Comics, Magazines and Books from Diamond Distributors for May 26, 2021

COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS

MAR211571    20 FISTS #2 (OF 3) (MR)    $3.99
NOV201484    2000 AD JAN 2021 PROG PACK    $21.00
MAR211157    ALICE IN LEATHERLAND #2 (MR)    $3.99
MAR211068    ARCHIE GIANT COMICS THRILL TP    $9.99
MAR210979    BABY YODA CEREBUS ONE SHOT    $4.00
MAR211536    BLACK FRIDAY #2 (OF 3) (MR)    $3.99
NOV201202    BLAKE & MORTIMER GN VOL 27 CALL OF THE MOLOCH    $15.95
MAR211655    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR A GORHAM    $3.99
MAR211656    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR B    $3.99
MAR211657    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR C DANIEL    $3.99
JAN218085    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR D 15 COPY INCV PACE    $3.99
JAN218086    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR E 30 COPY INCV WARD    $3.99
JAN218087    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR F 50 COPY INCV WARD VIRGIN    $3.99
JAN218088    BLUE FLAME #1 CVR G 75 COPY INCV WARD FOIL    $3.99
MAR211746    BOYS RUN THE RIOT GN VOL 01 (MR)    $12.99
MAR211574    BROKEN GARGOYLES TP (MR)    $9.99
MAR211589    CARPENTER TALES SCIFI HELL #2 (OF 8) (MR)    $3.99
MAR211140    CASUAL FLING #4 (MR)    $3.99
MAR211138    CHARIOT #3    $3.99
MAR211292    CHARTWELL MANAOR HC (MR)    $29.99
MAR211903    CHERRY MAGIC GN VOL 03 (RES) (MR)    $12.99
MAR211768    CITY GN VOL 11    $12.95
MAR211575    CLASSIC PULP GHOSTS ONESHOT    $4.00
MAR211080    CROSSED FATAL FANTASY BOX SET (RES) (MR)    $49.99
MAR211576    CULT OF DRACULA #3 (OF 6) CVR A NEMETH (MR)    $3.99
MAR211577    CULT OF DRACULA #3 (OF 6) CVR B MAER (MR)    $3.99
MAR211579    DAMNED CURSED CHILDREN #5 (OF 5) (MR)    $3.99
MAR211163    DESTINY NY #3 (MR)    $3.99
JAN211310    DF MAN BAT #1 NOWLAN SGN    $29.99
MAR211280    DF MAYDAY DC MEGAMIX    $33.33
MAR211281    DF MAYDAY MARVEL MEGAMIX    $33.33
DEC201422    DF TRUE BELIEVERS BETA RAY BILL #1 SIMONSON SILVER SGN    $33.70
MAR211028    EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS SKETCHBOOK 2021 #1 CVR A WOLFER    $3.99
MAR211029    EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS SKETCHBOOK 2021 #1 CVR B LTD ED    $9.99
MAR211829    ENIALE & DEWIELA GN VOL 03 (OF 3)    $13.00
MAR211580    ERA OF GREAT WONDERS #6 (OF 6)    $3.99
FEB211049    FOX & RABBIT YR HC VOL 03 FOX & RABBIT CELEBRATE    $12.99
MAR211004    GIRLS OF DIMENSION 13 #2    $3.99
MAR211058    GOLD DIGGER TP GOLD BRICK X    $49.99
FEB211010    GOON BUNCH OF OLD CRAP TP VOL 05    $29.99
MAR210951    GUNG HO ANGER #1 CVR A STEPHEN SEGOVIA (MR)    $3.99
MAR210952    GUNG HO ANGER #1 CVR B DANIEL CLARKE (MR)    $3.99
MAR210953    GUNG HO ANGER #1 CVR C KIM JUNG GI (MR)    $3.99
MAR210954    GUNG HO ANGER #1 CVR D VON KUMMANT (MR)    $3.99
MAR210955    GUNG HO ANGER #1 CVR E BLANK SKETCH CVR (MR)    $10.00
FEB211749    HARD BOILED STORIES FROM THE CAT BAR GN    $15.00
AUG201725    HOLD UP GRAPHIC NOVEL ADV HC    $22.99
MAR211874    HOW REALIST HERO REBUILT KINGDOM OMNIBUS GN VOL 02    $19.99
NOV201203    HSE HUMAN STOCK EXCHANGE GN VOL 01    $13.95
MAR211012    I BREATHED A BODY #5    $3.99
MAR211366    IN A GRAPHIC NOVEL    $28.00
MAR211414    JUST PRETEND GN    $12.99
MAR211415    JUST PRETEND HC GN    $24.99
JAN211466    KAIJUMAX TP VOL 05 SEASON 5 (MR)    $19.99
MAR211049    KENT MENACE DIRECTORS CUT #0    $3.99
FEB211389    KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE #283 (RES)    $6.99
MAR211209    LADY DEATH MALEVOLENT DECIMATION #2 (OF 2) NAUGHTY CVR SPERL    $40.00
MAR211208    LADY DEATH MALEVOLENT DECIMATION #2 (OF 2) PREMIUM FOIL MEND    $25.00
MAR211207    LADY DEATH MALEVOLENT DECIMATION #2 (OF 2) SPLASH CVR (MR)    $4.99
MAR211206    LADY DEATH MALEVOLENT DECIMATION #2 (OF 2) STANDARD CVR (MR)    $4.99
FEB211557    LIFE IS STRANGE PARTNERS IN TIME TSHIRT PACK    $16.99
DEC201711    LITTLE VICTORIES AUTISM THROUGH A FATHERS EYES TP (RES)    $19.99
MAR211832    LOVE OF KILL GN VOL 02    $13.00
MAR211478    MAGICAL HISTORY TOUR GN VOL 03 HIDDEN OIL    $6.99
MAR211698    MAN GOAT & BUNNY MAN #2 (OF 3) CVR A VIGONTE    $5.99
MAR211699    MAN GOAT & BUNNY MAN #2 (OF 3) CVR B RIVEIRO    $5.99
JAN211720    MANGA CLASSICS COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO TP NEW PTG    $19.99
MAR211770    MANGA CLASSICS OTHELLO HC    $24.99
JAN211721    MANGA CLASSICS STORIES OF EDGAR ALLAN POE NEW PTG TP    $19.99
MAR211875    MARGINAL OPERATION GN VOL 06    $14.99
MAR211310    MARK SCHULTZ XENOZOIC (2021) NEW PTG TP    $34.95
JAN211035    MIRANDA IN THE MAELSTROM TP VOL 01    $14.99
MAR211553    MISADVENTURERS #1    $1.99
MAR211349    MODERN FRANKENSTEIN #2 CVR A VIECELI & BOWLAND (MR)    $3.99
MAR211669    MONEY SHOT #11 (MR)    $3.99
JAN218092    MONEY SHOT #11 CVR B POLYBAG BARTEL VAR (MR)    $5.99
JAN218093    MONEY SHOT #11 CVR C POLYBAG LAYNE VAR (MR)    $5.99
JAN218094    MONEY SHOT #11 CVR D POLYBAG SEELEY VAR (MR)    $5.99
MAR211581    MONSTROUS HEARTBREAK BLOOD LOSS #1 (OF 3)    $3.99
FEB211024    MOON MAID THREE KEYS #3 CVR A PUGLIA    $3.99
FEB211025    MOON MAID THREE KEYS #3 CVR B PULP ART CVR    $9.99
FEB211242    MY BEGGING CHART TP (MR)    $19.95
FEB211630    NEVERLAND ANNUAL 2021 CVR A IGOR VITORINO    $7.99
FEB211631    NEVERLAND ANNUAL 2021 CVR B EDGAR SALAZAR    $7.99
FEB211632    NEVERLAND ANNUAL 2021 CVR C SUN KHAMUNAKI    $7.99
MAR211388    NINJAS & ROBOTS #7 CVR A ERIK KLAUS    $4.99
MAR211389    NINJAS & ROBOTS #7 CVR B CAMPANA    $4.99
MAR211390    NINJAS & ROBOTS #7 CVR C MATT YOUNG    $4.99
MAR211009    NUCLEAR FAMILY #4    $3.99
MAR211685    OLIVER TREE VS LITTLE RICKY ALIEN BOYS TP    $19.99
NOV201593    PIRATES CURSED ISLE GRAPHIC NOVEL ADV HC    $22.99
MAR211421    PUP DETECTIVES GN VOL 03 SOCCER MYSTERY    $9.99
MAR211586    RAFAEL GARCIA HENCHMAN #1 CVR A HERRERA    $5.99
MAR211587    RAFAEL GARCIA HENCHMAN #1 CVR B VILLALOBOS    $5.99
MAR211905    RAGNA CRIMSON GN VOL 02    $12.99
MAR211547    REDSHIFT #1 (OF 6) CVR A NAHUELPAN    $3.99
FEB211443    RICK AND MORTY PRESENTS TP VOL 03    $19.99
MAR211578    SEIS CUERDAS DEFENDER OF MEXICO #1 (OF 3) (MR)    $3.99
MAR211010    SHADOW DOCTOR #4    $3.99
MAR211671    SHADOW SERVICE #8 CVR A HOWELL    $3.99
MAR211672    SHADOW SERVICE #8 CVR B ISAACS    $3.99
MAR211647    SHADOWMAN (2020) #2 CVR A DAVIS-HUNT (RES)    $3.99
MAR211648    SHADOWMAN (2020) #2 CVR B WIJNGAARD (RES)    $3.99
MAR211649    SHADOWMAN (2020) #2 CVR C FRANCAVILLA (RES)    $3.99
APR211577    SHAPES TP (RES)    $14.95
JUL201499    SHERLOCK HOLMES BEGINNING GRAPHIC NOVEL ADV HC    $22.99
SEP201535    SHERLOCK HOLMES SHADOW OF JACK RIPPER GRAPHIC NOVEL ADV HC    $22.99
JAN211455    SPRITE & GARDENER HC    $17.99
MAR211552    SWEET DOWNFALL TP    $19.99
FEB211201    TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #127 COSPLAY PHOTO CVR ED (MR)    $19.99
FEB211202    TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE #127 DLX LITHO ED (MR)    $19.99
MAR211191    TAROT WITCH OF THE BLACK ROSE KRAMPUS KHRONICLES TP    $24.99
MAR218758    THE RISE #1 (OF 6) 2ND PTG    $2.99
MAR211429    THEY FELL FROM THE SKY #4    $3.99
JAN211333    TONGUES #4 (MR)    $18.00
MAR211582    TOUCHING EVIL TP VOL 02    $19.99
MAR211038    TROGS #1 CVR A BONK (MR)    $3.99
MAR211039    TROGS #1 CVR B BONK (MR)    $4.99
MAR210994    TURTLENECKS GN (MR)    $19.95
APR211913    WAKE HIDDEN HISTORY WOMEN LED SLAVE REVOLTS GN    $29.99
MAR211769    WHAT DID YOU EAT YESTERDAY GN VOL 15 (MR)    $12.95
MAR211527    WHITE LILY #4 (MR)    $3.95
MAR211676    WITCHBLOOD #3 CVR A STERLE    $3.99
JAN218100    WITCHBLOOD #3 CVR B STERLE    $3.99
JAN218101    WITCHBLOOD #3 CVR C YOSHITANI    $3.99
MAR211072    WORLD OF BETTY & VERONICA JUMBO COMICS DIGEST #5    $7.99
DEC201765    YOUR THEME PARK ADV HC    $22.99
MAR211572    YUKI VS PANDA #1 (MR)    $3.99
MAR211297    ZIG ZAG ONE SHOT    $6.99
JAN211059    ZORRO NEW WORLD #1 CVR A CAPALDI    $3.99
JAN211060    ZORRO NEW WORLD #1 CVR B LTD ED PHOTO    $9.99

MAGAZINES

MAR211213    COMIC SHOP NEWS [90CT BUNDLE] #1762    $PI
MAR211293    COMICS JOURNAL #307    $16.99
MAR211679    CREEPS #31 (MR)    $5.95
APR211594    MONSTER BASH MAGAZINE #42    $8.99
APR211816    RUE MORGUE MAGAZINE #200 JUNE 2021    $12.95
FEB211545    STAR WARS EMPIRE STRIKES BACK ANN SPECIAL HC (RES)    $24.99

BOOKS

JAN211460    A QUICK & EASY GUIDE TO PRONOUNS BUNDLE TP (MR)    $39.95
MAR211308    AL WILLIAMSON STRANGE WORLD ADVENTURES SC    $39.95
APR212230    ASIAN ILLUSTRATION 26 ASIAN ILLUSTRATORS SC    $39.99
MAR211865    BUNGO STRAY DOGS NOVEL SC VOL 06    $15.00
MAR211876    BY THE GRACE OF GODS LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 04    $14.99
MAR211861    DATE A LIVE LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 02    $15.00
MAR211870    DEMON SWORD MASTER EXCALIBUR ACADEMY NOVEL SC VOL 03    $15.00
MAR211315    DISNEY LILO & STITCH LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK    $5.99
MAR211859    DISSOCIATION OF HARUHI SUZUMIYA NOVEL SC    $15.00
FEB211587    DRAWING FURRIES SC    $16.95
JAN211814    DURARARA SH LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 01    $15.00
MAR211142    FAITH TAKING FLIGHT SC NOVEL    $10.99
APR212231    FASHION ILLUSTRATION BOOK ART OF TANAKA SC    $29.99
MAR211413    FENCE SC NOVEL DISARMED    $12.99
MAR211866    LOVE MOM & 2 HIT MULTI TARGET ATTACKS LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 09    $15.00
MAR211309    MARK SCHULTZ CARBON SC VOL 04    $24.95
MAR211375    MONDO ART OF SOUNDTRACKS HC    $50.00
APR212232    MYSTERIOUS SCENES FROM DARK FANTASY WORLD SC    $39.95
MAR211591    NINJA GN VOL 02 WAR FOR THE DOMINIONS    $16.99
MAR211377    STREET FIGHTER OFF STREET FOOD COOKBOOK HC    $35.00
MAR210982    UNDEREXPOSED 50 GREATEST MOVIES NEVER MADE HC    $29.99
MAR211872    WANDERING WITCH JOURNEY ELAINA LIGHT NOVEL SC VOL 05    $15.00
MAR211378    WORLD OF WARCRAFT NEW FLAVORS OF AZEROTH OFF COOKBOOK    $35.00
MAR211868    YOUTH ROMANTIC COMEDY WRONG EXPECTED NOVEL SC VOL 11    $14.00

#IReadsYou Review: BLAZING COMBAT

BLAZING COMBAT
FANTAGRAPHICS BOOKS

WRITERS: Archie Goodwin, Michael Catron
ARTISTS: Various
LETTERS: Ben Oda, Various
COVER: John Severin
ISBN: 978-1-60699-366-8; paperback (February 2010)
212pp, B&W with some color, $19.99 U.S.

Comic book history tells us that Warren Publishing was an independent magazine publisher owned by maverick, James Warren.  By 1965, Warren was best known for publishing Famous Monsters of Filmland, its flagship title, and Creepy, a horror comics anthology that would go on to become a legend.  James Warren had even published Harvey Kurtzman’s black-and-white comic book series, Help!

Inspired by Harvey Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat, two famous war titles from EC Comics, Warren launched his on war comic book, entitled Blazing Combat.  The stories were largely written by Archie Goodwin and drawn by an absolute murderers’ row of comic book and illustration luminaries, including Wallace “Wally” Wood, Gene Colan, Frank Frazetta (cover artist), Joe Orlando, John Severin, Alex Toth, and Al Williamson, among others.

Blazing Combat looked like it would be a hit, but in 1965, the United States was escalating its involvement in Vietnam.  Apparently, Blazing Combat’s realistic depiction of soldiers in combat, of the death, violence, and destruction of war, and even of the affects of war on civilians angered some.  Blazing Combat was banned from sale on military bases, and the American Legion’s objections to the title led some magazine wholesalers to stop carrying it.  In 1966, after only four issues, James Warren cancelled Blazing Combat.

The reader can learn all this in Michael Catron’s excellent introduction to a book entitled Blazing Combat.  Published last year by Fantagraphics Books, the hardcover Blazing Combat collected all four issues of the original Blazing Combat and also included two interviews Catron conducted with James Warren and Archie Goodwin.  Fantagraphics recently released a less expensive softcover edition of this 2010 Eisner Award nominated book (Best Archival Collection/Project-Comic Books).

So what you might ask?  Who cares about a reprint of an old comic book published by James Warren over 40 years ago?

Well, Blazing Combat is probably the best war comic book ever published in the United States.  Speaking in terms of anthology books, the art in Blazing Combat is every bit as good as the art found in EC Comics’ titles – the gold standard in anthology comics and arguably the best line of comic books ever published in the U.S.

As for the stories, Blazing Combat was probably the best writing of Archie Goodwin’s long and distinguished career as a writer and beloved editor.  Screenwriters and directors have received Oscar nominations and wins for directing and writing some excellent war movies, such as The Hurt Locker recently.  Goodwin’s work in Blazing Combat is every bit as powerful and high-quality.

In such stories as “Holding Action,” about a scared boy in Korea, “The Trench,” set in the trenches of World War I (both drawn by the incomparable John Severin), and “Face to Face” (drawn by Joe Orlando) set during the Spanish American war, Goodwin delivers poignant and powerful work about the damage of war on the mind and the spirit.  The physical degradation of war on the land and on a people is revealed in the sublime “Landscape” (drawn by Joe Orlando), about a Vietnamese farmer.

For all the controversy his stories apparently generated, Goodwin gives love to the veteran combatant in the lovely “The Edge.”  Drawn by Alex Toth, the story is more proof of why Toth is the master when it comes to drawing aerial combat in comic books.  However, Wally Wood does show his own chops in two stories of aerial combat, “The Battle for Britain!” which he wrote and “ME-262!”

Blazing Combat, in spite of its short run, could be called special because of the list of luminaries that drew the comic book art – the visual storytelling.  At a time, however, when comic book publishers were turning themselves solely into superhero comic book publishers, James Warren, Archie Goodwin, and their collaborators were tackling bigger ideas and substantive subject matter by taking on war and the military culture.  And they did great work, to boot.  Now, thanks to this collection, Blazing Combat leaves the memory hole and at long last takes its place of prominence in American comic book history.

A+
10 out of 10

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"


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The text is copyright © 2021 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for reprint and syndication rights and fees.

-------------------------

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for February 13, 2019

DARK HORSE COMICS

DEC180368    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #2 CVR A WHEATLEY    $3.99
DEC180369    AVATAR TSU TEYS PATH #2 CVR B STANDERFER    $3.99
OCT180352    EC ARCHIVES HC PIRACY    $49.99
DEC180389    GOD OF WAR #4 (OF 4)    $3.99
OCT180349    PLANTS VS ZOMBIES HC DINO-MIGHT    $9.99
DEC180385    TOM CLANCYS DIVISION EXTREMIS MALIS #2    $3.99
SEP180308    TOMB RAIDER COLORING BOOK TP    $14.99
NOV180236    WHISPERING DARK #4    $3.99
DEC180381    WILLIAM GIBSON ALIEN 3 #4 CVR A CHRISTMAS    $3.99
DEC180382    WILLIAM GIBSON ALIEN 3 #4 CVR B MOORE    $3.99

Dark Horse Comics from Diamond Distributors for August 9, 2017

DARK HORSE COMICS

APR170046    ALIEN VS PREDATOR LIFE AND DEATH TP (MR)    $19.99
APR170086    ANGEL SEASON 11 TP VOL 01 OUT OF PAST    $17.99
APR170108    DRIFTERS TP VOL 04 (MR)    $13.99
APR170081    EC ARCHIVES INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION HC    $49.99
JUN170107    GROO PLAY OF GODS #2    $3.99
JUN170025    HELLBOY AND THE BPRD 1955 SECRET NATURE ONE SHOT    $3.99
APR170104    NGE SHINJI IKARI RAISING PROJECT OMNIBUS TP VOL 04    $19.99
JUN170032    SHADOWS ON THE GRAVE #7 (OF 8)    $3.99

I Reads You Review: "Foul Play!"

FOUL PLAY! THE ART AND ARTISTS OF THE NOTORIOUS 1950S E.C. COMICS!
HARPER COLLINS/Harper Design

WRITER: Grant Geissman
COVER: Johnny Craig (Back cover by Graham Ingels)
ISBN: 978-0060746988; paperback (April 2005)
272pp, Color, $29.95 U.S.

Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics is a 2005 non-fiction book.  Written by Grant Geissman, the book profiles the careers of the artists who drew for E.C. Comics in the early 1950s, focusing on the 14 artists most associated with the publisher.  This book also includes 14 E.C. stories drawn by these artists.

What was E.C. Comics?  Entertaining Comics was a comic book publisher that was first known as Educational Comics when it was founded in 1944 by Max Gaines.  Of course, Entertaining Comics is best known by its common name “E.C. Comics.”  Max Gaines died in a boating accident in 1947, and his son, William “Bill” Gaines, took over the company.  In 1949 and 1950, Bill Gaines began publishing a line of new titles that featured crime, horror, military, science fiction, and suspense comics.

Under the editorship of Al Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman, this line featured the work of prominent and talented freelance illustrators like Jack Davis, Will Elder, Bernard Krigstein, and Wally Wood (to name a few).  Titles like Tales from the Crypt, Frontline Combat, Shock SuspenStories, Weird Science, and Weird Fantasy (to name a few) presented a fresh approach to comic book storytelling.  This line of comic books became a hit with readers.  Eventually, however, controversy and political backlash effectively ended E.C. Comics in 1954.

Originally published in April 2005, Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics is a paperback book (8.5” x 11”) that profiles these artists who drew for E.C. Comics.  The book’s author, Grant Geissman, is an Emmy-nominated composer of music for television programs.  Geissman is also an expert on E.C. Comics and MAD Magazine (also originally published by Bill Gaines).

Foul Play! (which is out-of-print as of this writing) is practically a who’s who of mid-20th century popular illustration.  The book features such E.C. artists as Al Feldstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Johnny Craig, Jack Davis, (Ghastly) Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, Wallace “Wally” Wood, Joe Orlando, Will Elder, John Severin, George Evans, Al Williamson, Reed Crandall, and Bernie Krigstein, among others. Geissman offers biographical details about the artists, describes how they came to work for Bill Gaines, and how their careers evolved after E.C. Comics.

Foul Play! also reprints 14 stories from various E.C. comics publications, each one showcasing the work of a particular artist.  Plus, the book includes, as a special bonus, a lost E.C. Comics story, entitled, “Wanted for Murder!”  Drawn by Al Williamson (with an uncredited assist from Angelo Torres), this was originally intended to be published in 1956 in Crime Illustrated, part of the E.C. Picto-Fiction magazine line.  The magazine was never published, and the story was forgotten and unseen until published in this book.

Over the years, I have had occasion to read reprint editions of various EC Comics.  I even have one of those Russ Cochran boxed sets (the four-volume Weird Science).  I had not heard of Foul Play! and discovered it on a wire book shelf in a comic book shop I was visiting.

I was actually at the shop to pick up some comic books that I was going to review for the Comic Book Bin.  But Foul Play! caught my attention the same way a nude photograph of Halle Berry or Charlize Theron probably would.  That was about nine years ago.  In that time, I have read this book a few times, read portions of it numerous times, and thumbed through it countless times (especially when I’m on the toilet).

Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C. Comics is an evergreen book.  It is always going to be relevant because I think that comic book scholars and aficionados will never forget E.C. Comics.  They were a high-water mark in the history of comic books, especially American comic books; perhaps, they were the first high-water mark of American comic books.  Anyone who ever read them never forgot them, and for some, they were an inspiration.  Because some of the people this line of comics influenced went on to contribute to American culture (high, low, and pop), E.C. Comics may have ceased publication, but it never died.  So Foul Play! may be out of print, but it is still in play.

A+

Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux


The text is copyright © 2014 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this site for syndication rights and fees.

Fantagraphics-EC Comics Library Present "50 Girls 50"

50 Girls 50 and Other Stories (The EC Comics Library)
illustrated by Al Williamson et al.; written by Al Feldstein et al.

264-page black & white 7.25" x 10.25" hardcover • $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-60699-577-8
In-store date: March 2013 (subject to change)

Barely old enough to drink when he joined the EC Comics stable, Al Williamson may have been the new kid on the block, but a lifetime of studying such classic adventure cartoonists as Alex Raymond (Flash Gordon) and Hal Foster (Prince Valiant) had made him a kid to reckon with — as he proved again and again in the stories he created for EC's legendary "New Trend" comics, in particular Weird Science and Weird Fantasy.

As a result of Williamson's focus, it's possible to compile all of Williamson's "New Trend" EC work into one book — which Fantagraphics is finally doing here. Sci-fi aficionados should note that although most of the stories were written by Al Feldstein, 50 Girls 50 features three of EC's legendary Ray Bradbury adaptations, including "I, Rocket" and "A Sound of Thunder" — and a unique curiosity, a strip adapted from a short story submitted by a teen-aged Harlan Ellison.

Williamson ran with a gang of like-minded young Turks dubbed the "Fleagle Gang," who would help one another out on assignments. Thus this book includes three stories upon which Williamson was joined by the legendary Frank Frazetta, and one story ("Food for Thought") where Roy Krenkel provided his exquisite alien landscapes, to make it one of the most gorgeous EC stories ever printed. As a supplementary bonus, 50 Girls 50 includes three stories drawn by Fleagles sans Williamson: Frazetta's Shock SuspenStories short "Squeeze Play"; Krenkel's meticulous "Time to Leave"; and Angelo Torres's "An Eye for an Eye," an EC story that famously fell prey to censorship and was not released until the 1970s. As with other Fantagraphics EC titles, 50 Girls 50 also includes extensive story notes by EC experts.

ABOUT THE CARTOONIST: From his days as an EC pioneer to his late-career stint as the preferred illustrator of Star Wars comic strips and comic books, Al Williamson (1931-2010) was one of the greatest science fiction cartoonists who ever lived. He was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame in 2000.