Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s [Anglais] [Broché]

Greg Sadowski (disclaimer: a friend of mine) strikes again, giving us (with John Benson) the definitive compilation of 1950's horror.

Get past the ugly cover (which looks like a generic "Zombie" cover from today) and it's a treasure trove.

PROS: The sheer QUALITY of most of the stories, especially the writing, is great, even with the ridiculous or unbelievable premises many are based on. The real discoveries for me were the great Jack Cole stories, as I only knew his PLASTIC MAN stuff. The Kida story from EERIE 1 was excellent, even without considering its primordial age. George Evans has 2 stories the equal or better of his EC work. (He could have done traditional horror real well.) Palais, Cameron, and Kubert all have excellent stuff. The Powell and Nostrand stories are some of their most famous; nice to have in one place. The notes are breezy but informative, dishing the dirt and giving some needed background to the stories. They also feature some more great covers and panels. Benson's list of all the pre-code horror comics that were published is a great idea and helpful.
The production work is spectacular. Off- register printing, drop-outs, damage to the covers that were scanned, and other faults are all corrected. Best of all, the stories look really close to their original sources. The paper and printing make it look like you are reading an actual comic, not a slick paper reprint (my main complaint with the EC LIBRARY). You forget it's a book.

CONS: There are 5 Iger studio stories, about 4 more than I would have liked. I would have liked to see some of the more outrageous, sick covers- Bernard Baily only has 3 printed (and one is blah). The Kirby cover is so-so.

But that's all personal preference- overall it is a great book. With 40 stories and 32 covers there is a lot to like. Typical of Benson and Sadowski, it's high quality all the way. Sean Burns

Four Color Fear is 320 nicely reprinted pages, comprised of 39 horror stories from such 1950s horror comics as This Magazine is Haunted, Witches Tales, Web of Evil, Black Cat Mystery, Strange Terrors, and Chamber of Chills. The overwhelming impression I get after reading these dusty old relics is that EC might not have been the first, they might not have been the only one, but they certainly were the best. It's not even a close race. EC excelled at not just its art but also its stories. The other companies could ape EC's stable of artists (and do a decent job as in the case of Howard Nostrand's "homage" to Jack Davis, "Dust to Dust," which looks just like Davis) and rip off their ultra-violent storylines (Tales from the Crypt's sadistic butcher story "T'aint the Meat...It's the Humanity" becomes Mysterious Adventures' sadistic butcher story "Chef's Delight"). But if you're buying Four Color Fear for anything besides offbeat nonsense, you're obviously going to be disappointed. If, like me, you relish this stuff, you'll need this book.

Inside you'll find: "Wall of Flesh" about a crazed scientist who creates, well, a wall of flesh that absorbs anyone who touches it; Reed Crandall's ludicrously entertaining "The Corpse That Came to Dinner" about a young couple who discover the undead corpse of their recently deceased friend eating out of their refrigerator; "The Flapping Head," with typically nice art by Al Williamson but atypical story about a flying vampire head seeking to rebuild its body; and what must be not just the goofiest comic in this book but possibly in all of pre-code, "Green Horror" about a lusty, jealous and murderous cactus!

As a bonus to the stories, there are 32 full-page reproductions of classic covers (with comments on each) and editor Greg Sadowski provides exhaustive notes for each story as an afterword and drops a hint that we'll be seeing a separate volume devoted to Atlas. Based on the job done here, I'll be looking forward to that book.

This a wonderful book that contains what horror comics outside of the EC universe were bringing to the table. Here is a small list of the stories that stood out for me.

Corpses...Coast to Coast- A New World Order of zombies takes over the globe thanks in part to a grave diggers strike. How this is not a movie yet what with the current zombie craze going on is beyond me!

The Corpse That Came to Dinner- This is the one featured on the cover in which the title character harasses a couple he knew in his mortal life. Comes with one of the more standout twist endings but I won't say more than that.

Green Horror- Killer cactus goes on the rampage. You can't make this stuff up.

What's Happening at...8:30PM- Definitely the most unique story of the bunch. A very odd looking green man finds the streets of his town empty because everyone is hiding in fear of what's going to happen at-that's right- 8:30PM. This is one of those stories where you won't know what's going on until the last panel.

There were other stories I was tempted to add but that would ruin the fun of you discovering your own favorites in this great collection! The book also contains a brief history behind each story in the notes section.