[Andrew999]

The 28th anniversary of Bill's death in 1992 aged seventy reminds me its 98 years since his birth. Should we be planning something for the centenary? Any ideas?

My father was in the Royal Navy. I remember he came home on leave when I was little (about seven I think) and passed me some EC comics he had procured somehow from an American sailor. My father had obviously not read them himself and probably thought they were like the Beano or something. The comic books scared me to death - I mean I was really, really scared. I still remember a story where a young man and woman are trapped underground by a rockfall. The cave is opened up about twenty years later by some potholers and the couple are still there - emaciated, ugly, insane, wrapped in the rags of their former elegant clothes.

Yeah, that Bill Gaines - left me traumatised. I've never regretted it.

[Robb_K]

The EC horror comic book covers were so very gruesome that I was never tempted to look inside them. 

Unfortunately, EC's funny animal lines (my main interest) stopped during 1947 and 1948, just before I started buying comic books at the newsstands, so I never got a chance to see them there.  In addition, they never came to the used comic shelves in bookstores and newsstands and charity thrift shops in Winnipeg and Chicagoland, while I was looking, and my older cousins never had one.  So, I never got to see one during my youth.  I assume that they weren't sold at all in Midwestern and Western Canada, and weren't very popular in Midwestern USA (which may be why they only existed anywhere, from 1946-1948 (with most lines ending in 1947, and why they changed from "Educational Comics" to "Entertaining Comics").

[Electricmastro]

The EC horror comic book covers were so very gruesome that I was never tempted to look inside them. 

Unfortunately, EC's funny animal lines (my main interest) stopped during 1947 and 1948, just before I started buying comic books at the newsstands, so I never got a chance to see them there.  In addition, they never came to the used comic shelves in bookstores and newsstands and charity thrift shops in Winnipeg and Chicagoland, while I was looking, and my older cousins never had one.  So, I never got to see one during my youth.  I assume that they weren't sold at all in Midwestern and Western Canada, and weren't very popular in Midwestern USA (which may be why they only existed anywhere, from 1946-1948 (with most lines ending in 1947, and why they changed from "Educational Comics" to "Entertaining Comics").

For some reason, while I can recognize EC

[Andrew999]

Jeez - you're right, Electricmastro - these are pretty near the knuckle - maybe old Wertham had a point after all

[Electricmastro]

Jeez - you're right, Electricmastro - these are pretty near the knuckle - maybe old Wertham had a point after all

Charles Murphy

[Andrew999]

Today, we celebrate the contribution of Wally Wood to graphic culture. He would have been ninety-three had he not left us far too young in 1981 at the age of fifty-four. He was a troubled man but undoubtedly brilliant.

Oddly, my first contact with Wally was through the Mars Attacks trading cards series. They scared the pixels out of this little seven-year-old when they first appeared in the UK. I collected them all - the first time I'd ever done that. It was the ray gun exposing the internal skeleton of a man's chest from the grinning brain-like creature that did it....

What's your fondest Wally Wood memory?

[SuperScrounge]

Power Girl? 

I'd probably seen Wood's work before, but the revived All-Star Comics was the first time I'd seen it regularly so it was easier to associate his name with some specific work.

And no, the myth of him drawing Power Girl's breasts larger and larger isn't true. After hearing that urban legend, I pulled out my All-Stars and her breasts stay more or less the same size throughout his run. Her breasts did get larger when Joe Staton took over, but her body got a little heftier as well since that's Joe's style.

[The Australian Panther]

the myth of him drawing Power Girl's breasts larger and larger isn't true

Oh come on! Now youv'e ruined my day! Given the kind of things Wood was drawing in the years before his death, [And there is a pornograpic portfolio that he did featuring Flash Gordon among others - nearly bought it at a Mart in London back in the day] the story fits. OK. Probably he deliberately drew the character with emphasis on Power Girl's breasts and the legend - if not the Breasts - grew from there.
However more recent artists have taken the legend and if you will forgive the pun, 'expanded on it'
Here is a fan somewhat obsessed on the subject.
https://welltuncares.wordpress.com/2007/05/06/who-knew-talking-about-power-girls-boobs-was-obligatory/
Aside:-

That

[SuperScrounge]

Oh come on! Now youv'e ruined my day!

I'm sorry! 

OK. Probably he deliberately drew the character with emphasis on Power Girl's breasts and the legend - if not the Breasts - grew from there.
However more recent artists have taken the legend and if you will forgive the pun, 'expanded on it'

Oh, yeah. I remember looking at some Power Girl drawings from years later and they seemed to be drawing her with much bigger breasts.

It's kind of funny, when Wally was drawing her she probably had the largest breasts in mainstream comics, but by the '90s Wally's drawing of her boobs seemed small. "Come on, Wally, ya want readers to mistake her for a boy? Make 'em bigger!"

There used to be a furry webcomic called Supermegatopia by the Brothers Grin (sadly no longer online) & they had a Power Girl spoof, I think called Buxom Lass, whose breasts would grow and shrink when she absorbed and released energy.

[Captain Audio]

" There

[Andrew999]

With perfect timing, top quality German published Taschen have announced the History of EC Comics, available from August - yet another item added to my birthday list (now seven pages long)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-EC-Comics-EXTRA-LARGE/dp/383654976X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=history+of+EC+Comics&qid=1594364100&sr=8-1

[Andrew999]

The Taschen book is now on sale - and it does look good:

https://www.taschen.com/pages/en/catalogue/graphic_design/all/01135/facts.the_history_of_ec_comics.htm

At

[Electricmastro]

Got more familiar with EC Comics recently, so I felt like I might as well list my favorite artists that worked for them:

Johnny Craig

Jack Davis

George Roussos

Al Feldstein

John Severin

Graham Ingels

Sid Check

Wally Wood

Joe Orlando

George Evans

Al Williamson

Jack Kamen

Joe Kubert

Bernie Krigstein

Reed Crandall