World Famous Comics: The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Mammoth Book of)
The Mammoth Book of Best Horror Comics (Mammoth Book of)
From: Running Press Publisher: Running Press Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: Running Press Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 448 Publication Date: March 24, 2008
Bringing together the finest names in comic book horror, this volume features nearly 50 comics that caused a furor in the US and sparked legislation to crack down on explicit horror—from the 1940s to the 21st century. Includes names like Steve Niles, Pete Von Sholly, Michael Kaluta, Mike Ploog, Rudy Palais, Rand Holmes, Vincent Locke, Frank Brunner, and many more. Reproduced in black and white for this brand-new collection.
Ventage comics collections The artwork was great with the recreation of the comic in readable and good text form. The use of printing the stories in black and white added and enhance the reading for the reader.
Now if they could only put out a publication of the collections of mysteries in space, and the complete collection of WEIRD SCIENCE (only vol 1 and 2 are available at this time).
High Quantity, Low Quality It's great to have so many comics all bound together, but they're all black and white (I'm sure some of them were originally in color). They're also much smaller than they were in their original comic book format, making it a bit of a stretch to read. However it was fairly cheap, and the lightweight paper is nice.
This is for Lovers - not for Chart-Hoppers !!! Having read some of the negative reviews before, I was almost sure that I would get what I hoped for - but now I see that this book offers so much more...!
Sure the book could have a bigger print in colour - and I would certainly be willing to pay a lot for this book in an edition comparable to the MARVEL OMNIBUSSES. But as it is, the book is an affordable option to get a really wide perspective on horror comics from pre-code to postmodern.
So here are some words to the complainers:
Claiming that this is not "the best" in horror comics is kid stuff! Sure, it's stupid to put a word like "best" on any kind of compilation or anthology - but it's actually more stupid to actually search for a concept like that.
The strong point about this book is that there is no E.C. and no MARVEL and no DC to be found in these pages. I mean, if you are looking for those classics - go and get them from the countless sources that offer them. You can get a complete E.C. library, and if you are seriously interested in horror comics, you absolutely should. MARVEL and DC are already busy reprinting their ESSENTIALS and SHOWCASES and OMNIBUSSES and whatnots - so there is a good chance that within the next years you can get a big lot of what they have ever published.
This mammoth book here fills the gap that really hurts - i.e. the countless comics by short-lived, small, independent or sold out publishers I have never even heard about. That is really rare stuff, and it turns me on to get such a low-price opportunity to lay my eyes on titles like BLACK CAT MYSTERY or CHILLING TALES. In fact I don't expect them to be "good" or (for god's sake) "the best". I expect them to grant me a glimpse of the history of pop-culture, and this is what I get here. And then even getting stories from the 80s and 90s, when I really lost horror comics out of sight - wow, what a treat...!!!
If you actually intend to buy only one book of horror comics in your life - or if you have so little money that you can only afford one book a year - well, I definitely say: Go and buy any copy of HAUNT OF FEAR or VAULT OF HORROR instead of this book. Just as I would advise you to watch SUSPIRIA or TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, if you want to watch just one horror movie this year.
But if you really dig Horror in all its forms - and if you spend a lot of dough on classics and new stuff, the good the bad and the ugly releases to broaden your horizon and to find the gems among the rubble - then this book is DEFINITELY one you should buy!!!
This book is one to devour and enjoy - not to ruminate over. It's for lovers - not for calculators.
Not worth the money, borrow it It would have been much more enjoyable IF it had at Least an Oversized Paperback.
Vintage horror comic reprint anthology This 'tome' is full of fascinatic reprints and essays, although I would've liked to see a large heavy hardcover coffee-table edition of some of the comics in full colors like the EC Comics horror/suspence volumes. Even more importantly, the book provides an insight to the Golden Age of comics - perhaps the author should do a Silver Age sequel to explain the difficulties under the Comic Code!
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
