Least Favorite EC artists? 0

[Mmehdy]

Kamen least fav....they all seemed the same...

[Robot Man]

Really tough question. They are all masters in their particular genres. I guess it comes down to personal taste. For me, maybe Kurtzman and Krigstein. They are as I said, masters but they appeal to me a little less than the rest. And yeah, maybe Kamen sometimes. Although when you take him away from EC, he really shines.

[Electricmastro]

For reference, a list of many of EC’s artists from the early 50s:

Gene Colan

Joe Kubert

Wally Wood

John Severin

Jack Davis

Al Williamson

Russ Heath

Joe Orlando

Reed Crandall

Alex Toth

Jack Kamen

Dave Berg

Frank Frazetta

Johnny Craig

George Evans

Harvey Kurtzman

Graham Ingels

George Roussos

Basil Wolverton

Al Feldstein

Bill Fraccio

Bernie Krigstein

Ric Estrada

Bill Elder

Ed Smalle

Howard Larsen

Sid Check

Harry Harrison

George Olesen

Fred Peters

[AJD]

I find Severin's work the least compelling of the regulars. I can't quite decide whether it's the art or the generally dull stories he seemed to work on. Some of the stories in Two Fisted 36-40 are the worst EC published IMHO.

[sfcityduck]

By far, the best and most creative artists at EC were Kurtzman, Krigstein, Williamson, and Frazetta, that order.  

Yeah, yeah, I know the horror fans have different faves, but I think Gaines had the right of it in viewing the horror books as the "bread and butter" workhorses that made money for the more aesthetically and politically appealing science fiction, war, and political books.  The main artists on those horror books were craftsmen who did a fantastic job, but they did not reach the heights the above four at times reached.  

As for my least favorite EC artists:  Harry Harrison without a doubt.  Of the more regular artists, probably Jack Kamen (love his work for other publishers).  

Finally, someone up above complained about the text boxes on ECs and I think that's spot on.  The best EC stories often were a rebellion against the rigid page designs and text boxes that certain EC editors sometimes over favored.  Which is why I think when it comes to horror and science fiction Atlas gets short shrift as a worthy challenger to EC.  It was. Atlas had fantastic artists, less text boxes, and good stories.  And Atlas figured out how to work within the code and still make good stories. 

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by sfcityduck