Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E. C. Comics!
One of the most remarkable things about the immediate cultural impact and subsequent legacy of E. C. Comics is that their glory days only lasted for about five years, from 1950 and the beginning of their “New Trend” in (mostly horror) comics, to 1955 and the implementation of the Comics Code. They weren’t DC or Marvel, comic-book brands that are not only still with us but bigger now than ever. Even MAD, an E. C. spin-off that became an American institution for several decades, is today mostly defunct. Nothing of E. C. lasted in a business sense, even though they were always ahead of the game and the comics and magazines they published are now widely acknowledged to have been among the finest examples of the form ever. Meanwhile, we’re drowning in MCU and DCU slop. There’s a depressing lesson in there about how it doesn’t pay to be too good at what you do.
Foul Play! by Grant Geissman is an oversize coffee-table book taking the form of a gallery of pocket bios of the artists who made E. C.’s New Trend such a comics phenomenon. Presented in this way, it led me to a deeper appreciation of names like Johnny Craig, Jack Davis, Graham Ingels, and Wally Wood. To be sure, E. C. did have a house style, but taking the time for a closer look you become more aware of their individual qualities. Also included for each of the main artists is a full story pulled from their time at E. C. Not reproduced in the remastered format fans will know from the reprint editions recently put out by Dark Horse, but in all their original, faded and yellowed glory.
Along the way a lot of interesting tidbits come up. I liked hearing about the Leroy lettering system (not mechanical, but hand-drawn using a template), which was used by Wroten Lettering to do all the comics here. That outfit must have stayed busy. Having always been curious about the ads to send away for photos of the GhouLunatics – were they actual photos, or illustrations made to look like photos? – I was delighted to see reproductions. And yes, they were actual photos, with Johnny Craig made up to look like the Vault-Keeper, the Crypt-Keeper, and the Old Witch. It was interesting to find out that at a convention in 1972, the story “Horror We? How’s Bayou?” was voted the fan favourite as Best E. C. Horror Story, with Graham Ingels (who did the art) being voted “Favorite E. C. Horror Artist.” That story is included in full here. “Ghastly” stuff indeed, and its popularity tells you something about what readers wanted more of.
I’ve called this a coffee-table book, and I hope it’s clear that I don’t mean the label in a disparaging way. There are great books of this kind, and Foul Play! (a terrible title, by the way) is one of them. If you’re a collector of E. C. comics, or have any interest at all in the comics of the time, it’s well worth a look.
Alex Good 
“There’s a depressing lesson in there about how it doesn’t pay to be too good at what you do.”
And that is why AI written stuff is going to “succeed”. It gives the masses what they want 😦
LikeLike
Yep. In the competition between the good and the good-enough-for-now there’s usually a clear winner.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You know what I want? A “good enough” winter. Which would mean it never got below freezing and it never snowed more than an inch.
We’re getting yet another snowstorm as I type and I’m thoroughly sick of February.
LikeLike
Apparently Brian has winters like that. It’s called Texas. No salt on the roads, just sunshine and shiny cars.
LikeLiked by 1 person
and then they die in the heat so intense that you literally bake in your car, like a cake.
I’ll take snow over that particular horror…
LikeLike
You need to find a happy middle ground. I hear New Zealand is nice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t that the island that’s like Australia, but a bit nicer?
LikeLike
It looks prettier anyway. I’ve never been to either place though.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me neither. I wonder if they let you read EC comics in NZ though? Do they have a comics code to keep things so pretty?
LikeLike
You can read EC comics while eating kiwi fruit on the porch. Paradise!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It sounds like. Especially if they don’t have snowplow trucks running at 4 or 5am
LikeLike
Ah, but guess what? In the U.S., cold causes way more deaths than heat. : -)
LikeLiked by 1 person
That’s ok, it’s not about volume, but quality. I can put on extra layers at work. I can only take off so much before getting arrested 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
😳🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
It gets above 85 (30C) and I’m dying 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Me too, 23-5 is my preference, it happens once or twice a year 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
That sounds a cool book for E.C fans. Never heard of E.C before you started posting about the comics.
LikeLike
They were big in the ’50s but didn’t last. Not surprised you haven’t heard of them. They were good stuff though, and hold up pretty well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve got the Women in Peril trading cards featuring Margaret Brundage art for Weird Tales. I wouldn’t mind some E. C. art in that format. (I like cards.) But those big ole coffee table books are just so inconvenient. But, yeah, some of them are really nice.
LikeLike
Coffee table books are what they made coffee tables for!
I have some old hockey cards that might be worth something someday. But probably not. I heard the market for cards (and comics) has really crashed.
LikeLike
There’s an ex-Texas Ranger (who now does broadcasting) who’s a big card collector and he sometimes talks about how bad the market is nowadays. But he just likes the cards. Which is how I am, though not sports cards in my case.
LikeLike