The Horror! The Horror!: Comic Books the Government Didn't Want You to Read!

2010 | Art, Photography & Fashion

For the first time in over fifty years, author Jim Trombetta uncovers a rare visual treasury of some of the most important and neglected stories in American literature-the pre-Code horror comics of the 1950s. Censored out of existence by Congress in an infamous televised US Senate subcommittee hearing investigating juvenile delinquency, these rare comic book images are culled from the author's personal collection. Many of these stories have rarely been seen since they were first issued-now revealed once again in all of their eye-popping inventive outrageousness. The 1950s horror comic was designed to jump out at you-all but literally-from a magazine rack swarming with competitors. The Horror! The Horror! includes over 200 covers and complete stories as they were originally seen, scanned from mint copies in the author's extensive collection. Coupled with commentary and informative text that provides readers with detailed history and complete context for these stories and their creators, Jim Trombetta spins a tale of expressiveness and censorship as scary as the horror stories themselves.

David Hajdu's The Ten-Cent Plague (which received rave reviews on NPR, USA Today, The New Yorker, and the New York Times) focuses on the history of these horror comic books, but lacks the visual component. Jim Trombetta, a skilled writer and historian, delves into this subversive genre, looking beyond the familiar E.C. Comics like Tales from the Crypt by MAD publisher William M. Gaines, and highlights the bulk of what was being published at this crucial time in American comic-book history.

Jim Trombetta (Author)

R. Spiel (Author)