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The Undead Thread: Pre-Code Horror
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Started by precodekeith,

Favorite Pre-Code Publisher  

9 members have voted

  1. 1. Favorite Pre-Code Publisher

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10,235 posts in this topic

Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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Considered to be the first “horror comic” by many collectors, Eerie 1 was published a few years before the horror boom was in full swing...

 

:gossip: 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.

 

 

 

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damonwad

damonwad

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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.

 

 

I just recently bought all 11 issues from New England Comics and am looking forward to reading them. Your list is awesome by the way. (thumbs u

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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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.

 

 

I just recently bought all 11 issues from New England Comics and am looking forward to reading them. Your list is awesome by the way. (thumbs u

 

I've posted about them several times. Great information that is well deserving of being published in book form with lots of color photos.

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adamstrange

adamstrange

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Has anyone read this book? Any recommendations on how good it is?

 

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/10/21/the-horror-the-horro.html

 

a little light on content. lots of covers. A few reprints that are also in the other new book too. It's worth picking up, but not essential.

Thanks. I'll put it on the wist list but sounds like there are others probably more important right now.

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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Loving the list & commentary so far Christian! So psyched to see thing #7 in there! :applause:

 

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.

 

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rjpb

rjpb

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Any body pick up the latest Alter-Ego? - with a long pre-code horror comics article - I figured it would largely be a rehash of what's been written before - but it had a little info that was new to me, and was an enjoyable read.

 

Michael T. Gilbert's rant about the lameness of clown villains was entertaining as well.

 

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shiverbones

shiverbones

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Loving the list & commentary so far Christian! So psyched to see thing #7 in there! :applause:

 

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.

 

Got mine from amazon, took about 3 days which was nice

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shiverbones

shiverbones

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Any body pick up the latest Alter-Ego? - with a long pre-code horror comics article - I figured it would largely be a rehash of what's been written before - but it had a little info that was new to me, and was an enjoyable read.

 

Michael T. Gilbert's rant about the lameness of clown villains was entertaining as well.

 

Thanks for the tip!

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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#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!! :sick: ... :cloud9:

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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#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!

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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#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.

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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#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 :P ) Precodes out there!

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Darth Corgi

Darth Corgi

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#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.

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october

october

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Tomb of Terror 15 will be in the top 5, but what else? Maybe Venus 19? Weird Tales of the Future 3? Beware 10? Startling Terror 11?

 

Three of my personal top 6 have already been shown, so the top five will be interesting.

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