Expert: Chris Brown - 4/30/2005

Question
Hi i use to read those horror comics of the 50's but more like in the 60's since i was born in 1956...anyway i was wondering if anywhere they publish horror comics now or has all that stopped?   or will i have to go shopping for horror comics of the past?  thanks   joe

Answer
Hi Joe

I am not very knowledgeable about what is currently being published, but they have certainly published various types of horror comics over the past 10 or 20 years.

You were born the year after the institution of the Comics Code Authority in 1955, which essentially forbid publication of horror comics.  Most comics from 1955 on have the large white stamp in the upper right corner of the front cover indicating they are approved by the CCA.  The heydey of horror comics like EC, immortalized by HBO's Tales From the Crypt, was from about 1948 to 1955.  Perhaps you saw some of these comics even though you would not have purchased them new off the newsstand.

Comics from about 1956 to the mid-60s are generally classified as fantasy comics, as they were not able to publish the same type of graphic stories that were published in the early 50s.  In the mid-60s, Warren Comics started publishing black and white magazine-sized comics that were not submitted to CCA for approval and so were much more graphic.  Other publishers soon followed suit.

The big publishers, Marvel and DC, also started publishing more graphic materials in the late 60s and early 70s but they were still tame compared to the early 50s material.

Beginning in the 80s, some publishers were able to get their color comics distributed even without CCA approval, so some comics became just as graphic as the 50s material.

Hope this helps.  Feel free to follow up if I didn't answer your question or if you have other questions.

Chris