailable then raw scans are sometimes the best way to go. Your mileage may vary. I have had countless discussions with fans online and it all really boils down to preference.

Paper stock: Super thick uncoated stock. This is the heaviest paper used by any of the major publishers for collected editions today. No bleed through from the other side of the page in any light. (I read books in various rooms using various light sources for such experiments. Natural sunlight, incandescent bulbs, CFL, and LED are all in use in various rooms in my house. I have a halogen bulb on my back porch and should add that in too.)

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. The book lays mostly flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image is printed on the paper casewrap. Blacks have a matte finish while the colors have spot varnish, a kind of screen printed lamination which gives the color a glossy appearance. I experienced no scuffing on my copy while reading and handling this book. 

Review- HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 4

HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 4 (PS Artbooks, First Printing, 2012; Hardcover)

Note: Book actually released in 2013

Collects Chamber of Chills Magazine #20-26 (originally published by Harvey Comics, cover dates November, 1953- December, 1954)

Writers: Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell (both unconfirmed but strongly suspected) and other, unidentified writers.

Artists: Joe Certa, Manny Stallman, John Giunta, Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell, Lee Elias (covers), Jack Sparling, Mort Meskin, George Roussos, Al Avison, and possibly other unidentified art assistants.

Dreams can come true! Ten years ago it was nothing more than a pipe dream that I would own these Pre-Code Horror comics in deluxe hardcovers. Now I have a room full of them! This fourth and final volume in PS Artbook's Chamber Of Chills line shows the title going full steam ahead with no real change from any of the earlier issues. That's fine by me, because they are all fun reads.

The writing and artwork are all great, with work by many forgotten greats. The Internet and collected editions have given some of these guys a second life and they have finally gotten their due, albeit too late for most (if not all) of them to enjoy while they were alive.

The stories all run the typical Horror gamut of the era (voodoo, black magic, zombies, vampires, etc.) and for the most part attempt to ape the EC ironic shock twist ending with varying degrees of success. While nothing can compare to EC, Harvey was one of the few who had art talent that could go toe to toe with some of the EC guys. Some of the more interesting stories are ones that veer away from the formula (there is a Sci-Fi story and even a war story with Horror accents).

There is a lot of overlap in this book. Seven of these stories have been reprinted in various Yoe Books after I bought this. I will be doing more research before buying more of those, as I see no value in rebuying material with similar restoration. One of those seven was also reprinted in Fanatagraphics' Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics Of The 1950s, which was an excellent precursor to these PS Artbooks. Fantagraphics really dropped the ball not diving deeper into the well of public domain comics. Pete Crowther and company over at PS Artbooks saw the opportunity and seized it, and now the fans of this material own dozens of books. There is overlap within this series as well, as the bulk of #25 is from issue 9 of this series and #26 is the bulk of #5. Those stories were collected in Volumes 1 and 2 of this series. That feels like a ripoff to me. I can see collecting the cover and the material not found in those issues, but to get the same stories again seems like a waste.

That aside, this was a terrific read and I am proud to have this book in my library. While I tend to aggressively prune my library to keep it at a svelte 1,100 books, complete Pre-Code Horror comics will remain in my collection until I die. I will revisit this material again someday and enjoy it every bit as much as I did this time, something that cannot always be said for modern comics, which have a good for one read only feel to them.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.25 out of 5.

The OCD zone- I enjoy huffing these Chinese made books. PS Artbooks smell the best. Whenever I crack one open I sit there and snort it every so many pages...oh yeah, that's the stuff.

Linework and Color restoration: Raw scans of varying quality with minimal tinkering. Mostly decent but occasionally murky.

Paper stock: Uncoated bright white stock. Given the yellowed nature of the scans an off-white would have worked better.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. Lays flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image printed on casewrap with matte finish and spot varnish.  

Review- HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 3

HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 3 (PS Artbooks, 2012; Hardcover)

Collects Chamber of Chills Magazine #14-19 (cover dates November, 1952- September, 1953)

Writers: Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, and other unidentified writers

Artists: Lee Elias, Vic Donahue, Moe Marcus, Rocke Mastroserio, Abe Simon, Rudy Palais, Pete Morisi, Al Avison, Don Perlin, Bob Powell, Howard Nostrand, Al Eadeh, Warren Kremer, Joe Certa, Manny Stallman, Jack Sparling, and other unidentified artists

I adore the Pre-Code Horror comic books of the 1950s. Part of it is the groundbreaking nature of the material, part of it is the forbidden fruit aspect, but the real draw is of course the great stories and artwork. EC Comics were the best but Harvey was putting out solid material month in and month out as well. 

#14's It!!! is awesome, one of those don't disturb the resting place of the dead type stories. This story could arguably be a precursor for the film Poltergeist if you replace ghosts for zombies. Vic Donahue did some tremendous work on that story. #18's Friend echoes a theme found in many '50s Pre-Code Horror comics: the double cross. This Bob Powell penned and penciled tale has an extra bite to it. That same issue's House kicks the traditional ghost story up a few notches.

#19's iconic cover by Lee Elias was used by The Misfits for the cover of their Die, Die My Darling single and T-shirts, which “punks” today buy at Hot Topic. The issue itself is spectacular. Happy Anniversary by the godlike Bob Powell is an EC-caliber love story.

This stuff is a lot of fun to read. It's lighter on text than EC was so there is less depth, but that honestly would work more for fans of modern comics who dislike reading words and prefer light reading. I am glad that PS Artbooks has compiled the entire series across four books. Owning this series was nothing more than a pipe dream until a few years ago.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 4.5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- 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.

Linework and Color restoration: Raw scans of varying quality with minimal tinkering. They remove all color from the word balloons, leaving them as bright white as the paper stock. A bit of tinkering with photoshop and higher resolution scanning would have been a great help. As it is some of these are tough to read, especially #15.

An example of the poor quality of the scans of #15. The original printing process was primitive, resulting in line bleed and off register printing. My complaint is not due to that, only to the lower scan resolution used on that issue over the others in this book. 

Paper stock: Uncoated bright white stock. Given the yellowed nature of the scans an off-white would have worked better.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding. Lays mostly flat.

Hardback cover notes: No dustjacket. Image printed on casewrap with matte finish and spot varnish. Very mild scuffing with handling.

Review- HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 2

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.

Buy HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 2 HC at InStockTrades!

This same material is available across two softcovers! Buy Volume 2 (issues 6-10) here.

Buy Volume 3 (issues 11-15) here.

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. 

Review- THE HORROR! THE HORROR! COMIC BOOKS THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T WANT YOU TO READ

THE HORROR! THE HORROR! COMIC BOOKS THE GOVERNMENT DIDN'T WANT YOU TO READ (Abrams Comicarts, 2010; Flexicover)

Collects selections from Chamber of Chills No. 6, Chamber of Chills Magazine No. 16, The Clutching Hand No. 1, Crime Mystery No. 9, Dark Mysteries Nos. 3, 7, 18, 20, Mister Mystery No. 7, Strange Fantasy No. 7, The Thing No. 14, Tomb of Terror No. 16, Uncanny Tales No. 14, Voodoo No. 14, and Weird Tales of the Future No. 3 (cover dates October, 1951- August, 1954)

Writers: Basil Wolverton, Al Eadeh, Howard Nostrand, Bob Powell, and others

Artists: Basil Wolverton, Vic Donahue, Al Eadeh, Howard Nostrand, Sid Check, Steve Ditko, John D'Agostino, Harry Lazarus, A.C. Hollingsworth, Bob Powell, and others

This is a really nice sampler book of 1950s pre-code Horror. While Fantagraphics' Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s is a better value overall, this is a great companion book to that wonderful compilation. If you have never read any pre-code Horror comic books, these two books are a great place to start. While EC Comics are the gold standard, there are many worthwhile talents in many of the off brands and knockoff titles as well.

This is a beefy book, but only 91 out of the 306 pages are complete stories. The rest of the pages are articles which provide invaluable historical context, excerpts from other stories (including Marvel/Atlas and EC), and hundreds of covers. The great thing about these covers is that they demonstrate the breadth and depth of the genre. The bad thing is that I now want all of these comic books collected in books! Fortunately for us, PS Artbooks has answered the call since this book's publication, with their Harvey Horrors and ACG hardcovers. They reprint the complete issues of several of the stories presented here and in the aforementioned Four Color Fear. Go to the Harvey Horrors website and see for yourself. I've been buying them all, and will buy as many as they release. Marvel has been re-releasing their Atlas '50s output slowly with their Marvel Masterworks line of high end hardcovers. The EC Archives are progressing slowly, with the announcement of two more coming soon. We are truly living in the golden age of collected editions. 

I love these old Horror comic books, and often chuckle at the black humor contained therein. It also pleases me to know that these comic books helped to open the minds of the youths that went on to become the counter culture of the '60s and help bring about social change in this country. No wonder the powers that be wanted to shut these types of comic book down.

This book also contains a 25 minute long DVD with an episode of Confidential File. First aired on October 9, 1955, it was an alarmist show about the dangers of these comic books. I love seeing the kids of the era reading these now obscure and valuable comics with reckless abandon.

The OCD zone- This book is a high quality affair from top to bottom. The cover is what I call a “hard” softcover, being made of a super thick cardstock cover that flexes a bit but is highly durable. The paper is an incredibly thick, uncoated stock. It prevents the book from laying flat, even though this boasts sewn binding which is glued to the ribbon and flexes very well.

They use high resolution scans, although they aren't cleaned up like Fantagraphics or PS Artbooks use. These are some pretty rough copies, though, with dog eared covers, splotches on some of the pages, and other anomalies. While the nostalgia fetishists like this approach, I like the appearance of mint condition copies used by the aforementioned companies. I want the look and feel of the book being fresh off of the presses, not a crumbling old comic book.

Review: Harvey Horrors Collected Works- Chamber of Chills Vol. 1

HARVEY HORRORS COLLECTED WORKS: CHAMBER OF CHILLS VOL. 1 (PS Artbooks, 2011; Hardcover)

Collects Chamber of Chills Nos. 21-24, 5-7 (cover dates June, 1951- April, 1952)

Artists: Bob Powell, Vic Donahue, Al Avision, Joe Certa and others

I love my '50s pre-code Horror comics. As the golden age of collected editions rolls on unchecked, every stone is getting unturned and runs that would only be collected in the realm of dreams are now becoming a reality. Take Chamber of Chills, for instance. Once the darling of only the most affluent collectors or torrent divers, these lost classics are now readily available in a high-end hardcover format. 

My opinion of the material in this book is exactly the same as in my recent review of Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s, so refer to that if you haven't already read it. Several stories from the issues collected in this book are also presented in that one. This is the first time that these issues are collected in their entirety, however. And I do mean entirety, down to the house ads and advertisements, even the back cover advertisement. This helps add a touch of authenticity as well as nostalgia to the material, and it also helps put the material in perspective of the era in which it was originally released. 

The Shrunken Skull, from Chamber of Chills No. 5, is a fine example of Bob Powell's top notch artwork. The story is gripping, and there are several sequences that haunt me. Again, one must bear in mind that this pre-dates Psycho or any slasher/Horror flick by many years.

I love how the violence is strongly implied but seldom shown. There is more gore in these Harvey Horror titles than in EC Comics of the era.  

The OCD zone- This is a beautifully produced hardcover, on par with other high end books from publishers such as Fantagraphics. The paper is an uncoated stock and pleasant to the touch. It's smell is intoxicating and, given the printing process secrets known only to the Chinese, possibly toxic. (Hint: It's the lead and mercury together that give it that sweet smell.) All kidding aside, this is a beautiful book. The cover images are screen printed on the book itself. The book boasts sewn binding and lays completely flat from the first page to the last.

The restoration is high resolution scans. The scans tend to skew a tad dark, probably not noticeable to any but the most uber-anal retentive of collected edition snobs. Pete, the publisher of PS Artbooks, has had much interaction with us fans over on the Crisis on Infinite Comics forum on the Masterworks Message Board, and has already addressed and corrected this “problem” with the second book in the line, Witches Tales Vol. 1 (available now!). This is impressive, because most publishers simply wouldn't care or even bother to try and improve their product, or at least this quickly. If the ever-so-slightly dark scans in the first book of this type is the biggest hiccup this publisher has, then we are in for a treat. They plan to collect the entire Harvey Comics and ACG Horror line in hardcover. My heart sings while my wallet and bookshelves (and wife) weep.