TOP 50 PRE-CODE HORROR COMICS

I came across these YouTube videos that I thought might be interesting to readers here at FEAR IN FOUR COLORS. They reside under the video tab at Simpleman's Comics channel. In the two episodes, Simpleman discusses what he believes to be the 50 most collectible pre-Code horror comics.

I think he does a pretty good job as he spends about a minute on each title and briefly discusses the cover art and any notable interior stories, as well as market value and sales figures.

These were done six years ago, so some of the info will have changed by then. Still, it's a nice overview of 50 of some of the best titles the era had to offer.

TOP 50 PRE-CODE HORROR COMICS PART 1:

TOP 50 PRE-CODE HORROR COMICS PART 2:

JOE SINNOTT ON THE COMICS CODE AUTHORITY

In this short clip "Joltin' Joe" Sinnott as he was known by at Marvel Comics talks about the impact of the comic book industry after the Code disrupted many of the lucrative titles that would quickly be wiped out by it.

EC COMICS VIDS

Today's post features two YouTube videos about EC Comics. The first is a short documentary that chronicles the company from its beginnings with Max Gaines and the rest of the famed comics' history until their demise after the Comics Code Authority.

There is at least one error in the narrative: Bill Gaines was not subpoenaed to appear before the Senate Committee Hearing on Juvenile Delinquency as the narrator explains; for good or bad, he appeared voluntarily and was skewered by Senator Estes Kefauver and Co. during the proceedings

The second is a shorter tale of EC Comics. In this, we see and hear Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Joe Orlando, Russ Cochran and others. The image quality is very poor, but it's worth getting through it to see these luminaries while they were all still alive.

As in the first video, there is at least one error that I noticed. The Senate Subcommittee Hearings were in 1954, not 1953.

HAUNTED THRILLS: A PRE-CODE HORROR DOCUMENTARY

On the hunt for something entirely different on YouTube, I happened to come across this short film that should be of interest to horror comics fans.

HAUNTED THRILLS (U.S., 2021) is a documentary written and directed by Mike Lyddon. Lyddon is a writer, producer, director and special makeup effects artist who has won numerous awards for his work, including three for HAUNTED THRILLS the year it was released: Best Documentary Short (American Golden Picture International Film Festival, Best Documentary (Horror Bowl Movie Awards) and Best Documentary Short (Indie Suspense Horror Sci-Fi Film Festival.

Lyddon had the good fortune of tracking down and interviewing Vince Carrabotta, Everett Raymond Kinstler and Joe Sinnot, three surviving artists from that period who were still alive at the time (they have sadly all passed since).

I highly recommend you watch this short-but-sweet look at the pre-Code horror comic phenomenon as seen through the eyes of a devoted fan and a few that were actually there when legends were made, 

HAUNTED THRILLS was also screened internationally at the Horror-on-Sea Film Festival, in Southend-on-Sea, U.K. on January 13–15 and 20–22, 2023.