Review- THE HAUNT OF FEAR: THE EC ARCHIVES VOL. 1

THE HAUNT OF FEAR: THE EC ARCHIVES VOL. 1 (GC Press, 2011; Hardcover)

Note: Actually released in 2012

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 15-17, 4-6 (cover dates May/June, 1950- March/April, 1951)

Writer: Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Gardner Fox, Johnny Craig, and Harvey Kurtzman

Artists: Johnny Craig, Harvey Kurtzman, Harry Harrison, Wally Wood, Al Feldstein, Graham Ingels, and Jack Kamen

I used to love these EC Archives back when I wasn't anywhere near as batshit crazy as I am these days my OCD wasn't as refined and the liberties taken with the original color palette didn't phase me. The production values were so high in terms of paper and binding that I was happy to have these in a high quality format.

Jack Kamen rules!

Let's backtrack a bit in time to late 2012. Fearful that the line would never see completion I ordered every EC Annual from Russ Cochran's site for the material not covered by the Archives. Now I had all “New Trend” EC Comic collected in full color and could sleep at night regardless of the outcome. Move a little further along in time, and I decided I no longer enjoyed reading recolored versions of these classics. I wanted the original color palette. So I set out and first ordered the remaining Annuals that Russ had on his site and then proceeded to hunt down the three that he didn't on eBay. I now have my cake and am eating it at my leisure. I own every single EC Annual except for Panic (I loathe humor comics), I have the Picto-Fiction Library box set, and I don't care about the EC-era of Mad so I am all set.

I love the implied violence in these comics. The mind can trick itself into scenes far more gruesome than what is seen "on screen".

So what did I think of these comics, you ask? The stories remain stellar on the reread in spite of the recoloring. Go read my review for The Haunt Of Fear Annual Vol. 1 for issues 1-5 and Vol. 2, which has issue 6, for more details.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5. 

Buy THE EC ARCHIVES at InStockTrades!

The OCD zone- I can't wait for the day when someone, anyone, produces EC Comics Archives in full color with the original color palette, including the original cover color palette.

Both of these GC Press EC Archives are slightly smaller than the Gemstone versions and have minor spine design alterations if such things matter to you.

DVD-style Extras included in this book: Foreword by Robert Englund. (1 page)

EC Horror's Triumvirate: Parts One through Four and Try And Stop Me. (Information and historical context about EC) (5 pages)

Linework and Color: The linework is superb, taken from photostats and original artwork. The color is the killer for me. While based on Marie Severin's original colors, there are too many liberties taken with it in terms of gradient shades and other Photoshop effects for my taste. Your mileage may vary.

Paper stock: Thick coated stock with a slight sheen.

Binding: Smyth sewn binding with seven stitches per signature.

Hardback cover notes: This is the best of both worlds- a dustjacket with the same image on the paper of the casewrap. Top it off with a super thick lamination and you have the cherry on the top of this sundae. 

Review- THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 6

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 6 (Gemstone, 1999; Softcover)

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 26-28 (cover dates August- December, 1954)

Writers: William Gaines, Al Feldstein, Otto Binder, Carl Wessler, and possibly Jack Oleck

Artists: Graham Ingels, Bernie Krigstein, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, George Evans, and Reed Crandall

Colorist: Marie Severin

EC Comics are the best comic books ever made. Alan Moore? Yes, he's a fine storyteller. European comics from publishers like Humanoids? Absolutely breathtaking. Artists like Marcos Martin? Yes, they are doing great artwork. Yet no matter how many talents I encounter, nothing seems to be able to top EC. It's not nostalgia. Indeed, I didn't read any EC Comics until a decade ago. It's the simple fact that the stories are intelligent, well-crafted, dense, and way ahead of their time. All Horror that came after EC bear it's influence. I see it in The Twilight Zone. I see it in Hitchcock films. I see it in every single slasher flick ever made. Yet none of these capture the brilliance of these comics. I have always found comic books to be an artform with the potential for ultimate expression. You have words which carry weight coupled with the impact of the artwork. I find comics to be even more riveting than film.

The artwork is what also puts EC head and shoulders above their peers, both in the decade they were originally published in or any other. These guys were great, every last one of them. I cannot pick a favorite because it constantly changes. 

Notice the Cryptkeeper reading Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent. Gaines poured gasoline on that fire, didn't he? lol

The heat was on publisher William Gaines and the artists, what with that charlatan Dr. Frederick Wertham and his sensationalist book Seduction of the Innocent. He had the American public so convinced that comic books, especially the type published by EC, were the root of juvenile delinquency and the increase of crime. Distributors blackballed EC because they wouldn't carry the Comics Code Authority and they canceled all of their books except for Mad. There were the New Direction and Picto-Fiction lines, but both were commercial failures. The front inside cover of issue 28 had this printed inside of it. (A facsimile is included in this book.) Note the sarcastic tone and antagonistic nature of Gaines' writing. One of the reasons I named my son William was because of Gaines. He stuck to his guns in the face of overwhelming odds, and the last laugh belonged to him. 

Ghastly Graham Ingels' artwork on issue 26's Marriage Vow is amazing. The writing in that story is equally impressive. It's really difficult to pick out a favorite when all of these stories are so damn good, so I'll just a list a few. Issue 27's Swamped is another gruesome one, a tale of a ghoul (“cannibal” as the kids call them these days) who lives in a swamp. Ingels obviously knew that 28 would be the final issue, because on the splash page of The Prude, he signed “Farewell, Ghastly” under the tearful Old Witch who introduced the tale. 

So I have now finished this title as part of my EC marathon. I am savoring all of these great comic books, and I encourage anyone serious about the artform to read EC. On second thought, don't, because everything else will be found lacking once you experience their brilliance.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- If you do not know what an EC Annual is, then pull up a chair. I'll give you the skinny on these great books. Gemstone overprinted their single issue reprints in the '90s with an eye toward selling their own back issues. They re-purposed this overstock by gluing 5 entire issues into a cardstock cover, 3 in the case of this book. They should have put 4 issues in Vol. 5 and 4 issues in Vol. 6, but I digress. While this is not technically a trade paperback (it has no ISBN), it is squarebound and has the title on the spine. Close enough for Rock and Roll in my book.

My only gripe with this book is that the gutters are occasionally tight, the result of the material being formatted for Golden Age comics but reprinted in modern comic size, which is slightly narrower. Nothing is lost in the gutters but I thought that I would make a note of this for those who are concerned with such things.

These EC Annuals can be ordered directly from Russ Cochran at his site for a paltry $7.50 each. You can't find a better entertainment value for that price anywhere.

Linework restoration rating: 5 out of 5. William Gaines kept the original artwork, or filmed it, and so what you have here are superb presentations of this material with no line dropouts.

Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5. The color palette is entirely faithful to the original issues with the exceptions of the covers. Marie Severin recolored them all for the EC Library sets, and those same versions are found here.

Paper rating: 3.5 out of 5. The comics themselves are printed on the mando/heavy pulp paper of the day, while the covers are presented on the original slick cover stock.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. The glued binding is 15 years old and has nary a creak when you flip through it.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. There isn't much in the way of coating, but this book has a nice thick cover and a fair amount of flex.

This particular book is long out of print, but some of these stories can be found in Fantagraphics' artist-centric EC collections at InStockTrades!

Review- THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 5

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 5 (Gemstone, 1998; Softcover)

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 21-25 (cover dates October, 1953- June, 1954)

Writer: Al Feldstein

Artists: Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, George Evans, Jack Davis, and Reed Crandall.

Okay, I know that I sound like a broken record every single time that I review an EC book, but these are the best comic books ever made. The artists are the cream of the crop, with it being a toss up as to who is my favorite. Could it be “Ghastly” Graham Ingels' creepy crawly Gothic-tinged masterpieces? George Evans' frighteningly realistic artwork that looks so good you'd swear that he photo referenced the horrific events that occurred? Jack Kamen's beautifully rendered people doing godawful things to one another? Who could possibly decide? Not I, said the fly.

Artwork by Jack Kamen

I've read so many EC Comics and so many Golden Age Horror comics that it is hard for me to pinpoint who influenced whom and who did “liberal adaptations” of whose work. Some of these stories, like ...Only Sin Deep, seem extremely familiar. In it, a greedy, vain young lady sells her beauty to a seedy pawn shop owner by allowing him to make a wax cast of her facial features. She has one year to redeem the money for her beauty. Once the year is up she grows old and hideous, returns to the pawn shop, etc. I know that there was a variation of this riff on the '80s Twilight Zone series, and that's not the only place that I've heard this song before. If anyone knows where this story idea originally came from, please let me know. I'm curious.

Artwork by Reed Crandall

Wish You Were Here (Issue 22) is a variation on the Monkey's Paw but with a completely different ending. Issue 23's Creep Course finds “Ghastly” Graham Ingels in top form in a story about a co-ed who is flunking out of Ancient History. She plans to seduce her professor and have him give her a passing grade. She has a nightmare that his house has a cellar where he traps other students* and reenacts the events of the Roman Colosseum. *There are reports of three missing students which fed her anxiety. She goes to the professor's house and is relieved to find that he doesn't like ancient Rome at all. I won't give you the ending. Sorry, folks. 

No Silver Atoll! is another favorite of mine. In this George Evans illustrated story, eleven passengers survive a plane crash in the Pacific Ocean and find a tiny, possibly uncharted island and set up a camp. Strange things immediately begin to occur. Things go missing. Strange things, such as quarters, a belt buckle, and a ring. The castaways quickly figure out that everything that is missing is made of silver. Then people start turning up missing once a month during the full moon. You can put the rest together for yourself. I'll say no more. 

Artwork by George Evans

The Old Witch's Grim Fairy Tales, which are bastardizations of Grimm Fairy Tales, are the only stories where the writing and the gags wear thin after a while. They try too hard to be clever. The Jack Kamen artwork in all of them makes them very palatable, however. Issue 25 is the best of the best in this book. All four stories are incredibly clever and well done. 

Artwork by "Ghastly" Graham Ingels

Many modern comic book fans prefer decompressed, text free comic books. They like to “let the pictures do the heavy lifting.” These EC Comics are prime examples of why that storytelling style sucks when compared to well done third (and occasionally first) party narratives. There is so much story and atmosphere crammed into each and every panel without bloated full and double page spreads with minimal story unfolding. EC accomplished more in 5-7 pages than many comics do in 5-7 issues.

These EC Annuals can be ordered directly from Russ Cochran at his site for a paltry $7.50 each. You can't find a better entertainment value for that price anywhere.

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- If you do not know what an EC Annual is, then pull up a chair. I'll give you the skinny on these great books. Gemstone overprinted their single issue reprints in the '90s with an eye toward selling their own back issues. They re-purposed this overstock by gluing 5 entire issues into a cardstock cover. While this is not technically a trade paperback (it has no ISBN), it is squarebound and has the title on the spine. Close enough for Rock and Roll in my book. The comics themselves are printed on the mando/heavy pulp paper of the day. The water based inks look fine, although the blacks look weak on this paper, like they didn't sink in correctly. I am not sure if this is the ink or the paper's fault, as I am not an expert on the printing processes used in these books. I can spot bad restoration and reproduction a mile away, but the nuts and bolts of the printing process is outside of my realm of expertise.

William Gaines kept the original artwork, or filmed it, and so what you have are superb presentations of this material with no line dropouts. The color palette is largely faithful to the original material. My only gripe with this book is that the gutters are tight, the result of the material being formatted for Golden Age comics but reprinted in modern comic size, which is slightly narrower. Not all of these Annuals seem to have this problem, so I might just have a slightly “defective” copy of this book.

Linework restoration rating: 5 out of 5.

Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5.

Paper rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. The glued binding is 15 years old and has nary a creak when you flip through it.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. There isn't much in the way of coating, but this book has a nice thick cover and a fair amount of flex.

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 4

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 4 (Gemstone, 1997; Softcover)

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 16-20 (cover dates December, 1952- August, 1953)

Writers: Ray Bradbury and Al Feldstein

Artists: Graham Ingels, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Reed Crandall, and Al Feldstein

I am reading these EC Annuals slowly, savoring them, content with the knowledge that I own the complete New Trend and New Direction in collected editions to read at my leisure. These comic books are like fine wine and seem to get even better with age. Ridiculous you say? Then you have obviously never read an EC Comic! EC Comics are the greatest comic books ever made.

There are several adaptations of the late, great Ray Bradbury's throughout this book, and they rock. Bradbury read EC, and Feldstein sometimes did, shall we say, liberal adaptations of other people's stories. Bradbury sent them a letter commenting on one of those stories which resembled his and stated that his rate was $50 per story and that they must have forgotten to remit his check. EC sent him a check, and so began their collaboration.

I love the over the top violence and gore, especially for the era. It was always presented in a beautiful, classy manner which belied the events that occurred. Genius. Every single Horror movie and comic book made in the wake of EC owes a huge debt to these cats whether they realize it or not. Rod Serling and The Twilight Zone owe a huge debt to EC as well, with the ironic twist ending being another EC hallmark.

EC employed only the finest artists. “Ghastly” Graham Ingels is brilliant as always here, and Jack Kamen once again delivers outstanding, museum quality artwork. I was taken aback by how beautiful George Evans' artwork is, though. He puts so much detail into his photo-realistic style that it is breathtaking. While it is nearly impossible for me to pick a favorite in this book, Evans' Lover, Come Hack To Me takes the cake. Honestly, every story is a winner. I know that it seems like I gush endlessly about EC Comics, but it is praise that is warranted and deserved. These comic books are national treasures.

Are you discouraged by the lack of progress with the EC Archives? Are the Fantagraphics artist-centric editions not enough for an EC Fan-Addict like yourself? Then you need to track down these EC Annuals. Russ Cochran has them for sale on his site for $7.50 each. Can't decide which ones to get first? Then do what I did back in January: order all of them! Imagine my delight when $300+ of EC goodness arrived in a crate on my porch. There are a handful of volumes that are out of print, but the vast majority are still available...for now. Russ packs his books extremely well, so order with confidence. Tell him Kris sent you. He'll say” Who?”

Junk Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.

The OCD zone- If you do not know what an EC Annual is, then pull up a chair. I'll give you the skinny on these great books. Gemstone overprinted their single issue reprints in the '90s with an eye toward selling their own back issues. They re-purposed this overstock by gluing 5 entire issues into a cardstock cover. While this is not technically a trade paperback (it has no ISBN), it is squarebound and has the title on the spine. Close enough for Rock and Roll in my book. The comics themselves are printed on the mando/heavy pulp paper of the day. The water based inks look fine, although the blacks look weak on this paper, like they didn't sink in correctly. I am not sure if this is the ink or the paper's fault, as I am not an expert on the printing processes used in these books. I can spot bad restoration and reproduction a mile away, but the nuts and bolts of the printing process is outside of my realm of expertise.

William Gaines kept the original artwork, or filmed it, and so what you have are superb presentations of this material with no line dropouts. The color palette is largely faithful to the original material. I would love to see a purist line of these books done with all of the original color palettes once they complete the EC Archives. I know, I know, would I like fries with that? I am not above making tall orders, especially where EC is concerned. These pages should be hung in museums for all to appreciate and admire.

Linework restoration rating: 5 out of 5.

Color restoration rating: 5 out of 5.

Paper rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Binding rating: 4.5 out of 5. The glued binding is 15 years old and has nary a creak when you flip through it.

Cardstock cover coating rating: 4 out of 5. There isn't much in the way of coating, but this book has a nice thick cover and a fair amount of flex.

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Review- THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 2

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 2 (Gemstone, 1995; Softcover)

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 6-10 (cover dates March/April- November/December, 1951)

Writers: Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein

Artists: Graham Ingels, Wally Wood, Jack Kamen, Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, George Roussos, and Joe Orlando

EC Comics rule. I gush every time that I review an EC book, and I always will. They are simply the best written, best drawn comic books ever made. I love the mechanical lettering, as helps these books look more fresh than many of the comics from that time period. These comics were so revolutionary and so groundbreaking at the time, and still hold up today. Bear in mind that these ironic twist endings that were an EC hallmark in these issues pre-date The Twilight Zone by 8 years.

The Gorilla's Paw (HoF #9) is a blatant ripoff of The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs. Grave Business and My Uncle Ekar (both from HoF #10) are also standouts in a book of standouts. Every single story is memorable and I would classify them as works of art. Show me your favorite modern day creators. Bendis. Kirkman. Hickman. These old school monsters would tear them apart with sheer storytelling ability.

My Uncle Ekar is especially chilling. It is the story of a child who is picked up in the middle of the night by the police. When they ask him what he's doing out at that hour, he states that he was watching his uncle kill people. The police were incredulous, and asked him more details. He told them where the body could be found. They went to check it out, and he was right. They start freaking out and begin pressing him for more information on his uncle. The boy states that he's not really his uncle, but he wants to grow up to be just like him. The police start freaking out, because the child admits that he wants to grow up to murder people. I won't give out a few details pertinent to the story, as I don't want to ruin the reveal. I try to honor spoilers, even on 60 year old comic books. Needless to say, this one haunted me, and I wrote this recap of it days after reading it. I keep going over it again and again in my head. 

Artwork by Jack Kamen.

Jack Kamen's artwork is beyond incredible. He draws beautiful people, which belie the atmosphere of the stories. Graham Ingles is another master of the macabre. Heck, all of these cats are masters. This was art for the sake of art, with these guys all just trying to impress one another with their talents. Remember, comic books were not a credible artform back then, and there wasn't any money in it for the artists or writers. No websites or comic conventions to interact with the fans. These guys did it for the love of it. 

Artwork by "Ghastly" Graham Ingels.

I have a complete EC New Trend collection, between the Archives and the Annuals. I have to read many of them, so expect EC reviews for years to come!

The OCD zone- This is an EC Annual. If you do not know what an EC Annual is, then read on. Russ Cochran and Gemstone released monthly periodical reprints of every New Trend and New Direction title. They produced extremely large quantities with an eye towards selling back issues direct. These Annuals were an ingenious repackaging of those floppies. This has a cardstock cover with glued binding, and are essentially trade paperbacks. They are five single issue comic books glued into a squarebound cover.

The color palette is very close to the original issues, much more so than the EC Archives. My only gripe is that the blacks don't seem to lay properly on the paper. The paper is a Mando/heavy pulp stock, pretty much the standard paper grade from 1992 (when these single issues were reprinted by Gemstone).

Review- THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 1

THE HAUNT OF FEAR ANNUAL VOL. 1 (Gemstone, 1994; Softcover)

Collects The Haunt of Fear Nos. 15-17, 4, 5 (cover dates May/June, 1950- January/February, 1951)

Writers: Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein

Artists: Graham Ingels, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, Johnny Craig, Jack Kamen, Al Feldstein, and Harvey Kurtzman

Colorist: Marie Severin

EC Comics are the gold standard for Horror comic books. They were among the very first Horror comics, and are clearly the very best. The artwork and writing are superb. Gaines employed only the finest artists, and unlike his competitors, did not flood the market with titles. He kept a small stable of artists who produced quality, not quantity. That might sound quaint and archaic in today's world of increased productivity and profits, but the results speak for themselves.

To say that these comic books were groundbreaking at the time is an understatement. One has to consider that this pre-dates The Twilight Zone. The twist endings that were an EC hallmark would later become a Twilight Zone signature.

I won all five Haunt of Fear Annuals from Russ Cochran himself on eBay for $9.99. I didn't notice this missing chunk until I read this well after I purchased it. Was Russ Cochran pissed that I got them for so cheap? Did a zombie take a bite out of this book? Sheesh.

UPDATE: I have since replaced this copy with a non-defective version. Sleep is restored!

The OCD zone- This is an EC Annual. If you do not know what an EC Annual is, then read on. Russ Cochran and Gemstone released monthly periodical reprints of every New Trend and New Direction title. They produced extremely large quantities with an eye towards selling back issues direct. These Annuals were an ingenious repackaging of those floppies. This is among the earliest ones, which have a super thick paper cover, while the later ones are cardstock. There were only a handful of these that had the almost-cardstock thick paper covers before going all cardstock. All EC Annuals are squarebound with glued binding, and are essentially trade paperbacks. They are five single issue comic books glued into a squarebound cover.

The color palette is very close to the original issues, much more so than the EC Archives. The paper is a Mando/heavy pulp stock, pretty much the standard paper grade from 1992 (when these single issues were reprinted by Gemstone).