Four Color Fear: 1950’s Horror Comics Revisited

I recently scooped up Four Color Fear: Forgotten Horror Comics of the 1950s, a delightfully sadistic foray into the darker side of comics’ “Golden Age.”

It was compiled by Greg Sadowski and published by Fantagraphics Books, who describe it thusly:

“Of the myriad genres comic books ventured into during its golden age, none was as controversial as or came at a greater cost than horror; the public outrage it incited almost destroyed the entire industry. Yet before the watchdog groups and Congress could intercede, horror books were flying off the newsstands. During its peak period (1951-54) over fifty titles appeared each month. Apparently there was something perversely irresistible about these graphic excursions into our dark side, and Four Color Fear collects the finest of these into a single robust and affordable volume.”

Perversely irresistible, indeed– the subject matter is dark & campy fun, awash with zombies, murderers, illicit deals and black magic, always attacking its subject matter with over-the-top zeal.

In addition, a lot of the featured artwork is so stylized and compelling, one wonders how long before it makes its way into the wardrobe of a Threadless.com devotee.

While not for everyone, fans of vintage horror/pulp will definitely get a kick out of it, as will any graphic artist interested in the art of visual storytelling.

Fantagraphics has a gallery of pics from the book on Flickr. The book featured is the 1st edition, which has a different cover but the inside pages are the same.