Category: precode horror

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Strange Stories from Another World

Fawcett pre-code horror comic booksSTRANGE STORIES FROM ANOTHER WORLD
Featuring the gloriously ghoulish pre-code painted horror covers of Norman Saunders.
Fawcett – 4 issues from Aug 1952 to Feb 1953.
Pictured here are all 4 issues of this extremely short series.
The outstanding feature of this title is that all the covers were painted by the great Norm Saunders (1907 – 1989) who was a successful commercial artist for decades, perhaps most famous for the wildly popular MARS ATTACKS trading card series which eventually spawned the movie of the same name directed by Tim Burton.
Thanks to the Grand Comics Database.

strange stories from another world

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Web of Evil Part One

WEB OF EVIL – Part 1
Quality Comics. 21 issues from 1952 – 1954.
Quality Comics was famous for super hero titles like PLASTIC MAN, but when they got into pre-code horror comics, their go-to artist, JACK COLE ended up making some of the most sought after PCH comics in the collectors’ field today.
Cole’s electrocution cover for issue 5 is among the most popular covers, selling at hefty prices…if you can find a copy!
It is thought that Cole also wrote some of the stories in Web of Evil, and indeed this series supplied some of the best terror tales in the pre-code period.
Check out VALLEY OF HORROR in issue #8, one of my personal favorites. This story can also be found reprinted in FOUR COLOR FEAR from Fantagraphics and HAUNTED HORROR #5 from IDW.
Watch the Web of Evil Video.
WEB OF EVIL – Part 2
Quality Comics. 21 issues from 1952 – 1954.
We finish our look at WEB OF EVIL with some of the latter issues in the series. By this time, the great JACK COLE was no longer doing covers (or much of anything) with the series, but it is interesting to note that REED CRANDALL, one of the greats from the EC Comics line who would eventually do a lot of fantastic stories for CREEPY and EERIE magazines (Warren Publishing) in the 60’s and 70’s, did the cover for issue number 14 pictured here with the title WITCH OF DEATH.
Charles Nicholas was doing the lion’s share of interior art for WEB OF EVIL for the remainder of the series.
Many thanks to https://www.comics.org/ for additional pics and info.
web of evil 1

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Stan Lee Pre-Code Horror Comics

One of the greatest figures in the history of comic books and American pop culture in general,  Stan Lee (Dec 28, 1922 – Nov. 12, 2018) re-popularized the superhero comic genre in the early 1960’s when Marvel Comics released THE FANTASTIC FOUR (Nov. 1961) followed up quickly by THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, IRON-MAN, THE HULK, THOR and countless others.
But many people are not aware that Mr. Lee was inventing  superheroes many years before Marvel’s silver age.
Timely/Atlas/Marvel Comics in the 1940’s saw Stan Lee Lee’s first superhero co-creating The Destroyer in Mystic Comics #6 (August 1941) and supplying “text filler” for Captain America comics around the same time.
But it was in the late 1940’s after the end of WW2 when superheroes were not selling as well as they once did, so Timely/Atlas publisher Martin Goodman and upcoming editor-in-chief Stan Lee  quickly jumped into more crime, horror and science fiction comics to satisfy a new generation of readers.
Months before EC Comics hit the stands, Atlas/Marvel was publishing titles such as MARVEL TALES, ASTONISHING, SUSPENSE, SPELLBOUND and many others, some of them lasting through the pre-code era into the late 1950’s/60’s.
Stan Lee knew talent when he saw it, and so it’s no surprise that he gathered some of the best names in the business along with some young up and coming talent including artists Russ Heath, John Buscema, King Ward, Joe Sinnott, Gene Colan, Victor Carrabotta, Joe Maneely, George Tuska, Bill Everett, Syd Shores and countless others.
And you better believe that Stan Lee wrote many of the horror stories in these pre-code comic books, long before The Thing would shout “It’s Clobberin’ Time!”
Here we present many memorable covers to these Atlas pre-code horror comic books for your viewing pleasure and you can also watch the Stan Lee Pre-Code Comics video.

adventures into weird worldsadventures into terror gene colanastonishing 11 joe sinnottmarvel tales Russ Heath artistAtlas Menace #5  Suspense 28 Joe Maneely art

 

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Norm Saunders Pulp and Pre-code Artist Extraordinaire

It is impossible to talk about pre-code horror comic books and not mention the great Norman Saunders (1907-1989).
His contributions to the pulp magazines and comics of the 20th century are substantial, and he was one of the few artists who painted covers for comic books as seen with Strange Stories from Another World and Unknown World.
Saunders also created many of the great scenes for Topps’ MARS ATTACKS trading cards.
strange stories from another world horror comic book

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Adventures into the Unknown

ACG Comics Adventures into the UnknownWilliam Gaines famously declared that EC Comics were the first horror comics published.
But he was wrong.
In 1947, Avon published a one-shot all horror comic book called EERIE, which would pick up again a few years later, and ACG started publishing ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN at the end of 1948, nearly a year before EC got into the game.
It should also be pointed out that ATLAS Comics, helmed by Stan “The Man” Lee, already had a few issues of all horror comic books published before EC.
The best covers from ADVENTURES INTO THE UNKNOWN are from early issues drawn by the great Edvard Moritz.
#ACGcomics #comicbooks #horrorcomics