The Horror! The Horror!

BARR Discoveries is a public forum. Anybody can submit articles on library materials (or even events) to be published here.  I reserve the right to correct spellings on the entries submitted, but otherwise the entries will be published without comment from the moderator. Send any prospective articles to me at winthrop_j_quiggy@yahoo.com

A copy of this book is available at Grayson College Library

741.5 HOR  

 

 

 

The Horror! The Horror!  Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read by Jim Trombetta

 If you are a fan of MAD Magazine, especially the MAD that was published in the 60's and 70's, you know the name William M. Gaines (that magazine's publisher). What you may not know is that he and several other publishers came under fire in the 50's for a series of graphic horror comics with titles such as The Vault of Horror,  The Tomb of Terror and Uncanny Tales. These comics, though possibly not so shocking by today's standards, were considered to be controversial, to say the least, in the staid 50's society.

 Some of those titles can now be viewed without the censorship that was wielded with a heavy hand in that era. Even so far as to be on TV and even on the big screen. I have seen reprints of "Tales of the Crypt", and of course there was a TV show by the same name a few years back. But even those could be considered tame compared to some of the stories here.

The book doesn't just stop with describing what was contained within these pages. It includes, in graphic detail, some of the covers of the covers of said "offensive" comics, as well as each chapter including an example of an entire story reprinted from those comics.  Now, it should be noted, these stories are probably still not suitable for children under a certain age. But if you have a strong heart, the comics can be enlightening, especially as a glimpse into the seamier side of comics from that bygone age.

Included in the book are brief essays for each chapter, which covers everything that made it's way into those comics, including chapters devoted to crime (in which the criminal always got his just desserts, even if it wasn't always behind the bars of a jail cell), the horrors of war (in which the grisly aftermath of battles made for graphic depictions of the downside of conflict), science fiction (in which mad scientists and aliens both helped to shock the reader in many ways) and of course, the standard horror stories, which more often than not, had skeletons and night creatures  making quick work of the destruction of the main character of the story.

Like the previous post on this blog TV Land to Go , this one doesn't require you to read cover to cover to get the enjoyment out of it.  You can skip around and just read those sections that interest you. As a side note: This one was a happy discovery. I saw it on the desk at Sherman Library scheduled for transfer (one of those cases where the patron made use of the benefit that the BARR library system has where you can turn books in at the nearest convenient one). If I hadn't seen it, I might never have known it was available, since I rarely get to the Grayson College location. Gotta start remedying that lapse.

Until next time, happy browsing.

Quiggy

Disclaimer: BARR Discoveries is solely the opinion of the author of the entry. BARR Library is not responsible in any way for the material posted.