CRIME AND THE CHRONICALLY INCORRIGIBLE
Sequential Art Gems of the 1950's:
EC Comics'
"Crime SuspenStories " and
Harvey Kurtzman's
"Mad Comics" and "Mad Magazine"
Think your grandparent’s comic books were boring?
When it comes to terrifying chills that leave you
shaking and shuddering, or laughter to make you
roll out of your seat, classic 1950’s comic books
still stand the test of time.
Our FREE PowerPoint show will spotlight
two classic series, “EC’s Frontline Combat ”
and Carl Barks' "Uncle Scrooge ". Audience members
will be invited to read character dialogue from
word balloons as we watch the stories unfold
panel-by-panel!
CRIME: EC Comics' "Crime SuspenStories"
Crime SuspenStories was an anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title hit newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of 27 issues.
Each issue centered around a wide variety of criminal activities and displayed a noir-styled approach that differed from other crime comic books of the period. Issues 3 through 16 featured a guest appearance from The Haunt of Fear's Old Witch.
Artists included Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, George Evans, Jack Kamen, Wally Wood, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, Al Williamson, Will Elder, Reed Crandall, Bernie Krigstein and Frank Frazetta. The predominant writers were Feldstein, Gaines and Craig from 1950-1953, with Carl Wessler, Otto Binder and Jack Oleck doing most of the writing for the rest of the comic’s run.
THE CHRONICALLY INCORRIGIBLE: Harvey Kurtzman's
"Mad Comics" and "Mad Magazine"
Mad was founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and hugely influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.
The last surviving title from the notorious and critically acclaimed EC Comics line, the magazine offers satire on all aspects of life and pop culture, politics, entertainment and public figures. Mad's mascot, Alfred E. Neuman, is typically the focal point of the magazine's cover, with his face often replacing a celebrity or character that is lampooned within the issue.
Comics historian Tom Spurgeon picked Mad as the medium's top series of all time, writing, "At the height of its influence, Mad was The Simpsons, The Daily Show and The Onion combined. Monty Python's Terry Gilliam wrote, "Mad became the Bible for me and my whole generation.
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