Customer Reviews

Tales of Terror! The EC Companion

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is, simply put, the greatest work of comic book scholarship ever in print. The authors delve so deeply into EC facts, history and lore that you can depend upon the thoroughness of this work. Much more than a history, this tome is also a beautiful art book. Don't delay......buy it now!

Without a doubt this is the book for anyone interested in EC Comics. Not only does it feature cover reproductions of almost every pre-trend, new trend, and post-trend comic but it also has handy annotations of who did what in that particular issue. In addition it sheds a good deal of light upon Maxwell Gaines, the originator of EC and the father of Bill, who has for me remained a shadowy figure in the early history of comics. All in all it's a great book that I'll probably be dipping into for years to come.

While the bibliographical data is literally a life-long labor of love, I was disappointed by limited amount of images reproduced from the original artwork; the illustrations seem to be limited to photographs of the author's personal collection. The complete series of Graham Ingels' Old Witch paintings and sketches screams out for inclusion. I would have liked to see panel pages reproduced from the originals; full-color reproduction of line art reveals editorial changes, paste ups, blue pencil, and other subtleties undetectable in conventional reprints. A greater outreach to the art collector community could have yielded a definitive reference book/coffee table art book, but TALES OF TERROR fall short of this potential.

As a long time comic book reader, I've great childhood memories of numerous exposures to the horror stories of EC Comics. Trust me over twenty years later and I can still visualize the pictures and remember some of the classic..twist endings!

So, it was a great surprise when I happened upon a copy of The EC Companion. This is a great read for those who want to get a solid history on the company and to learn a bit more about the 'behind the scenes' masters of those classic titles. Much like Les Daniels's 'MARVEL' this should be a required book in any comic book fans library.

It's truly one of the injustices of pop-culture that the government stepped in to shut the door on the EC Horror franchise.

So get the book, refresh your memory, and keep your fingers crossed that more and more EC Horror TPB's will be available in the future.

If you have any interest in EC comics, horror comics, or the history of the comic book genre at all, this is THE book to have. I cannot praise it highly enough. The scholarship is incredibly thorough and the details the authors have dug up is amazing. Also, the book is beautifully well done, with top-notch production values. This book is the ultimate, believe me.

WOW! Okeh, I'll use some more words. If you wanted to know about the history of EC Publications this is the book to own. Very well researched and a labor of love that comes shining through!

Customer, listen! This is a book full of wonderful pieces of art, covers in abundance etc. But there are definitely _no_ Tales of Terror, as I foolishly presumed....