Book Review: GHOSTS AND GIRLS OF FICTION HOUSE

GHOSTS AND GIRLS OF FICTION HOUSE  (IDW Publishing, November 2015)  Book #11 of The Chilling Archives Of Horror Comics.  Curated and introduced by Michael H. Price.  Foreword by Craig Yoe.  Hardcover, 191 pages.  ISBN#1631404040 / 97816314047.   

 

Here’s the summary from the Goodreads website:  

 

The publisher Fiction House was infamous for what anti-comics crusader Dr. Fredric Wertham called "headlight comics," i.e. comics featuring the ample female bosom. The Pre-Code publisher used their buxom heroines to star in jungle comics, science fiction tales, and scary GHOST STORIES! The Chilling Archives of Horror Comics series curates the sexiest and scariest of these poltergeist-infused Good Girl Art comics in a pulse-pounding tome, Ghosts and Girls! Your hair will stand on end and at the same time your toes will curl! Featuring faithfully reprinted original art from these 1940s and 1950s by brilliant masters Matt Baker, Maurice Whitman, and more, don't miss this must-have, large format collection edited by comics historian and filmmaker Michael Price, with its lovingly restored comics.

 

My Review:

 

     Anyone interested in the development of American comic books and their history will appreciate this book. It's an excellent package, well researched with some great text pieces in the front section detailing the history of Fiction House publishers and some of the artists it employed for their comics line. 

 

     Fiction House had a reputation at the time for "headlight comics", books that focused on ample female bosoms- most notoriously the Sheena comics. However, there's really not much of that on display here, and these illustrations are very tame compared to later works. There's also no depictions of gore or excessive violence, as the anti-comics crusaders of the time were worked up about.

 

     There is good story-telling here, considering the format used. There's quite a bit of story and character introduction in these short 8-10 page stories. That also didn't leave much room for the art to shine because of the large amount of small panels per page. However, there are exceptions and this is a great book to study and compare to later works.

 

     The reprints all feature the 1940's The Ghost Gallery stories featuring supernatural investigator Drew Murdoch in the Jumbo Comics title. Many of the stories suffer from dumping too much information into them, but they are still impressive. Unfortunately, none of the reprints reveal the writer credits. But the artists are known and credited. Most of the stories were illustrated by Alex Blum, and it's interesting to view his style and development. He utilizes odd-shaped panels and overlapping images on several of the pages. 

 

     This edition also includes cover reprints of Fiction House's Ghost Comics from the 1950's.

 

     Ghosts And Girls of Fiction House is part of The Chilling Archives Of Horror Comics, many compiled by comics historian Craig Yoe, and released by IDW Publishing. It's a series worth looking into for admirers of this unique American art form.