[Drusilla lives!]

I was saddened to read a recently received newsletter from long time EC reprint publisher Russ Cochran that due to the (for lack of a better term) "Gemstone collapse" and the recent stretch of general economic malaise he may soon close up shop for good.  And although I must confess I was rather skeptical at first... having heard this from so many other publishers in the past... this time around it seems to me to be a genuine claim.  

So if you're a fan of EC, and you've missed out on one or two annuals or library volumes that you've put off getting, I suggest you head on over to his web store and get them now... this might really be it!  You'll not only be purchasing some brand spanking new copies of some of the best comics ever created, but you'll also be helping out a really good egg as well IMO.

I've quoted his last newsletter below...

LAST CALL FOR EC LIBRARY VOLUMES

It seems like only yesterday, but it was more than thirty years ago that I made the decision to reprint the entire line of EC Comics in permanent hardcover books. With permission from Bill Gaines, I started on the long journey which has now been completed.

Because of two reasons, I decided to print the EC LIBRARY with the covers in full color and the interiors in black and white:

1. I couldn't afford to print the insides in color.
2. The artists who created the art for the EC stories did their work in black and white, ink on paper. The coloring was sometimes great and sometimes not so great, until Marie Severin (John's sister) came on board and started coloring the stories, using the limited palette which was available at the time. More often than not, the coloring was intrusive to the artwork, and sometimes obscured important details present in the artists' originals.

But the cover of the comic book was designed for color, designed to cry out to the kids who saw them on the newsstands of the 1950s, "BUY ME!". And once a kid had plunked down his dime for an EC Comic, the thoughtful and brilliantly-written stories of Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, and Harvey Kurtzman got them hooked on the EC style of story-telling. For around five years, from 1950 to 1955, EC Comics were the best-written and best-illustrated comics in America.  So the covers needed color; and the stories didn't...at least that was my opinion when I started the LIBRARY. Every EC cover was re-colored by Marie Severin, and the results were excellent, and, I think, an improvement over the original coloring done for the ten-cent comics. I am still selling her original colorings in my regular COMIC ART AUCTION.

And now, in 2011, I have only one complete set of the EC LIBRARY available, the four-volume set of CRIME PATROL and WAR AGAINST CRIME, the two titles which preceded TALES FROM THE CRYPT and VAULT OF HORROR, and which introduced the great EC artists Al Feldstein, Graham Ingels, and Johnny Craig, who all went on to greater heights in the NEW TREND comics of 1950-55.

Bill Gaines was the ringmaster of the EC circus, bringing in new artists like Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, George Evans, Reed Crandall, Bill Elder, Harvey Kurtzman, et al. Bill took great pride in his EC Comics and defended them against the "do-gooders" until the final collapse of the comics industry with the introduction of the Comics Code. He changed the ten-cent comic book MAD to a twenty-five cent magazine, and the rest, as they say, is history.

So now the EC LIBRARY is also history. Besides the one set of CRIME PATROL/WAR AGAINST CRIME, I have a dwindling number of individual volumes left. When they are all gone, the EC LIBRARY will be history, too. So if you are interested in this format (each book is a 9"x12" hardcover), you should go to my website www.russcochran.com and get the ones still available before they are gone forever.

A few years ago, with the support and encouragement of Steve Geppi and with the permission of the Gaines Estate, I started on a new format: the EC ARCHIVES. These are slightly smaller hardcover books, (smaller than the EC LIBRARY volumes but larger than the original ten-cent comic books), and because of increased demand and the availability of cheaper color printing in China, the EC Archives books were full color, with new color in an infinite palette now being possible with the advances in technology. Thirteen of these EC Archives books have been published, and eleven of those thirteen books are still available on my website. Just like the EC LIBRARY, the EC Archives books will gradually become out of print and only available on the secondary market (comic shops and eBay, etc.). I'm still hoping to publish the rest of the EC Archives, as soon as I can get the green light from the Gaines Estate, but in the meantime, collectors who like this format should order these books before they also are out-of-print.

And for those collectors who still like the primitive coloring and cheap paper of the original ten-cent comic books, they are also available on my website in the form of EC ANNUALS. Like the other formats, some of these EC ANNUALS are now out-of-print, and will not be reprinted. Order them now!

I'd like to close this newsletter by mentioning two of the original EC fans who have passed away in recent months. Jerry Weist and Don Lineberger bought their first EC Comics off the newsstand, and they were both affected for the rest of their lives, becoming devoted diehard EC fans. Jerry published the EC fanzine SQUA TRONT!, and went on to a great career working with Sotheby's in their auctions of comics-related collectibles. Jerry and Don were two of the original EC fans, along with me, Roger Hill, Bill Spicer, and many others. I knew them both very well and will miss them. All of us original EC fans are now "old farts", and in the coming years, our numbers will dwindle. But for us, EC Comics were an important part of our growing-up years, never to be forgotten. Almost all of the original EC artists have now passed on, and it's the end of an era. One that will never be seen again, as books and magazines are replaced by digital formats. It was a time!!

******************************************************************************************
You can go to my website www.russcochran.com to see everything that's available in EC stuff. E-mail Angie or Judy at comicart@russcochran.com or call them at 417-256-1311 if you have any questions or if you prefer to use your credit card to pay for your order. We also still accept good ole paper checks or money orders.

Thanks very much for your business!
Russ

[boox909]

Sad news. Even sadder that the copyright holder (DC?) hasn't embraced the potential that digital distribution could bring to these treasure. 

[Drusilla lives!]

Sad news. Even sadder that the copyright holder (DC?) hasn't embraced the potential that digital distribution could bring to these treasure. 

I think the copyright holder is the Gaines Estate, not DC boox... I think Gaines let MAD go in the 60s, but not his other EC material.  I dunno why, but I have an odd feeling that this might be all we'll see in the way of reprints of this material (digital or physical) for a long, long time to come. 

[profh0011]

Money problems have plagued me for so many years, the only Russ Cochran books I was ever able to get ahold of were the COLOR versions of MAD, at the time, the only ones he did in color (also in B&W, but I wanted the color versions).  Maddenningly, I got the slipcase, and was buying the 4 volumes ONE at a time, to spread the money out. And, I never got all 4 of them.  For around 20 years, I've got this slipcase and 3 MAD volumes, still missing the 4th.

If I'm ever able to go after it, I'm guessing the internet (which really wasn't around back then) will be a real help to my locating that long-missing MAD volume. In the last 10 years, I've found countless items online, often from the most obscure sources.  (The GEMM site, an internet "mall", hosts thousands of tiny stores from all over the world, and has been a going concern since long before the "Amazon Marketplace" stores-- another great resource.)

[Drusilla lives!]

Money problems have plagued me for so many years, the only Russ Cochran books I was ever able to get ahold of were the COLOR versions of MAD, at the time, the only ones he did in color (also in B&W, but I wanted the color versions).  Maddenningly, I got the slipcase, and was buying the 4 volumes ONE at a time, to spread the money out. And, I never got all 4 of them.  For around 20 years, I've got this slipcase and 3 MAD volumes, still missing the 4th.

If I'm ever able to go after it, I'm guessing the internet (which really wasn't around back then) will be a real help to my locating that long-missing MAD volume. In the last 10 years, I've found countless items online, often from the most obscure sources.  (The GEMM site, an internet "mall", hosts thousands of tiny stores from all over the world, and has been a going concern since long before the "Amazon Marketplace" stores-- another great resource.)

I know what you mean profh, I was a fan of his EC comic book reprints from the 70s and then when he announced his EC Library project, well, I was blown away... all that original art in B&W... it really is something to behold.  

I was lucky enough, or crazy enough (depending on how you look at it) at the time in that I was able to scrape up the money (by a combination of odd jobs and my allowance) to pre-order several of the sets.  If I remember correctly, he offered some sort of discount for doing so... but they were still rather expensive for the time... but by the early to mid 80s I had given up on all my other comic buying anyway, so it sorta all evened out in a way.  

But still, I had lost interest in all comics by the late 80s and didn't complete the whole library until recently.  I think the last set that I got directly from him way back then was indeed MAD (color).  I only recently (about three years ago) picked up the Crime Suspenstories and Haunt of Fear volumes on ebay.  I've noticed that the MAD sets come up for auction every now and then as well, even individual volumes, so don't give up... you might be able to complete that set yet.  

Unfortunately I don't think there will ever be any of those early MAD issues reprinted again... certainly not in the cheaper color "annuals" format that Russ put out in the last few years for the other EC titles (all that MAD stuff is in DC's hands now).  If he had those annuals back in the day, I probably would have grabbed them instead of the larger hard bound volumes simply due to cost... but I'm still satisfied, IMO he did a fine, quality job of it... and he will be missed if he does indeed call it quits.    

[profh0011]

Here's a story for you... I got hooked on MAD magazine in the late 60's via copies obtained from my Mom's optometrist. He had a stack of comics and magazines in his waiting room, and didn't mind if someone occasionally wanted one to take home.

My favorite parts were always the movie & TV parodies (a more accurate word than "satires"). Often I'd read these long before ever seeing the films they made fun of.

One night in October 1976, I watched DIRTY HARRY-- incredibly, up to then, I had never seen a Clint Eastwood film before!  As I watched, I had the MAD version, "DIRTY LARRY", on my lap, and followed along with the movie.  "Taciturn, trigger-happy, psychotic farblunget" is how they described him!


Many years later, I rented THE WILD ONE to watch with my Dad. Neither of us had ever seen it before. About midway thru, we stopped for a food break (one reason I loved watching stuff on videotape).  While I waited for Dad to come back from the kitchen, I dug out the MAD version, "THE WILD 1/2". It flipped me out how Harvey Kurtzman did something you never saw in the later MAD parodies-- an entire page with almost no words.  The girl is chased into the alley, then, like indians attacking a wagon train, the bike gang circles her. Marlon Brando drives up to her, stops, and says two words: "Get on." And then... the motor conks out. He gets off and starts cursing the bike.  Hilarious!


I live in a bad neighborhood, and often use the word "Oookabollakonga" to describe my "neighbors".  (from MELVIN OF THE APES)

[josemas]

I was lucky enough to have acquired all of the EC Library over the years.  I remember the earlier volumes such as Weird Science, Two-Fisted Tales and Tales From the Crypt came out during my years at the Kubert School in the late 70s/early 80s.  A number of us would spend hours studying the art so brilliantly reproduced in those volumes.
I have vivid memories of watching Timmy Truman intensely going over the Kurtzman/Severin war volumes as he was working on some Sgt. Rock back up story. 

Great stuff!

Even if Gemstone does sadly fold I suspect that another publisher such as Dark Horse or IDW will acquire the rights to continue the current EC Archives or come out with a similar repackaging of their own.

Best

Joe

[Drusilla lives!]

I was lucky enough to have acquired all of the EC Library over the years.  I remember the earlier volumes such as Weird Science, Two-Fisted Tales and Tales From the Crypt came out during my years at the Kubert School in the late 70s/early 80s.  A number of us would spend hours studying the art so brilliantly reproduced in those volumes.
I have vivid memories of watching Timmy Truman intensely going over the Kurtzman/Severin war volumes as he was working on some Sgt. Rock back up story.  

Great stuff! ...

I was greatly impressed by the artwork as well joe... and it's true... being reproduced in B&W and in the larger format, the genius of the work really does hit you.  But then after that initial period of amazement, you start reading them... and you quickly find that the stories (for the most part) are damn good as the art!  Well, at least in my opinion anyway.  

... Even if Gemstone does sadly fold I suspect that another publisher such as Dark Horse or IDW will acquire the rights to continue the current EC Archives or come out with a similar repackaging of their own.

I just don't see it, Russ did a pretty good job of it, and there's really no profit in the franchise as far as I can see.  In fact, from what I've experienced first hand, outside of encounters with a few loyal fans, it seems most people are pretty hostile to anything having to do with those comics... so I really can't see anyone wanting to go through the trouble of reprinting them again... sadly they were part of a different era.  One which many of today's comics fans want to distance themselves from.  

The knowledgeable (older) fans still blame those comics for the collapse of the industry and the younger ones aren't interested really, if they want horror or science fiction they have Eerie or Creepy to look back on.

[builderboy]

I have only a collection of the RCP and Gemstone reprints, and knowing how reprints fail to capture all of the glory of the initial run, but I wish I were a collector earlier to have been of a mind to grab the original EC's before they became out of my reach price-wise.

Russ Cochran did as much as one can do to faithfully reproduce the experience of reading the originals by the time that he got to volume 2 of his reprints, issuing the books in the correct sequence, with original covers.

I can't say that I blame EC in any way for the collapse of comics. The movement in America was toward conservative censorship. It had already gripped the movies, and comics were such a large cultural phenomenon, the target was irresistible. If you compare what was in their pages to what is out there today, it would seem restrained, so you can't blame them for their content being extreme.

I see that more museums are hosting displays of comic art, and that the trend towards greater appreciation of the medium is growing. If anything, I see somebody coming along to make very high quality coffee table books out of this material. I see that libraries stock a growing number of graphic novels. My hope is that all of this material will reach preservation on the shelves of your town's library, available for all to read.  And some publisher will make a boatload of money doing it. My hope is that it doesn't stop at EC.  That somebody will do for Fiction House or Avon what Erik Larsen wants to do for Lev's Daredevil.

[profh0011]

I've often felt one of the things holding back younger fans' appreciation of Golden Age art is poor reproduction, and, at reduced size. Art is designed to be shrunk to the size it's printed, but NOT shrunk FURTHER to the size they often RE-print it.  (See any Golden Age DC ARCHIVES.)


If money were no object (Publishers Clearinghouse, here I am, ARE YOU LISTENING???), one of the books I'd love to publish would be a complete collection of GHOST RIDER (you know-- the "real" one).  Every episode, in order, at the original printed size-- or bigger.


I appreciate what Bill Black's done over the last few decades (AC), but single-character collections are what I always prefer.  I remember when I nagged him about doing a book like that for PHANTOM LADY, and sometime later, whatta ya know, he did!



By the way, it's still "in progress", but check out the GHOST RIDER section at the SA Marvel site.  Since I began work on it, it's expanded a hundred-fold, and at least 90% of the covers I've posted (every single one I've done the most extrensive restorations on I could manage with the scans available), were NOT published by Marvel.

http://www.samcci.nostromo.no/

Titles -- Ghost Rider -- 1949-up

[josemas]

I just don't see it, Russ did a pretty good job of it, and there's really no profit in the franchise as far as I can see.  In fact, from what I've experienced first hand, outside of encounters with a few loyal fans, it seems most people are pretty hostile to anything having to do with those comics... so I really can't see anyone wanting to go through the trouble of reprinting them again... sadly they were part of a different era.  One which many of today's comics fans want to distance themselves from.  

The knowledgeable (older) fans still blame those comics for the collapse of the industry and the younger ones aren't interested really, if they want horror or science fiction they have Eerie or Creepy to look back on.

I figure if Dark Horse can manage to archive volumes of Jesse's Marsh's Tarzan, Whitman's Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery and Roy Rogers (among others) there's no reason they couldn't take a shot at the EC material if it becomes available.

It would be nice if these great comics were kept in print in one form or another for everyone to enjoy in the years ahead.

Best

Joe

[narfstar]

I have a pretty good collection of those Jesse Marsh and Russ Manning Tarzan including 25 with the first Brothers of the Spear a series that I really enjoyed

[Captain Audio]

Here's a story for you... I got hooked on MAD magazine in the late 60's via copies obtained from my Mom's optometrist. He had a stack of comics and magazines in his waiting room, and didn't mind if someone occasionally wanted one to take home.

My favorite parts were always the movie & TV parodies (a more accurate word than "satires"). Often I'd read these long before ever seeing the films they made fun of.

I used to slip a Mad Magazine inside a large text book to read during study hall.

I found a few of my old Mad Mags not long ago. I don't remember where I put them, but will dig them up again and relive the moments.

[profh0011]

From "IN THE OUT EXIT"--

"Hey Shiv! You dig school?"
"You bet! It's the one place the cops wouldn't think of lookin' for me!"

[Ratty]

I just don't see it, Russ did a pretty good job of it, and there's really no profit in the franchise as far as I can see.  In fact, from what I've experienced first hand, outside of encounters with a few loyal fans, it seems most people are pretty hostile to anything having to do with those comics... so I really can't see anyone wanting to go through the trouble of reprinting them again... sadly they were part of a different era.  One which many of today's comics fans want to distance themselves from.  

The knowledgeable (older) fans still blame those comics for the collapse of the industry and the younger ones aren't interested really, if they want horror or science fiction they have Eerie or Creepy to look back on.

I figure if Dark Horse can manage to archive volumes of Jesse's Marsh's Tarzan, Whitman's Boris Karloff Tales of Mystery and Roy Rogers (among others) there's no reason they couldn't take a shot at the EC material if it becomes available.

It would be nice if these great comics were kept in print in one form or another for everyone to enjoy in the years ahead.

Best

Joe

I would love to see that. Since I believe Dark Horse has learned their lesson about "reconstructing" art with garishly bright and "improved" inking. That really turned me off the latest hardback E.C. reprints when I saw them, and continues to lessen the quality on things like the Archives and Masterworks editions for DC/Marvel IMO.

[Drusilla lives!]

... I would love to see that. Since I believe Dark Horse has learned their lesson about "reconstructing" art with garishly bright and "improved" inking. That really turned me off the latest hardback E.C. reprints when I saw them, and continues to lessen the quality on things like the Archives and Masterworks editions for DC/Marvel IMO.

Ouch... I haven't actually seen any of those hardback color EC Archive volumes, but I was under the impression that Marie Severin did the re-colors (and supposedly did a good job of it).  Guess it wasn't worth the extra effort... I like the EC stories in B&W anyway. 

[Ratty]

... I would love to see that. Since I believe Dark Horse has learned their lesson about "reconstructing" art with garishly bright and "improved" inking. That really turned me off the latest hardback E.C. reprints when I saw them, and continues to lessen the quality on things like the Archives and Masterworks editions for DC/Marvel IMO.

Ouch... I haven't actually seen any of those hardback color EC Archive volumes, but I was under the impression that Marie Severin did the re-colors (and supposedly did a good job of it).  Guess it wasn't worth the extra effort... I like the EC stories in B&W anyway.  

Wellll... o' course the whole question of "How much restoration/improvement is too much." and what constitutes "improvement" (or perhaps even "restoration") is subjective. So no doubt there are a lot of people who believe the coloring job on these were great, and it's just a matter of opinion there.
But to me the new coloring seemed to presuppose that the pencillers/inkers weren't well aware of the printing limitations they had to work with and didn't compensate for it.
At the same time it seemed to me that very often the new colors were strangely too bright and chipper for stories about untimely death and betrayal, overpowering the expressiveness of the linework and killing the mood/feel of the original art. Though I wouldn't pretend to know half as much about EC as the people behind these. The recolors on the individual issue reprints from the 80s I've got seem much more appropriate but then that might be due to fading/page browning. Ultimately its all a matter of perspective I guess.