Darth Corgi

Happy Halloween fellow PreCode Creeps! Here's an appropriate one for today. My first Oct 31 date stamp...

alanna: That Haunted Thrills is amazing! Congrats!! Are you keeping it in carbonite or will you be cracking it? Just curious. A book that high grade gives me the shakes if I try to read it. Ryan: Those Werid Tales Of The Future covers are fantastic! Great pick up. The stories I think are a nice blend of scifi and horror....... Plus it's always fun to play the guessing game of "How did they cut up and rearrange Wolverton's art this time!"

I was thinking of this while you were doing your "Terrible 25"! Great minds think alike! (thumbs u I also like Shiverbones idea of an "underrated comics" list... Maybe a best skull covers list, etc...really there are so many possibilities....

Awesome books BOOT! I love that Voodoo cover. I think the early AITU issues were pretty cool and they certainly have great covers. I know that the title eventually turned very tame by PreCode standards but I think there is some terrific stuff in the early issues....All I've read are 1 and 11... I think issue #3 has an Al Feldstein story. That would be great one to track down. The Terrible 25 list was a lot of fun. Maybe next year I'll expand it to my Terrible 50 or perhaps make top ten lists among the publishers.... Maybe a top 10 Atlas Horror covers?

Thanks for all the great comments! PreCode horror books are so much fun to collect. I find making these lists, organizing the collection and discussing it as much fun as reading the books themselves. Great List! I can say I own one book from every tier and two from the top five! There are some surprises in there but all in all nicely done! (thumbs u It's great to hear you've got so many Jayman, though I'm not surprised! Still got that killer Startling 11?....

What I think is neat about these lists is that everyone is going to have different ones. There will be obvious anchor books, but when a list is 25, it forces some surprises! Andy, I hear you about the last books changing on a daily basis...That was fun, but tough to do. It just goes to show how many great books there are out there.

I know, right? That was the trouble with this list. I thought I had it all set and then I remembered a run of books or a particular book and had to make room. Scott, I agree. It's a crime that Thing 12 was left off but I assure you it was sooooooo close to being on there. So close!

Fellow PreCode creeps and CGC boardies, I present my Terrible 25.......

#1 Startling Terror - no.11 Could a list of the top 25 PreCode Horror covers, not include one from the cover master, L.B. Cole? Of course not. After reviewing all of Cole’s covers, I found this one to be the best by far. So much so that the other ones didn’t even make the top 25. If the list went to say 50, I’m sure there would be a few more additions. Again, I don’t consider Mask 1 & 2 “horror” comics so they are exempt from this, but even if they were included, I would put this one ahead of them for it’s frightening originality. I know Cole recycled this idea from his earlier design of a Suspense Comics cover, but Startling Terror 11 is superior in many ways. The fact alone that he revisited the design, proves that he felt it was a great idea that could of been executed better. Here is why it grabbed the number 1 spot: -A giant spider with many sharp legs against a solid blood-red background. -Oh yeah, because a giant spider isn’t disgusting enough, the head of it is a grinning skull. -And yeah, we’ve got Blood dripping from it’s open mouth. Lovely. -In it’s grasp is a pin-up styled woman making this notable to GGA comic collectors as well. -I don’t think there is any question that the guy on the left is dead. The side of his face has a sickly greenish tinge to it. Perhaps the spider’s poison has already spread through the skin... Ok, maybe I’m reading into things again, but it doesn’t mean this cover is not a champion. The best PreCode Horror cover.

#2 Tomb Of Terror - no.15 I love this cover so much, it took me over a year to find the right copy because I wanted one that was perfect for my collecting preferences. As PreCodes go, this is a pretty accessible book, probably due to the Harvey file copies that emerged years ago. It also has a bit of visibility and fame to it, often appearing in articles (and even a film) about this era of comics. If this book has gotten praise, I say it deserves every bit of it and more. It is a PreCode Horror masterpiece. Lee Elias often worked with art director/artist Warren Kremer, collaborating on cover ideas. Whoever did what here doesn’t matter, what matters is the timelessness this artwork creates. Some of my favorite Tomb Of Terror 15 things include: -The way the man’s face is drawn. SO brutal, fluid and loose are the inkmarks and line quality. It jumps off the page! -I think some of these comic artists would of been excellent animators. This drawing has so much power and life to it. -I know about the interior story and that this is suppossed to be a robot, but collecting is what you make of it, and I say this cover can stand alone as a clock exploding in a man’s face. -Red is the color that evokes the most emotion and it is used liberally here. -I don’t know what else to say other than, exceptionally brilliant! I knew this was going to end up in my top 2 early on.

#3 Horrific - no.1 I thought this one might be one of the shockers of the bunch. Yes, Horrific #1 gets third place and here’s why I think so...... The first time I saw this cover, it blew me away and still continues to impress me. It is just one of those covers you look at and then try to forget but you find it creeping back into your thoughts. And we all know how a collector thinks...obsessively! Even though we have the undead playing a band, it somehow is done without comedy. The expression of the conductor with its loose linework is truly creepy. On top of all of this you have a beautifully drawn female dancer performing on a bed of fire. The red and purple lettering against the green background is perfect. There is also something else going on that isn’t easy to describe.... The best way to put it is that this cover has an “indie” look to it, yet still retains a professional edge....not super slick, not primitive, but just right! The fact that it is a number one issue of a great title and pretty rare to find makes this already appealing cover a shining star to me. This copy might be familiar to some. I originally got a low grade reader of this book. It was all I could find, however I recently upgraded with this copy here from a fellow boardie. Thanks Paul!

#4 Venus - no.19 This is probably the most romontic of the “Terrible 25”. Bill Everett could sling ink with the best of them and no one doubts his place in the beginnings of comic history. I enjoy his early work in the thirties and fourties, but it is his 1950’s work that interests me the most. My opinion is that he spent a decade or so honing his skills during the birth of the comic book medium. By 1950, it seems he settled into a nice mature style. The height of his drawing talents are on display here with Venus #19. The variety of textures and ink markings is masterful. This is sometimes tough to see on these darker, heavily-colored Atlas covers, but it’s all there. This man was a master comic artist who could draw with the lights out! The main couple is obviously the focus but my favorite part has got to be the trio in the background. I can almost hear them snickering wicked remarks in that splintered house.

The end is near..... The final round of my Terrible 25 begins now! #5 Haunt Of Fear - no.17 I don’t care that the masthead and three narrators are covering part of the picture, this is a beautiful cover. Drawn by the original master of macabre, Graham Ingels! “Ghastly” Ingels is probably my favorite comic artist (At least he is my favorite “horror” comic artist). Here we have three zombies about to get close to you and say hi! I love the head tilts of the two background fiends and the excellent colors in their rotten faces. I think Bernie Wrightson said it best that you could “smell” an Ingels drawing. Just by looking at it, you could smell the decaying flesh.

Thanks Pat! Not sure if Christian is willing to include Venus in this list as it didn't start out as a horror book (but I would include it!) Wouldn't that discount Haunt of Fear as well, as it started as Gunfighters? Maybe because Venus is a superhero it doesn't count? Hard to draw the line on some of these! Venus and Haunt totally qualify. I pretty much follow the master list from Tales Too Terrible To Tell, Pov's old list, and a few others. An almost identical list was in the back of the recently released Four Color Fear (they included Monster Crime which I think has a great cover!) So many books to choose from! I tell you guys, this was a tough list to make. You'd think it would be easy to sit down and just do it, but I spent a good chunk of time managing it and making revisions... making sure I made good choices.

Thanks for the great comments gang! Lots of good guess work as to what the Top 5 Terribles are but I'm not saying who's close or who isn't!...... Let's wait til tomorrow! BOOT: That is an excellent argument about Front Page Comic Book being the first "Horror" comic. It could very well be depending on whose point of view it is. And your absolutely right about people sometimes not willing to budge once something has been declared "the first". This is the problem with labeling things. I think it all depends on the collector's definition of a horror comic. The only thing to be done is for fans to read the books themselves and make their own decision. These types of things are tough to define because so many books/titles around this time were hybrids and publishers were throwing everything at the wall to see what would stick. They certainly didn't care if books fell perfectly into horror, crime, and superhero genres. Thus, SO much output was gray. To me, this is what makes collecting GA fun.... so many oddball titles to discover, many of which have been forgotten due to scarcity.

That wraps up Day 4! Only one more day left! Can anyone guess the final five?

#6 Weird Tales Of The Future - no.7 My favorite Bernard Baily cover. Completely insane. All the creeps showed up for this one, and just look where they are walking out from! I grew up at the New Jersey shore in the 80’s and 90’s. This cover harkens back images of vintage funhouse signs, many with clowns, all along the boardwalk during the summers.... What a visual feast that was. There is also an amazing sense of depth here which I find rare in comic covers....The foreground monsters parade back to the devil, then your eye goes to the excellently-rendered mountainside, finally stopping on the lake of fire with smoldering clouds on the far horizon.

#7 Weird Mysteries - no.5 You knew this list wasn’t complete without this one right? Here we go with another heavy hitter! Even though this scene is disgusting, it appears to of been drawn with care. The rendering of the face, brain and the stipple-like hatching on the inside of the head, Bernard Baily gave this drawing a lot of love! It seems to be an ongoing debate whether this is a human or a primate. I think it is the “cut-off” nose that makes it look possibly like a gorilla? Who knows? I bet the publisher and artist would think it was crazy that we are actually giving it this much thought. Whatever is going on here, this is one of the best (and expensive ) Precodes out there!

#8 Black Cat - no.50 This is probably where people might get concerned that this book didn’t crack the top 5. For the record, I love this cover. I’m a huge fan, but I think there is another one in a similar style from the same publisher, that surpasses it. For shock value alone, this book could easily crack the top five. Without a doubt, this book is one of the most “visible” to comc collectors outside of the world of PreCodes. A melting face, disolving into garish colors of green, purple, blue.... The scene is truly horrifying, like something out of a nightmare.

#9 Weird Chills - no.2 Every time I give this cover a long good look, I get the creeping willies! What the heck is going on with this poor guy and these little creatures? The more I think on it, this might be a more gruesome “injury to eye” cover than MM 12 and The Thing 7. To me this is what a real horror comic should do, make you squirm in your seat, overwhelled with discomfort! You know what makes this even worse? This looks like someone I knew back in art school and they were a really nice person. Oh the horror!

#10 Out Of The Shadows - no.8 Alright! Down to my personal top ten! I spent a decade putting together the EC run of books. During that time, I talked to a dealer at a show about them. When I asked him about the other horror publishers of the 50’s (which I was unaware of at the time) he said most of them were EC knock-offs but a few were really interesting and unique. He then showed me a copy of this book. I remember being impressed and it definitely left an impression on me. All of the fine drawing details here really sells the scene. The guy boiling heads is like no other I have seen on a Pre-Code cover. The texture and bold colors on the cauldron froth are very cool too. All in all, I think this is one amazing cover...and it REAKS of horror!! ...

Awesome posts BangZoom...Thanks for sharing. Tis the season to be scary!

I knew you'd like that! As you know all too well, the cover is only the beginning with that book. The interiors are amazing as well. (thumbs u By the way, I ordered that new book from my local Barnes and Nobles....Should be in any day now. Where did you get your copy? I figure the DVD should be pretty cool.

Front Page Comic Book, 1945 Yes! Front Page has a great cover! This book was posted a couple of years ago on here. I found a copy shortly after that. It's pretty scarce. I just flipped through it again and although the cover is certainly horrific enough, the contents are more crime/espionage, although there is a nice Joe Kubert splash page with a gross monster on it... Over the last few years, I've made it a hobby to study the origins of horror stories in comics and I keep finding great early issues that might qualify in being "the first" and others which have a horror cover but fail to contain horror stories throughout the whole book. Most of the time they are crime/horror hybrids or superhero books with a crazy villain or skeleton who looks pretty creepy. A few of these early "borderline" books I've uncovered that pre-date Eerie #1 are Yellowjacket 7, Roly Poly 14, Spook Comics, and some of the early Hangman and Shadow comics... There are a few others but it seems Eerie #1 holds the spot as the first horror comic among many collectors. And why not? It's a great book. I think when something is declared as "the first" of any genre, there are going to be some debates.... It might not be so black and white.... I think there are a lot of "gray" books out there falling somewhere near the target....in the end, I'm glad it is sort of vague. It has been a lot of fun tracking down these issues and doing the research. If anyone uncovers any pre-1946 issues that are horror, please post them! I love discovering these treasures. Also, this might help in understanding what a "Horror" comic is. It certainly helped me..... One of the best definitions of a horror comic was published in issue one of the 1990's fanzine Tales Too Terrible To Tell published by New England Comics. Here's what is says: "A 'horror comic' is a comic book meeting the following three requirements: 1). The horror comic contains exclusively or predominantly a story or stories whose primary purpose is to scare, shock and/or fascinate the reader. 2). The stories involved in the horror comic achieve the purpose described in Part (1) by using plot elements involving the supernatural, the macabre, and/or the evil side of human nature. 3). The stories involved cannot be more accurately described as science fiction, crime, jungle, super-hero or humor stories. Tales Too Terrible To Tell ran 11 issues or so. They featured reprints and an excellent "Terrorology" section highlighting various publishers during the Horror PreCode years. If you haven't gotten it, I highly recommend it. I've read most of the PreCode history material but have found these issues to be the most helpful in my comic collecting.

Hmm...no ECs...yet. YET indeed. Covers weren't their strongest area. Don't worry though....something ghastly this way comes!..... Thanks for the comments everyone. This has been fun putting together. Mister Mystery 12 made it to the top 12...That ain't too bad. In fact, all of the books on this list are honored since they were chosen from over 1400. I hear you though, Mister Mystery 12 is a mega-key!