WEIRD
FANTASY: THE
EC ARCHIVES VOL.
1 (Dark Horse,
2014; Hardcover)
Collects
Weird
Science
#13-17, 6 (cover
dates May/June, 1950- March/ April, 1951)
Writers:
Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Harry Harrison, Gardner Fox, and Harvey
Kurtzman
Artists:
Al Feldstein, Harry Harrison, Wally Wood, Jack Kamen, and Harvey
Kurtzman
Science
Fiction meets Cold War paranoia. Predating The Twilight Zone
while feasting on the remains of the pulps, Weird Fantasy was
one of the early 'New Trend' titles. The early New Trend titles were
heavy on the Feldstein, with plenty of his artwork. Later on he did
more writing and editing and less artwork. He writes complete stories
which happen to have pictures, meaning that they are text heavy. So
many modern writers could not write this way. They prefer to “let
the pictures do the heavy lifting”, which is a nice way of saying
that they are lazy and can't write a coherent story.
Al
Feldstein passed away this year. I met him at the Motor City Comic
Con several years ago. He had no line and so I strolled on up and
started chatting with him, professing my love for his work and for EC
Comics as a whole. I told him how much I enjoyed The EC Archives
and he interrupted me, barking I don't make any money off of
those. Buy a print!, motioning to his recreations of classic EC
covers.
Harvey
Kurtzman's stories deviated from standard EC fare in two regards:
First, it was dialogue driven and largely third party narrative free.
Second, they were hand lettered, rather than done using a Leroy
lettering stencil set found in all other EC stories. The Leroy set
gave EC Comics a distinctive, clean look to them which has helped
them age well.
While
I am not a fan of using modern computer coloring on these classics
there are spots where it is tastefully done. By the time that you
read this I will have already dumped this and the rest of my EC
Archives on eBay. The EC Annuals are the way to go as far
as I am concerned, as they boast the original four color palette
which makes my purist OCD happy. Most folks love these Archives.
Others hunt down the old black and white slipcase EC Library
sets, while others love the artist-centric Fantagraphics collections
being pumped out at an alarming rate. There is no right or wrong in
the world of EC. It all boils down to your preference, comfort zone,
and how much discretionary income you have to devote to the various
format or formats of your choice.
Junk
Food For Thought rating: 5 out of 5.
The
OCD zone- I can't wait for the day when someone, anyone,
produces EC Comics Archives in full color with the original color
palette, including the original cover color palette.
DVD-style
Extras included in this book: Introduction. (2 pages)
Foreword
by Walt Simonson. (1 page)
Linework
and Color: The linework is superb, taken from photostats and
original artwork. The color is the killer for me. While based on
Marie Severin's original colors, there are too many liberties taken
with it in terms of gradient shades and other Photoshop effects for
my taste. Your mileage may vary.
Paper
stock: Thick coated stock with minimal sheen.
Binding:
Smyth sewn binding with eight stitches per signature.
Hardback
cover notes: This is the best of both worlds- a dustjacket
with the same image on the paper of the casewrap. Top it off with a
super thick lamination on the casewrap and you have the cherry on the
top of this sundae.
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