Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics [Paperback]

Peter(ed) Normanton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 24, 2008 | Series: Mammoth

In over 500 pages, this book collects the finest tales of terror from the past sixty years of comic book publishing. It encompasses all eras of the genre, from the 'weird menace' horror of the perennially popular 1950s pre-Code comics published by EC, to the dark modern gems of the 90s and 2000s. Discover the tales that drove the American youth of the 1950s into a frenzy and resulted in legislation to put an end to their gruesome content - the pre-Code comic book macabre that was "Dark Mysteries", "Chamber of Chills", "Weird Terror" and "Journey into Fear".Contributors from these early years include Bernie Wrightson, master adapter of "Lovecraft", Mary Shelley and Stephen King; Mike Kaluta, the man behind "The Shadow", "Metropolis", and "The Spawn of Frankenstein"; and Rudy Palais, the EC artist responsible for such twisted works as "Marching Zombies".Modern contributions include Pete Von Scholly's "The Graveswellers" (the man behind "The Shawshank Redemption", "The Mask", and "The Green Mile"), David Hitchcock's self-published "Immortal - a Vampire Tale'" (creator of the Jack the Ripper comic "Whitechapel Freak"), Thomas Ott's G.O.D. from "Greetings from Hellville" (acclaimed Swiss noir artist), Legendary Canadian counter-culture cartoonist Rand Holmes' "Death Rattle", and Vincent Locke's "One of These Days" (famed for his underground hit zombie comic Deadworld), and comic-book legend Steve Ditko's "Disaster Doom Death" (co-creator of "Spiderman"). Bringing together the finest names in comic book terror, here is a feast of terror only a ghoul could have dreamed up.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Peter Normanton has for seven years edited and published the horror comics zine, From The Tomb, now into its 21st issue. He is widely admired for his love of the genre and for supporting the efforts of horror artists and small pressers. He lives in Rochdale, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Robinson Publishing (January 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1845296419
• ISBN-13: 978-1845296414
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,703,774 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Way above par for the corpse, well-conceived, ambitious and knowledgeable, March 23, 2008

By 

Clark Dimond - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Paperback)

I'm giving a positive review. I really think it's a swell anthology and I suggest you check this one out. Where else but a stack of old comics with crumbling pages or stored in plastic bags can one find Pete Morisi, Jack Cole, a John Stanley horror story, Mike Kaluta, Matt Baker all in one place??? This Mammoth pulp paperback is an anthology of well-selected stories that are both typical of their era and better than the run-of the mill. There's a cross-sampling of styles, an overview of the non-EC,DC,Atlas titles. The collection clearly demonstrates the mutation of comic horror storytelling over the last 60 years, and is a worthy purchase whether for socio-cultural purposes or for entertainment value.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good with limitations, April 6, 2008

By 

D. Webb - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Paperback)

The pages are reduced in size and in black and white, but that is true of many reprints of horror comics. There are some good pre-code stories not available in other anthologies. The newer stuff can't hold a candle to the old stuff, but it's still a decent book.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great selection for the price, nicely done. One big flaw., August 31, 2008

By 

Chuck E Coli (NJ) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Paperback)

I enjoyed this book and recommend it to anyone interested in the history of horror comics. The omission of EC comics and Warren magazines is appropriate as they are archived and written about so many other places. All the other positive aspects of this book have been covered in other reviews and most of the negatives are slightly unfair or simply a matter of opinion.

My one complaint is this; for a book where the editor tells us how striking and brilliant the art work is, it is printed rather poorly. I did not expect, or want, the book in color. I DID expect the pages not to be shrunken to the point where the lettering and many panels are hard to make out. I would have happily shelled out and additional $10 to $15 for the same book with clearly printed pages.