The Horror! The Horror!: Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You To Read (with DVD)
Horror comics dominated the comic-book industry in the early ’50s before they were targeted by congressional hearings aimed at stemming their lurid excesses. Trombetta documents the phenomenon, reprinting more than 100 covers, dozens of excerpts, and a handful of complete stories that amply demonstrate the imaginatively gruesome tales that shocked a nation but captivated millions of readers. Since his aim is to accurately characterize the genre, most of Trombetta’s examples sport crude artwork, preposterous plots, and risible dialogue. However, several rise above the mediocrity: while EC Comics—the artistically preeminent publisher of the decade—is represented only in passing, complete stories by such auteurs as the celebrated Basil Wolverton and the underappreciated Howard Nostrand are included. Trombetta strings together the selections with perceptive commentary that assesses the comics’ recurring elements—not just zombies and werewolves, but also such themes as hunger and sexual hostility—and ties them into such cultural and political currents of the era as anticommunism, nuclear terror, and racism. A suitable companion volume to David Hajdu’s 2008 account of the anticomics witch hunt, The Ten-Cent Plague. --Gordon Flagg