tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post4512273257218114861..comments2024-03-27T05:54:38.797-07:00Comments on <i>bare</i>•bones e-zine: EC Comics! It's an Entertaining Comic! Issue 49John Scolerihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14082147756474762000noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-69198451854257882292018-02-04T20:06:48.824-08:002018-02-04T20:06:48.824-08:00Back in the '70s, when I was reading widely ab...Back in the '70s, when I was reading widely about the history of comics, I read a lot of newspaper strips, but this one still doesn't ring any bells, even after looking at it online.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-29576914298443696822018-02-03T08:36:44.530-08:002018-02-03T08:36:44.530-08:00The comic being parodied is SMITTY. Not well-reme...The comic being parodied is SMITTY. Not well-remembered today, but I wouldn't have thought it was all THAT obscure to a couple of old EC/comic/popculture mavens like you guys. It ran for fifty years, and once won a Reuben. . .<br /><br />http://www.toonopedia.com/smitty.htm<br /><br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smitty_(comic_strip)<br /><br />Denny Liennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-79489450665799730422018-01-24T10:12:49.008-08:002018-01-24T10:12:49.008-08:00Peter&Jim, thanks for the infos.
I stumbled u...Peter&Jim, thanks for the infos.<br /><br />I stumbled upon Aces High when I read up about George Evans, whose covers I find marvelous. Thinking how different you rated air combat stories in the DC war books - in this case I think the art is more important then the story; if you can't draw a plane convincingly, it doesn't matter how good the script is - I am very interested on your opinion. <br /><br />I never even knew Aces High existed, and seeing those few covers on the CBDB one wonders how much work Evans poured into these comics which were viewed as disposable.AndyDeckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12806906746754478064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-89111739899987050822018-01-23T18:46:20.136-08:002018-01-23T18:46:20.136-08:00Peter: Fair enough. “The Hazing” isn’t much of a s...Peter: Fair enough. “The Hazing” isn’t much of a story, and it couldn’t have been the best thing in this issue even with spectacular Wood art, because “A Kind of Justice” is an infinitely better story. Art counts a lot, though; I think “The Confidant” in SS #15 is a time card puncher of a story, but Wood’s art makes it better than it deserves to be. I also think “. . . So Shall Ye Reap” from SS #10 is a hugely praised standout only because Wood drew it; I don’t think the story itself is as good as the stories in “A Kind of Justice” or in Wood’s contributions to SS ## 7 - 9, but EC fans single it out a lot, and I think that’s because of the haunting illustration. And I definitely believe that the choice of Orlando — instead of Wood or Krigstein — for “The Monkey” is what keeps SS#12 from being the high water mark of the title.<br /><br />I’m really looking forward to see what you guys have to say about Aces High and Piracy. For some reason, I never read those two titles when I was a kid, even though I loved (and ultimately collected a complete Gaines File Copy run of) Valor, and even though those two titles are the sort of thing I’ve always liked. I think I’ll pick up copies of Piracy and Aces High online of off of Amazon and read along with the two of you when you get to them.<br /><br />Best,<br />Jim<br /><br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-62423906522127972662018-01-23T17:27:48.474-08:002018-01-23T17:27:48.474-08:00Jim-
I'm not sure that Wally's work coul...<br />Jim-<br /><br />I'm not sure that Wally's work could have salvaged anything from the train wreck known as "The Hazing." Not saying it wouldn't have been nicer to look at but I do tend to grade a story more for the script than art (most of the time, that is) and "The Hazing" was nothing more than a box-checker (let's see, we dealt with hatred towards blacks, jews, blind people, women...). Rumor has it that vegetarians were next on the list.<br /><br />Andy-<br /><br />Aces High was one of the New Direction titles and we're scheduled to review #1 in Issue 60 (June 25th). Incidentally, if I failed to mention, due to the new titles added and our monstrous workload, we've divided the months in two, covering three or four titles a post. Peter Enfantinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04317575598411394944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-3572359636933440122018-01-23T14:58:09.556-08:002018-01-23T14:58:09.556-08:00Andy: Wood stayed with EC to the bitter end and wo...Andy: Wood stayed with EC to the bitter end and worked throughout the New Direction era. My comment above is just a reference to the fact that, after Wood had provided the title with most of its best stories (though certainly not all of its best stories, since there are a few extraordinary SS stories by other artists — including Frazetta’s “Squeeze Play” in SS #13 and Crandall’s “Carrion Death” in SS #9 — both of which arguably transcend the Wood masterpieces that ran throughout this book’s peak) EC abruptly stopped giving Wood assignments for Shock Suspenstories after SS #15. I don’t know why that happened, but it hurt this particular title enormously. I would probably view this issue entirely differently if Wood (or Krigstein) had drawn “The Hazing.”<br /><br />Best,<br />Jim<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-14979694715736001062018-01-23T12:04:52.277-08:002018-01-23T12:04:52.277-08:00Seing how by the numbers those last stories are on...Seing how by the numbers those last stories are one wonders how EC would have fared if it hadn't been railroaded by circumstances. The Wessler stories sound really dull.<br /><br />On the other hand those Krigstein drawn stories sound like that they were miles above the rest. Why exactly did Wood stop working for EC?<br /><br />I forgot, did you review "Aces High"? AndyDeckerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12806906746754478064noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-85539401481616144102018-01-22T13:26:55.564-08:002018-01-22T13:26:55.564-08:00Maybe I was just in a good mood when I read that i...Maybe I was just in a good mood when I read that issue of Shock. It's funny how your mood can affect your opinion sometimes.Jack Seabrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02216640325305820140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6672923492889685727.post-3645078249597329852018-01-22T12:46:14.832-08:002018-01-22T12:46:14.832-08:00Gee, my opinions usually line up with Jack's w...Gee, my opinions usually line up with Jack's when Jack and Peter disagree about Shock, but this month I see it Peter's way: I think Crandall's "A Kind of Justice" and the electric cover that Evans does based on the same story are terrific -- the high points of the final four issues of the book. But I think all three of the other stories are really subpar; Wood's absence starts to drain the life out of the book right here.<br /><br />Best,<br />JimAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com