Horror Comics 23

Bringing together the finest names in comic book horror, this volume features nearly 50 comics that caused a furor in the US and sparked legislation to crack down on explicit horror—from the 1940s to the 21st century. Includes names like Steve Niles, Pete Von Sholly, Michael Kaluta, Mike Ploog, Rudy Palais, Rand Holmes, Vincent Locke, Frank Brunner, and many more. Reproduced in black and white for this brand-new collection.

Horror comics were among the first comic books published--ghastly tales that soon developed an avid young readership, along with a bad reputation. Parent groups, psychologists, even the United States government joined in a crusade to wipe out the horror comics industry--and they almost succeeded. Yet the genre survived and flourished, from the 1950s to today. This history covers the tribulations endured by horror comics creators and the broader impact on the comics industry. The genre's ultimate success helped launch the careers of many of the biggest names in comics. Their stories and the stories of other key players are included, along with a few surprises.

"Comics your mother warned you about"--Cover.

Strange Terrors was a pre-comic code horror comic series. Popular but short lived, this series was published by St. John publications who at one time was a giant of the comic book industry. St. John Publications was an American publisher of magazines and comic books. During its short existence (1947-58), St. John's comic books established several industry firsts. Founded by Archer St. John (1904-55), the firm was located in Manhattan at 545 Fifth Avenue. After the St. John comic books came to an end in 1958, the company continued to publish its magazine line into the next decade. This book has been image enhanced to give the reader a comic as it was, freshly published more then fifty years ago and contains stories from two complete issues.

A massive collection of never-before-collected pre-Comics Code horror comics of the 1950s. Of the myriad genres comic books ventured into during its golden age, none was as controversial as or came at a greater cost than horror; the public outrage it incited almost destroyed the entire industry. Yet before the watchdog groups and Congress could intercede, horror books were flying off the newsstands. During its peak period (1951–54) over fifty titles appeared each month. Apparently there was something perversely irresistible about these graphic excursions into our dark side, and Four Color Fear collects the finest of these into a single robust volume.