While EC titles like Tales from the Crypt get most of the credit, they weren’t the only horror comics provoking the ire of self-righteous congressmen in the 1950s. There was a whole cottage industry of ghoulish tales of the undead, revenge from beyond the grave and deals with the devil.

While you can see how these stories shocked conservative postwar parents (Their morbidity is still surprising today.), the irony is that these stories, like most good horror, were in actuality extremely moralistic. They just used zombies to tell these morals.

Comic book historians Greg Sadowski and John Benson edited this fun time capsule, compiling over three dozen spine-tingling tales from the likes of Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Iger Studio, Joe Kubert, Basil Wolverton and others. Also included is a beautiful cover section, plus background commentary on each entry and an introduction by Benson.

Grade: A-



Four Color Fear is currently available.