Since I've been doing some investigation of pre-Code horror, I thought I'd have a look at some of the horror magazine I picked up back when I got my Heavy Metal collection. At the time I thought that the HMs and the undergrounds in that purchase were the real treasures, and treasures they certainly are. But my unfamiliarity with the Warren magazines led me to overlook them, and that's a mistake.
When thinking about the tradition of EC horror comics, it is a tradition on two fronts. The first, of course, is the stories. They are, for the most part, amazing - artists and writers at the top of their games. The second front is the role it played in the crackdowns on comics in the 50s - EC becomes a metonym for the lost potential of the genre after the creation of the Comics Code. When I read Bruce Jones' series Twisted Tales a while ago, I saw him as one carrying on the tradition of these experimental tales of fear. But I neglected to note at that time that the Warren magazines of the 60s and 70s were also bearers of that torch. Mr. Jones, of course, contributes to these magazines before taking his tales to Pacific. Though they lose something in the black and white format (I've never been one of those fans who prefers B&W over colour. They both have their pros and cons.), the style is there, as is the desire to shock and amuse.
This was one of the first Eeries I've ever read, and it was okay. None of the stories wowed me. But the quality was certainly high enough that I can see why these mags are so revered. One thing that they add to the tradition, and perhaps this is inherited by Bruce Jones' later series, is women in varying states of undress. The EC comics got away with a lot in terms of their portrayals of women, but at least the ladies were clothed. The Warren magazines seem to want to equate horror and nudity, which is a strange connection to make (Eros and Thanatos, perhaps?). The question, I suppose, is does the tradition benefit from this addition?
Onward.
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