Horror comics are comic books , graphic novels , black-and-white comics magazines, and manga focusing on horror fiction . In the US market, horror comic books reached a peak in the late 1940s through the mid-1950s, when concern over content and the imposition of the self-censorship Comics Code Authority contributed to the demise of many titles and the toning down of others. Black-and-white horror-comics magazines, which did not fall under the Code, flourished from the mid-1960s through the early 1980s from a variety of publishers. Mainstream American color comic books experienced a horror resurgence in the 1970s, following a loosening of the Code. While the genre has had greater and lesser periods of popularity, it occupies a firm niche in comics as of the 2010s.
80-540: Precursors to horror comics include detective and crime comics that incorporated horror motifs into their graphics, and early superhero stories that sometimes included the likes of ghouls and vampires. Individual horror stories appeared as early as 1940. The first dedicated horror comic books appear to be Gilberton Publications ' Classic Comics #13 (August 1943), with its full-length adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson 's Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , and Avon Publications ' anthology Eerie #1 (January 1947),
160-469: A Crestwood/Prize salesman urged Kirby and Simon to launch their own comics company, Mainline Publications , while the duo continued to produce work for Crestwood under contract. When the duo rearranged and republished artwork from an old Crestwood story in the Mainline title In Love , Crestwood refused to pay Simon and Kirby. After reviewing Crestwood's finances, Simon & Kirby's attorney stated that
240-539: A March 29, 1948, United States Supreme Court ruling that a 64-year-old New York State law outlawing publications with "pictures and stories of deeds of bloodshed, lust or crime" was unconstitutional. Regardless, the uproar increased upon the publication of two articles: "Horror in the Nursery" by Judith Crist , in the March 25, 1948, issue Collier's Weekly , based upon the symposium "Psychopathology of Comic Books" held
320-674: A backup feature to Irving's " Rip Van Winkle " in a package titled Rip Van Winkle and the Headless Horseman . The next issue, Classic Comics #13 (August 1943), adapted Robert Louis Stevenson 's horror novella Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde as the full-length story Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , making it the earliest known dedicated horror comic book. Historian Ron Goulart , making no mention of those earlier literary adaptations, identifies Avon Publications ' Eerie #1, dated January 1947 and sold in late 1946, as "the first out-and-out horror comic book". Its cover featured
400-959: A number of horror titles, including Dracula Lives! , Monsters Unleashed , Vampire Tales , Tales of the Zombie , Haunt of Horror , and Masters of Terror . Additionally, Skywald Publications offered the black-and-white horror-comics magazines Nightmare , Psycho , and Scream . DC during this time continued to publish its existing supernatural fiction and added new horror series such as Ghosts , The Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love (later titled Forbidden Tales of Dark Mansion ), Secrets of Haunted House , Secrets of Sinister House , Swamp Thing , Weird Mystery Tales , Weird War Tales , and Tales of Ghost Castle . Charlton continued in this vein as well, with Ghostly Haunts , Haunted , Midnight Tales , Haunted Love , and Scary Tales . Underground cartoonists , many of them strongly influenced by 1950s EC Comics like Tales from
480-429: A number of popular horror titles, including Hellblazer and Swamp Thing . One of Vertigo's early successes was Neil Gaiman 's Sandman , which reworked a number of DC's old horror characters and added fantasy to the mix. A number of other horror titles carried on at Vertigo, like Deadman , House of Mystery and Haunted Tank , or were given a horror spin or an update like Kid Eternity and Jonah Hex . In
560-434: A picture of a large and pervasive industry, shrouded in secrecy and masterminded by a few, that operated upon the innocent and defenseless minds of the young. He further suggested the industry strong-armed vendors into accepting their publications and forced artists and writers into producing the content against their will. Wertham alleged comics stimulated deviant sexual behavior. He noted female breasts in comics protruded in
640-740: A producer of pulp magazines , jumped onto the superhero bandwagon with the new title Prize Comics . The first issue (March 1940) featured the non-superpowered, costumed crime fighter K the Unknown, whose name was changed to the Black Owl in issue #2 (April 1940). In Prize Comics #7 (December 1940), writer-artist Dick Briefer introduced the eight-page feature "New Adventures of Frankenstein ", an updated version of 19th-century novelist Mary Shelley 's much-adapted Frankenstein monster . Considered by comics historians including Don Markstein "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within
720-410: A provocative way and special attention was lavished upon the female genital region. A cover by Matt Baker from Phantom Lady was reprinted in the book with the caption, "Sexual stimulation by combining 'headlights' with the sadist's dream of tying up a woman". Boys interviewed by Wertham said they used comic book images for masturbation purposes, and one young comics reader confessed he wanted to be
800-491: A range of mini-series released by IDW Publishing . At Dark Horse , Mike Mignola has been working on Hellboy , and has created a large fictional universe with spin-off titles like BPRD and Lobster Johnson . Gilberton (publisher) The Gilberton Company, Inc. ( / ˈ ɡ ɪ l b ər t ən / ) was an American publisher best known for the comic book series Classics Illustrated featuring adaptations of literary classics . Beginning life as an imprint of
880-449: A red-eyed, pointy-eared fiend threatening a rope-bound , beautiful young woman in a scanty red evening gown, set amid a moonlit ruin. The anthology offered six primarily occult stories involving the likes of a ghost and a zombie. While all but one writer are unknown — Edward Bellin, who teamed with young artist Joe Kubert on the nine-page "The Man-Eating Lizards" — the artists include George Roussos and Fred Kida . After this first issue,
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#1732793882695960-568: A result of the Congressional hearings, DC Comics shifted its ongoing horror titles, House of Mystery (1951–1987) and House of Secrets (1956–1966), toward the suspense and mystery genres, often with a science fiction bent. In fact, from 1964 to 1968, House of Mystery became a mostly superhero title, featuring J'onn J'onzz, the Manhunter from Mars and, later, Dial H for Hero . Similarly, during this period Marvel Comics produced
1040-441: A seven-page, abridged adaptation of Horace Walpole 's seminal gothic novel The Castle of Otranto , by an unknown writer and artist Al Ulmer . Following the postwar crime comics vogue spearheaded by publisher Lev Gleason 's Crime Does Not Pay , which by 1948 was selling over a million copies a month, came romance comics , which by 1949 outsold all other genres, and horror comics. The same month in which Adventures into
1120-516: A sex maniac. Wertham contended comics promoted homosexuality by pointing to the Batman–Robin relationship and calling it a homosexual wish dream of two men living together. He observed that Robin was often pictured standing with his legs spread and the genital region evident. Most alarmingly, Wertham contended that comic books fostered deceitfulness in children, who might read funny animal comics in front of their parents but then turn to horror comics
1200-457: A week earlier by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham ; and Wertham's own features "The Comics ... Very Funny!" in the May 29, 1948, issue of The Saturday Review of Literature , and a March 19, 1948 symposium called "Psychopathology of Comic Books" which stated that comic books were "abnormally sexually aggressive" and led to crime. In response to public pressure and bad press, an industry trade group ,
1280-410: A year and a half, Simon & Kirby were launching companion titles for Crestwood to capitalize on the success of this new genre. The first issue of Young Love (Feb. 1949) also sold well with "indistinguishable" content from its parent-title. Further spin-off titles Young Brides (married couples' stories) and In Love ("book-length" stories) also followed from Crestwood/Prize, and were produced by
1360-697: The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers (ACMP) was formed with the intent of prodding the industry to police itself. The Association proved ineffective as few publishers joined and those who did exercised little restraint over the content of their titles. In 1954, Dr. Fredric Wertham published Seduction of the Innocent , a tome that claimed horror, crime and other comics were a direct cause of juvenile delinquency . Wertham asserted, largely based on undocumented anecdotes, that reading violent comic books encouraged violent behavior in children. Wertham painted
1440-830: The Comics Magazine Association of America (CMAA) and its Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed. The Code had many stipulations that made it difficult for horror comics to continue publication, since any that didn't adhere to the Code's guidelines would likely not find distribution. The Code forbade the explicit presentation of "unique details and methods of crime...Scenes of excessive violence...brutal torture, excessive and unnecessary knife and gun play, physical agony, gory and gruesome crime...all scenes of horror, excessive bloodshed, gory or gruesome crimes, depravity, lust, sadism , masochism...Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with walking dead, or torture". As
1520-635: The Elliot Publishing Company , the company became independent in 1942, Between 1941 and 1962, domestic sales of Gilberton's publications totaled 200 million. Gilberton was sold to the Frawley Corporation in 1967. The company ceased publishing in 1971. Russian-born publisher Albert Lewis Kanter (1897–1973) recognizing the appeal of early comic books, believed he could use the new medium to introduce young and reluctant readers to " great literature ". In October 1941, with
1600-533: The Grand Comics Database : Seaboard published 5 issues of Fast Fiction , skipped a month[, and] then reprinted them in order as Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated , followed by 8 new issues. . . . Their format was identical to Classics Illustrated and [they used] the main Classics artist, Henry C. Kiefer , [for] at least 4 or 5 issues of [the title]. Gilberton . . . acquired Seaboard before
1680-568: The Mutual Broadcasting Network 's radio show of that name and including amid its crime and science-fiction stories a reprint of the Edgar Allan Poe adaptation " The Tell Tale Heart ", reprinted from Charlton Comics ' Yellowjacket Comics #6. Street and Smith also published two issues of "Ghost Breakers" in late 1948. (ibid GCDB) The floodgates began to open the following year with the first horror comic from
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#17327938826951760-520: The Netherlands (Classics), Norway (Illustrerte Klassikere), Sweden (Illustrerade Klassiker), and West Germany (Illustrierte Klassiker). (The Norwegian branch took over publishing Classics Illustrated from Serieforlaget). In 1959, Gilberton acquired the British publisher/distributor Thorpe & Porter (which had been distributing UK editions of Classics Illustrated since 1951). In 1962,
1840-612: The Universal horror films of the 1930s and other sources. In 1935, National Periodicals published the first story of Doctor Occult by Jerry Siegel (script) and Joe Shuster (Art) in New Fun Comics # 6, where he confronts Vampire Master. In Detective Comics # 31–32, Batman fights a vampire. By the mid-1940s, some detective and crime comics had incorporated horror motifs such as spiders and eyeballs into their graphics, and occasionally featured stories adapted from
1920-477: The horror genre" by historian Don Markstein , and "[t]he first real horror series" by horror-comics historian Lawrence Watt-Evans, the feature ran through Prize Comics #52 (April 1945) before becoming a humor series and then being revived in horrific form in the series Frankenstein #18-33 (March 1952 - November 1954). Gilberton Publications ' 60-page Classic Comics #12 (June 1943) adapted Washington Irving 's short story " The Legend of Sleepy Hollow " as
2000-533: The horror genre", the feature, set in New York City c. 1930 , starred a guttural, rampaging creature actually dubbed "Frankenstein" (unlike Shelley's nameless original monster). Launched with a cover date of September 1947, the Prize Group title Young Romance signaled its distinction from traditional superhero and genre comics with a cover banner stating the series was "designed for
2080-598: The 14th issue was published. Gilberton acquired not only the company name but also the 30 pages drawn for Red Badge of Courage , which they published in the 98th issue of Classics Illustrated . In addition to Classics Illustrated , Gilberton published its spin-offs Classics Illustrated Junior (1953–1962), Classics Illustrated Special Issue (1955–1964), and The World Around Us (1958–1961). The publication of new titles ceased in 1962 for various reasons. The company lost its second-class mailing permit; and cheap paperbacks, CliffsNotes , and television drew readers away from
2160-451: The 16th-century Mixtec codices . In the early 20th-century, pulp magazines developed the horror subgenre " weird menace ", which featured sadistic villains and graphic scenes of torture and brutality. The first such title, Popular Publications' Dime Mystery , began as a straight crime fiction magazine but evolved by 1933 under the influence of Grand Guignol theater. Other publishers eventually joined in, though Popular dominated
2240-574: The 1950s' most prolific horror-comics publisher, Atlas Comics , the decade's forerunner of Marvel Comics . While horror had been an element in 1940s superhero stories from the original predecessor company, Timely Comics , through the war years, "when zombies, vampires, werewolves, and even pythonmen were to be found working for the Nazis and the Japanese", the publisher entered the horror arena full-tilt with Amazing Mysteries #32 (May 1949), continuing
2320-470: The 64-page format to 56 pages, and, in 1948, rising paper costs reduced books to 48 pages. With issue #35 in March 1947 ( The Last Days of Pompeii ) the Classic Comics series' name was changed to Classics Illustrated . In 1946, the founder's son William E. "Bill" Kanter (born 1923) became an editor at Gilberton. Kanter was instrumental in getting Classics Illustrated distributed nationally in
2400-519: The Crypt , also tried their hands at horror. Titles like Skull ( Rip Off Press / Last Gasp , 1970–1972), Bogeyman ( Company & Sons / San Francisco Comic Book Company , 1969), Fantagor ( Richard Corben , 1970), Insect Fear ( Print Mint , 1970), Up From The Deep (Rip Off Press, 1971), Death Rattle ( Kitchen Sink Press , 1972), Gory Stories (Shroud, 1972), Deviant Slice (Print Mint, 1972) and Two-Fisted Zombies (Last Gasp, 1973) appeared in
2480-405: The Crypt . In 1947, publisher William Gaines had inherited what was then Educational Comics upon the death of his father, Maxwell Gaines . Three years later, Gaines and editor Al Feldstein introduced horror in two of the company's crime comics to test the waters. Finding them successful, the publisher quickly turned them and a Western series into EC's triumvirate of horror. Additionally,
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2560-553: The Simon & Kirby stable of artists and writers. The long-running horror/suspense title Black Magic debuted in 1950. According to Jack Kirby, the idea for Spider-Man originated with him and Simon, who developed a character called The Silver Spider for Black Magic , who was subsequently not used. Ironically, eventual Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko drew a six-page story in Black Magic vol. 4, #3 (Dec. 1953). In 1954,
2640-738: The Tomb Harvey Comics ' Tomb of Terror, Witches Tales, and Chamber of Chills Magazine , Avon Comics ', Witchcraft , Ajax-Farrell Publications ' Fantastic Fears , Fawcett Publications ' Worlds of Fear and This Magazine Is Haunted , Charlton Comics ' The Thing , and a slew from Atlas Comics , including Adventures into Weird Worlds , Adventures into Terror , Menace , Journey into Mystery , and Strange Tales . Indeed, from 1949 through comics cover-dated March 1955, Atlas released 399 issues of 18 horror titles, ACG released 123 issues of five horror titles, and Ace Comics, 98 issues of five titles — each more than EC's output. In
2720-579: The U.S. through Curtis Circulation , alongside magazines like The Saturday Evening Post , Ladies' Home Journal , Holiday , The Atlantic , and Esquire . Beginning in 1947, Classics Illustrated began to be distributed internationally, in English-speaking countries like Australia (Ayers & James, 1947–1953), Canada (via Gilberton, 1948–1951), and the United Kingdom ( Thorpe & Porter , 1951–1963). Translated versions of
2800-436: The Unknown premiered, the comic-book company EC , which would become the most prominent horror-comics publisher of the 1950s, published its first horror story, "Zombie Terror", by the then relatively unknown writer and artist Johnny Craig , in the superhero comic Moon Girl #5. Almost simultaneously, Trans-World Publications issued its one-and-only comic, the one-shot Mysterious Traveler Comics #1 (November 1948), based on
2880-456: The backing of two business partners, he created Classic Comics for Elliot Publishing Company , its debut issue being The Three Musketeers , followed by Ivanhoe and The Count of Monte Cristo . In addition to the literary adaptations, the comics featured author profiles, educational fillers, and ads for the coming titles. In later editions, a catalog of titles and a subscription order form appeared on back covers. Ruth Roche created
2960-487: The black-and-white horror magazine business, mixing new material with reprints from pre- Comics Code horror comics, most notably in its flagship title Weird (1966–1981), as well as the magazines Tales of Voodoo (1968–1974), Horror Tales (1969–1979), Tales from the Tomb (1969–1975), and Terror Tales (1969–1979). Stanley Publications also published a line of black-and-white horror magazines from 1966 to 1971, including
3040-464: The classic tradition such as Frankenstein , Dracula , and other high-caliber literary works written by Edgar Allan Poe , Saki , Conan Doyle , and other respected authors whose works are read in schools around the world. Following this, Marvel returned to publishing true horror by first introducing a scientifically created, vampire-like character, Morbius, the Living Vampire , followed by
3120-474: The company folded in 1967. The publishers Gilberton , Dell Comics , and Gold Key Comics did not become signatories to the Comics Code, relying on their reputations as publishers of wholesome comic books. Classics Illustrated had adapted such horror novels as Frankenstein and Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde in comic book form, and quickly issued reprints with new, less gruesome covers. Dell began publishing
3200-500: The early 1970s. By the mid-1970s, the horror comics boomlet slowed and various titles were cancelled. Only a few of the DC titles persevered by the end of the decade, the long-running Gold Key mystery comic series ceased during the early 1980s, and some predominantly-reprint Charlton series managed to survive to the mid-1980s. DC's traditional titles sputtered out during the early 1980s, and its transformed anthology "Elvira's House of Mystery"
3280-639: The early scripting, writing a story a day with twist endings and poetic justice taken to absurd extremes. EC's success immediately spawned a host of imitators, such as Ziff-Davis ' and P.L. Publishing's Weird Adventures , St. John Publications ' Weird Horrors , Key Publications ' Weird Chills , Weird Mysteries and Weird Tales of the Future , Comic Media 's Weird Terror , Ziff-Davis' Weird Thrillers , and Star Publications ' Ghostly Weird Stories . Others included Quality Comics ' Web of Evil , Ace Comics ' Web of Mystery , Premier Magazines ' Horror from
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3360-415: The entire comic book industry displayed murder, torture and sexual titillation for the reader's consideration. The most widely discussed art was that from "Foul Play", a horror story from EC about a dishonest baseball player whose head and intestines are used by his teammates in a game. Seduction of the Innocent sparked a firestorm of controversy and created alarm in parents, teachers and others interested in
3440-415: The field with Dime Mystery , Horror Stories , and Terror Tales . While most weird-menace stories were resolved with rational explanations, some involved the supernatural. After the fledgling medium of comic books became established by the late 1930s, horror-fiction elements began appearing in superhero stories, with vampires, misshapen creatures, mad scientists and other tropes that bore the influence of
3520-543: The first Muslim superhero , Kismet, Man of Fate , published in Gilberton's Bomber Comics #1-4 (1944). By the time of Classics Comics #4, in 1942, the title outgrew the space it shared with Elliot, and Kanter moved the operation to different offices, changing the corporate identity to the Gilberton Company, Inc. Reprints of previous titles began in 1943. Wartime paper shortages forced Kanter to reduce
3600-413: The first horror comic with original content. The first horror-comics series is the anthology Adventures into the Unknown , premiering in 1948 from American Comics Group , initially under the imprint B&I Publishing. The horror tradition in sequential-art narrative traces back to at least the 12th-century Heian period Japanese scroll "Gaki Zoshi", or the scroll of hungry ghosts (紙本著色餓鬼草紙) and
3680-760: The form that horror comics would take in the coming decades. Printed in color on high-quality paper stock despite a higher cover price, the series Twisted Tales and Alien Worlds were short-lived and hard-pressed to keep to a regular production schedule, but offered some of the most explicitly brutal and sexual stories yet to be widely distributed in a mainstream ("non-underground") format. Both series eventually moved to Eclipse Comics , which also produced similar titles such as The Twisted Tales of Bruce Jones and Alien Encounters (which they inherited from Fantaco). Later horror titles from DC's Vertigo line had more in common with these Pacific/Eclipse efforts, and more success, than DC's sporadic efforts to revive or maintain
3760-534: The horror comic Black Cat Mystery with issue #30 (August 1951). Horror comics briefly flourished from this point until the industry's self-imposed censorship board, the Comics Code Authority, was instituted in late 1954. The most influential and enduring horror-comics anthologies of this period, beginning 1950, were the 91 issues of EC Comics ' three series: The Haunt of Fear , The Vault of Horror and The Crypt of Terror , renamed Tales from
3840-401: The horror comic Black Magic , the creator-owned superhero satire Fighting American , and the first romance comic title, Young Romance . For much of its history, Crestwood's publishers were Teddy Epstein and Mike Bleier. In the 1940s the company's general manager was Maurice Rosenfeld, and in the 1950s the general manager was M.R. Reese. In the mid-1950s, the company office manager
3920-436: The horror genre, claiming he was the first to publish such comics. He insisted that delinquency was the result of the real environment and not fictional reading materials. His defiant demeanor left the committee (which felt the industry was indefensible), astonished. He had prepared a statement that read in part, "It would be just as difficult to explain the harmless thrill of a horror story to Dr. Wertham as it would be to explain
4000-456: The horror tradition in the mid-1960s, bypassing the Comics Code Authority restrictions by publishing magazine-sized black-and-white horror comics. Under the direction of line editor Archie Goodwin , Warren debuted the horror anthologies Creepy (1964–1983) and Eerie (1966–1983), followed by Vampirella , an anthology with a lead feature starring a sexy young female vampire. The low-rent Warren imitator Eerie Publications also jumped into
4080-500: The introduction of Dracula in Tomb of Dracula . This opened the floodgates for more horror titles, such as the anthology Supernatural Thrillers , Werewolf by Night , and two series in which Satan or a Satan-like lord of Hell figured, Ghost Rider and the feature " Son of Satan ." In addition, following Warren Publishing 's longtime lead, Marvel's parent company in 1971 began a black-and-white magazine imprint , which published
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#17327938826954160-419: The late 1940s, comic books – particularly crime comics – had become the target of mounting public criticism for their content and their potentially harmful effects on children, with "accusations from several fronts [that] charged comic books with contributing to the rising rates of juvenile delinquency ." Many city and county ordinances had banned some publications, though these were effectively overturned with
4240-468: The licensed TV series comic book Twilight Zone in 1961 and publishing a Dracula title in 1962 (though only the first issue was horror related; the subsequent issues were part of the super-hero genre revival), followed in 1963 by the new series "Ghost Stories." Gold Key, in addition to releasing Boris Karloff Thriller , based on the TV series Thriller (and retitled Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery after
4320-583: The line because of poor distribution. By the early 1970s, Classics Illustrated and Junior had been discontinued, although the Classics Illustrated branding would be used on a number of made-for-television films in the period 1978–1982, including The Time Machine , Donner Pass: The Road to Survival , and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow . Since the series' demise, various companies have reprinted its titles. Prize Comics Crestwood Publications , also known as Feature Publications ,
4400-729: The literary horror tales of Edgar Allan Poe or other writers, or stories from the pulps and radio programs. The single-issue Harvey Comics anthologies Front Page Comic Book (1945), bearing a cover with a knife-wielding, skeletal ghoul, and Strange Story (July 1946), introduced writer-artist Bob Powell 's character the Man in Black, an early comic-book example of the type of omniscient-observer host used in such contemporary supernatural and suspense radio dramas as Inner Sanctum , Suspense , and The Whistler . As cultural historian David Hajdu notes, comic-book horror: ...had its roots in
4480-851: The mid-1990s Harris Publications also revived Vampirella , and Marvel, after mostly taking the 1980s off, published its " Midnight Sons " line of horror comics that included such series as a revived Ghost Rider , Nightstalkers , Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins and Midnight Sons Unlimited . In addition to its long-running titles carried over from the 1990s, Vertigo published more conventional horror, like vampires in Bite Club (beginning in 2004), and Vamps . In addition, from 1999 to 2001 they published their own horror anthology , Flinch . At Image Comics , Robert Kirkman has created The Walking Dead . Steve Niles predominantly writes horror comics, and his 30 Days of Night has spawned
4560-619: The moment their parents left the room. Wertham warned of suspicious stores and their clandestine back rooms where second hand comics of the worst sort were peddled to children. The language used evoked images of children prowling about gambling dens and whorehouses, and anxious parents felt helpless in the face of such a powerful force as the comics industry. Excerpts from the book were published in Ladies' Home Journal and Reader's Digest , lending respectability and credibility to Wertham's arguments. A 14-page portfolio of panels and covers from across
4640-484: The more adult readers of comics". Told from a first person perspective, underlining its claim to be recounting "true" stories, the title was an instant success, "becoming Jack and Joe's biggest hit in years" and selling "millions of copies" and a staggering 92% of its print run. Crestwood increased the print run by the third issue to triple the initial numbers, as well as upgraded the title from bimonthly to monthly through issues #13–72 (Sept. 1949 – Aug. 1954). Within
4720-709: The numbering of the defunct superhero series Sub-Mariner Comics , followed by the superhero anthology Marvel Mystery Comics becoming the horror series Marvel Tales with #93 (August 1949) and the final two issues of Captain America Comics becoming the mostly horror-fiction Captain America's Weird Tales #74-75 (October 1949 & February 1950) — the latter of which did not contain Captain America at all. Harvey Comics followed suit with its costumed-crimefighter comic Black Cat by reformatting it as
4800-424: The pernicious influence of comic books upon children. His passionate testimony at the hearings impressed the gathering. Kefauver suggested crime comics indoctrinated children in a way similar to Nazi propaganda. Wertham noted Hitler was a beginner compared to the comics industry. Publisher William Gaines appeared before the committee and vigorously defended his product and the industry. He took full responsibility for
4880-460: The production of new issues of Classics Illustrated shifted from Gilberton's New York offices to Thorpe & Porter, with the publisher's son Bill Kanter overseeing everything beginning in 1963. As a consequence, some of the planned, unpublished issues of the U.S. Classics Illustrated appeared in some foreign editions. Bill Kanter was very involved with Gilberton World-Wide Productions; in 1965, Gilberton's Swedish branch, Illustrerade Klassiker,
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#17327938826954960-783: The pulps, where narratives of young women assaulted by 'weird menaces' ... had filled magazines such as Terror Tales and Horror Stories for years. Variations on gothic fright had also appeared in several comics— Suspense Comics (which began in 1943), Yellowjacket (which included eight horror stories, billed as "Tales of Terror", in its run of ten issues, beginning in 1944), and Eerie (which had one issue published in 1947). Issue #7 (December 1940) of publisher Prize Comics ' flagship title, Prize Comics , introduced writer-artist Dick Briefer 's eight-page feature " New Adventures of Frankenstein ", an updated version of novelist Mary Shelley 's much-adapted Frankenstein monster . Called "America's first ongoing comic book series to fall squarely within
5040-466: The revival of Kitchen Sink's Death Rattle , followed a year later by the debut of FantaCo's horror anthology Gore Shriek , edited by Stephen R. Bissette , who also contributed stories to each issue. Bissette also edited the acclaimed anthology Taboo , which ran from 1988 to 1995. In 1982, Pacific Comics produced two series that, while admittedly inspired by the EC Comics of the 1950s, foresaw
5120-485: The series became popular in Brazil (Editora Brasil-América Limitada, 1948–1961), Greece (Ekdóseis Pechlivanídi, the period 1951–1990), Mexico (Editora de Periódicos La Prensa, 1951–1973), and Norway (Serieforlaget, 1954–1956, before being taken over by a Gilberton branch). Classics Illustrated' s success spawned imitators, including Stories by Famous Authors Illustrated , published by Seaboard Publishing . As detailed on
5200-500: The series. Gilberton's last new issue was Classics Illustrated #167 Faust (August 1962), although other issues had been planned. In the period 1956–1957, when the popularity of Classics Illustrated was at its height, the company created Gilberton World-Wide Publications , establishing a number of Northern European branch companies to translate Classics Illustrated into their languages — in Denmark (Illustrerede Klassikere),
5280-493: The severed head of a blond woman. Mr. Gaines replied: 'Yes, I do—for the cover of a horror comic.' Though the committee's final report did not blame comics for crime, it recommended that the comics industry tone down its content voluntarily. By 1953, nearly a quarter of all comic books published were horror titles. In the hearings' immediate aftermath, several publishers revamped their schedules and drastically censored or cancelled many long-running comic series. In September 1954,
5360-535: The show went off the air), bought the Twilight Zone license from Dell in 1962. In 1965 Gold Key put out three licensed horror-themed comics, two based on the TV horror-comedies The Addams Family and The Munsters , and the other titled Ripley's Believe it or Not! , which had three different subtitles: "True Ghost Stories," "True War Stories" (#1 and #5), and "True Demons & Monsters" (#7, #10, #19, #22, #25, #26, and #29). Warren Publishing continued
5440-475: The sublimity of love to a frigid old maid." Crime Suspenstories , issue 22, April/May 1954, was entered into evidence. The exchange between Gaines and Kefauver led to a front-page story in The New York Times : He was asked by Senator Estes Kefauver, Democrat of Tennessee, if he considered in "good taste" the cover of his Shock SuspenStories , which depicted an axe-wielding man holding aloft
5520-658: The superhero comic Moon Girl , which had become the romance comic A Moon...a Girl...Romance , became the primarily science fiction anthology Weird Fantasy . For the next four years, sardonic horror hosts the Old Witch , the Vault Keeper and The Crypt Keeper introduced stories drawn by such top artists and soon-to-be-famous newcomers as Johnny Craig , Reed Crandall , Jack Davis , Graham Ingels (who signed his work "Ghastly"), Jack Kamen , Bernard Krigstein , Harvey Kurtzman , and Wally Wood . Feldstein did most of
5600-458: The title and the character as he saw fit. Moore reconfigured Swamp Thing's origin to make him a true monster as opposed to a human transformed into a monster. Moore's (and artists Stephen R. Bissette and John Totleben 's) Swamp Thing was a critical and commercial success, and in 1988 spun off the ongoing series Hellblazer , starring occult detective John Constantine . In 1993, DC introduced its mature-readers Vertigo line, which folded in
5680-644: The title to its horror roots with issue #175 (July/August 1968); a similar transformation was made to House of Secrets and The Unexpected (formerly " Tales of the Unexpected "), with the company debuting a new title, The Witching Hour . In 1971, the Comics Code Authority relaxed some of its longstanding rules regarding horror comics, which opened the door to more possibilities in the genre: Scenes dealing with, or instruments associated with, walking dead or torture shall not be used. Vampires, ghouls and werewolves shall be permitted to be used when handled in
5760-569: The title went dormant, but reappeared in 1951 as Eerie , beginning with a new #1 and running 17 issues (1951 - September 1954). Goulart identifies the long-running Adventures into the Unknown (Fall 1948 - August 1967), from American Comics Group , initially under the imprint B&I Publishing, as "the first continuing-series horror comic". The first two issues, which included art by Fred Guardineer and others, featured horror stories of ghosts, werewolves, haunted houses, killer puppets and other supernatural beings and locales. The premiere included
5840-469: The titles Strange Tales (1951–1968) and Journey into Mystery (1952–1966). Each company gradually changed from suspense stories toward fantasy, science fiction and monster stories, and then to related superhero characters during the years after the code came into effect. Charlton Comics' suspense titles, such as Unusual Tales, persisted to the mid-1960s. ACG titles Adventures into the Unknown and Unknown Worlds thrived during this Silver Age period until
5920-552: The titles Shock and Chilling Tales of Horror . A number of supernatural mystery / suspense titles were introduced in the latter half of the 1960s, including Charlton Comics ' Ghostly Tales , The Many Ghosts of Doctor Graves , and Ghost Manor ; and Marvel Comics ' Chamber of Darkness / Monsters on the Prowl and Tower of Shadows/Creatures on the Loose . At DC Comics , new House of Mystery editor Joe Orlando returned
6000-582: The traditional horror comic title (e.g. Elvira's House of Mystery ). Wasteland (DC Comics) was a pre-vertigo, non-Code horror series from DC in the late 1980s. In 1982, DC Comics revived the Swamp Thing series, attempting to capitalize on the summer 1982 release of the Wes Craven film of the same name . In 1984, Briton Alan Moore took over the writing chores on the title, and when Karen Berger became editor, she gave Moore free rein to revamp
6080-477: The welfare of children; the concerned were galvanized into campaigning for censorship. Public criticism brought matters to a head. In 1954, anti-crime crusader Estes Kefauver led the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency . Dr. Wertham insisted upon appearing before the committee. He first presented a long list of his credentials, and then, in his clipped German accent, spoke with authority on
6160-486: Was Nevin Fidler (who later became Simon & Kirby's business manager). In addition to Simon and Kirby, notable Crestwood/Prize contributors included Leonard Starr , Mort Meskin , John Prentice , Joe Maneely , John Severin , Will Elder , Carmine Infantino , Bruno Premiani , Dick Ayers , George Klein , Jack Abel , Ed Winiarski , and Dick Briefer . In 1940, Crestwood's Prize Publications , already established as
6240-425: Was a magazine publisher that also published comic books from the 1940s through the 1960s. Its title Prize Comics contained what is considered the first ongoing horror comic-book feature , Dick Briefer 's " Frankenstein ". Crestwood is best known for its Prize Group imprint , published in the late 1940s to mid-1950s through packagers Joe Simon and Jack Kirby , who created such historically prominent titles as
6320-1020: Was reorganized into Williams Förlag AB — one theory is that the Williams name was derived from William Kanter. In 1966, after going bankrupt, Thorpe & Porter was sold off to National Comics Publications (i.e., DC Comics ); this sale included all the Gilberton World-Wide Productions European branches. A few years later, in 1971, all those branches — now in the hands of Warner Bros. — were renamed some variation of Williams Publishing . In 1967, Kanter sold Gilberton to Catholic business magnate Patrick Frawley 's Twin Circle Publishing Co., which brought out two more issues of Classics Illustrated but mainly concentrated on foreign sales and reprinting older titles. After four years, Twin Circle discontinued
6400-601: Was the final code-approved traditional anthology title to be produced, lasting only a dozen issues around 1987. As these and Warren publications disappeared, new titles from the 1980s onward would all be in new formats (i.e. glossy paper, not code-approved) or sporadically produced by small independent companies. Beginning in the late 1980s and early 1990s, independent publishers produced a number of successful horror comics franchises. FantaCo Enterprises and Millennium Publications boasted lineups almost exclusively devoted to horror, vampire, and zombie comics. For instance, 1985 saw
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