EC Library #17

Plot

With his eerily crisp, contemporary graphic style, Johnny Craig was the “Mr. Clean” of EC horror comics. (“Cleanest horror stories you ever saw!” said his colleague, artist Wallace Wood.) Eschewing outright blood and gore, Craig imbued his stories with his signature brand of terror, foreshadowing the inevitable shock to come by meticulously building mood, character, and suspense. He presents disarmingly sophisticated and elegant vampires, werewolves, and creatures of the night, each perfectly presentable in polite society — right up until that last moment. And when it comes to crime comics, Craig takes a back seat to no one, portraying criminals and victims with a smooth surface that barely hides the seething rage, jealousy, and avarice that is just about to erupt. This collection of 25 Craig favorites includes such shockers as “Horror House!,” “Werewolf Concerto,” “Terror on the Moors,” and the title story, “Voodoo Vengeance” — along with seven Craig crime classics, including Craig’s own personal favorite, “The Sewer!” (“A masterpiece of visual technique,” says Max Allan Collins). Like every book in the Fantagraphics EC Artists’ Library, Voodoo Vengeance and Other Stories also features essays and notes by EC experts on these superbly crafted, classic masterpieces.