'Tales From the Crypt', issue #24 (June-July 1951). Artwork by Al Feldstein.
Al Feldstein was an American comic book editor, writer and artist, most famous for his association with EC Comics, working for the company without hardly any interruption between 1948 and 1984. After starting out as an artist for EC's crime and western stories, he became a prominent editor, writer and artist for the company's infamous "New Trend" line of horror and suspense comics, which included the titles Tales From The Crypt, The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear, Weird Science, Weird Fantasy, Crime Suspenstories and Shock SuspenStories. At the time, the chilling, gruesome and disturbing stories, full with mature content, were groundbreaking and resulted in strong sales and equally huge controversy. Feldstein also designed one of their mascots, the Crypt-Keeper. By 1956, the newly established Comics Code had forced all of EC's more edgy comic books into cancellation, and Feldstein became editor-in-chief of the company's satirical magazine Mad. Under Feldstein's editorship, from 1956 until 1984, Mad enjoyed its highest sales and the launch of its most enduring comic features.
Early life and career
Born in 1925 in Brooklyn, New York, Albert Bernard Feldstein was the son of a Russian immigrant father and an American mother. His father owned his own dental lab until the Great Depression forced him out of business. At an early age, Feldstein picked up drawing, encouraged to pursue his artistic ambitions by his mother and his elementary school teacher. While still a youngster, he won a couple of art contests, but initially wanted to become a doctor. However, the family's financial funds didn't allow such an expensive education, so Feldstein enrolled at the High School of Music and Art. After this education, he started working in the comic book industry as an apprentice at Jerry Iger's shop in 1941. There, he cleaned up pages penciled by Reed Crandall, Rafael Astarita and Bob Webb, while doing all sorts of other chores. He eventually got the opportunity to ink and draw some backgrounds for 'Sheena, Queen of the Jungle', a feature originally created for Fiction House by Will Eisner and Jerry Iger.
'The Ol' Skipper', presumably by Al Feldstein (Seven Seas Comics #3, 1947).
While attending Brooklyn College by day, Feldstein took night classes at the Art Students League. During World War II, he joined the Air Force, and created the comic strip 'Baffy' for the Blytheville Air Force base newspaper. Feldstein was also assigned to draw informational posters and slides, and painted service club murals and custom designs on pilot's flight jackets. After his discharge, Feldstein briefly went back to Iger's comics studio before turning freelance. During this period, he worked as an artist and packager for companies like Fox Comics on such teenage titles as 'Junior', 'Sunny' and 'Meet Corliss Archer'. He was an inker on Fiction House features like 'Hooks Devlin', 'Kayo Kirby' and 'Sky Girl', and also worked on features for Ace Periodicals ('Hap Hazard', 'Super Mystery'), Aviation Press ('Flight Class'), McCombs ('Mickey Magic' in Crown Comics), Universal Phoenix Features ('Seven Seas Comics') and Quality Comics ('Dollman').
From: Meet Corliss Archer #2 (May 1948), based on the popular radio sitcom 'Meet Corliss Archer', later also adapted into a TV show.
EC Comics: the New Trend
In February 1948, Feldstein joined William M. Gaines' comics publishing company EC Comics, where he stayed until his retirement in 1984. He was initially assigned to set up a teenage comic book called 'Going Steady with Peggy', but the title was dropped even before the first issue was published. Instead, Feldstein drew stories for EC's crime and western comic books like 'Saddle Justice', 'Crime Patrol' and 'War Against Crime!', but also for the romance title 'Modern Love'. A notable writer for EC Comics in 1947-1948 was Gardner Fox.
During this period, Feldstein also started writing his own stories, and developed a steady bond with publisher Gaines, who had just recently taken over the company from his late father. Together, they set up a new and groundbreaking way of producing horror, crime and mystery comic books, which became known as the "New Trend" and have remained influential ever since. While at the time most post-World War II comic book publishers shifted from producing superhero comics to genre-based anthology titles - Lev Gleason's equally influential 'Crime Does Not Pay' started the trend as early as 1942 - the EC stories stood out for their daring subject matter, ironic plot twists and and high-quality artwork.
'Dance-Hall Racket' (Crime Patrol #10, February-March 1949). Artwork by Al Feldstein.
The earliest horror comic stories by Feldstein and Gaines appeared in EC's crime comic books 'Crime Patrol' and 'War Against Crime!'. Readers were thrilled with these gruesome and often terrifying tales, so the duo decided to relaunch these series under different names: 'Tales From the Crypt' (1950-1955) and 'The Vault of Horror' (1950-1955). Additionally, 'Gunfighter' changed its name to 'The Haunt of Fear' (1950-1954). Besides editing these three horror titles, Feldstein also oversaw the production of 'Weird Science' (1950-1953), 'Weird Fantasy' (1950-1953), 'Crime SuspenStories' (1950-1955) and 'Shock SuspenStories' (1952-1955), which also featured dark and disturbing stories, but with a stronger emphasis on occult and fantasy plots. The New Trend line was complemented by the war comic books 'Two-Fisted Tales' (1950-1955) and 'Frontline Combat' (1951-1954), and later the satirical 'Mad' comic book (1952-1956), which were all edited by Harvey Kurtzman.
A unique aspect of the New Trend comic books was the creative freedom given to its steady artist team, who received full spotlight and the opportunity to choose their own graphic approach. Besides Feldstein and Kurtzman, EC's core artist team consisted of Johnny Craig, Graham Ingels, Wallace Wood, Reed Crandall, Frank Frazetta, Jack Kamen, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, George Evans, Jack Davis, John Severin, Bill Elder and Bernie Krigstein. More sporadic artists included Marty Elkin, Harry Harrison, Fred Peters and Sid Check. Among the contributing writers was Carl Wessler.
'Reflection of Death' (Tales from the Crypt #23, April-May 1951). Script by William M. Gaines and Al Feldstein, artwork by Al Feldstein.
For their titles, Feldstein and Gaines wrote intriguing mysteries, ranging from whodunits and revenge tales to sheer terror. Many stories had remarkable plot twists, often resulting in an ironic "poetic justice" death of an antagonist, or otherwise unsympathetic character. In other tales, the gruesome fate of a sympathetic hero is either a heroic self-sacrifice, or the spark that will result in the harsh "punishment" of his or her bully, torturer or murderer. A typical EC horror/suspense story is notable for the chilling atmosphere and haunting portrayal of monsters, torture and murder. In the 1950s, no other comic books were so explicit and terrifying in their stark imagery. This New Trend in comics resulted in high sales, other comic companies imitating their trademark style and a lot of controversy.
From Lev Gleason's 'Crime Does Not Pay', EC borrowed the idea of having a host mascot introduce and close off each story. 'The Vault of Horror' was hosted by The Vault-Keeper (introduced in War Against Crime issue #10, December 1949, designed by Johnny Craig), 'Tales From the Crypt' by The Crypt-Keeper (debut in Crime Patrol issue #15, December 1949, designed by Al Feldstein) and 'The Haunt of Fear' by The Old Witch (The Haunt of Fear issue #16, July 1950, designed by Graham Ingels). All three mascots also appeared in EC's other horror and suspense stories, making frequent crossovers. The so-called "GhouLunatics" usually tingle readers' curiosity by setting up the mood and introducing the characters who will be vital to the story. They often get a lot of sadistic joy beforehand and afterwards, just thinking about how "hilarious" the well-deserved fate of the foolish or just plain evil protagonist was. Their campy monologues were peppered with corny puns, while the hosts cackled at their own jokes. In 'The Vault of Horror' issue #37 (June-July 1954), the femme fatale Drusilla was introduced as a fourth mascot, designed by Johnny Craig.
'The Haunt of Fear', issue #8 (July-August 1951) and 'Weird Science', issue #6 (March-April 1951). Artwork by Al Feldstein.
Feldstein and Gaines drew much of their inspiration from horror and sci-fi novels and short stories, sometimes borrowing plotlines and slightly changing them. Sci-fi author Ray Bradbury (of 'Fahrenheit 451' , 'The Illustrated Man' and 'Martian Chronicles' fame) was one of their most popular choices. Instead of feeling ripped off, Bradbury agreed to the use of his storylines in exchange for a byline and small financial compensation. Feldstein has also credited Bradbury with improving his own writing style for the comics. Unlike other scriptwriters, Feldstein wrote his narration and dialogues directly on the boards given to the artists, often leading to complaints for his copious captions and speech balloons. Other storylines in EC Comics were influenced by horror radio shows like 'Inner Sanctum', 'The Witches Tale' and Arch Oboler's 'Lights Out'.
While the EC Comics horror stories followed a certain formula, Feldstein and Gaines kept them interesting through their use of increasingly more dark and surreal plot twists. Their stories also dealt with topics that mainstream comics didn't dare to address, like adultery, racism, blind patriotism and the deaths of children and teenagers. This gave their stories a mature edge, appealing to adults who were tired of "infantile" newspaper comics and superhero stories, while many children also secretly read EC's tales (resulting in sleepless nights afterwards).
During the height of the New Trend, Feldstein wrote four stories a week, based on plot ideas ("springboards") by Gaines. Adding that to his editing work, it is no surprise that Feldstein eventually dropped his own drawing activities. Although slightly stiff, Feldstein's horror art was nevertheless effective and creepy, as well as trend-setting for EC's horror line, since most of the early covers were drawn by him. After a while, he continued to do some of the science fiction covers, while leaving the story art to the capable hands of EC's other artists.
Covers for Panic issue #1 (February-March 1954) and #2 (April-May 1954). Artwork by Al Feldstein.
Panic
In 1952, EC Comics scored another big hit when they released their satirical comic book 'Mad', edited by Harvey Kurtzman. Its comics, drawn by many of the regular EC artists, stood out for their iconoclastic and otherwise hilarious spoofs of popular comics, films, radio shows, TV series and advertisements. As Mad soon became EC's best-selling title, many copycat magazines rose up. One of them was 'Panic', a Feldstein-edited title launched by EC itself in 1954. Feldstein wrote all of the stories for the first six issues, but having too much workload, he gradually passed this task on to assistant-writers like Jack Mendelsohn and Nick Meglin.
Comics Code
By the mid-1950s, the witch hunt and media scare against comics had brought EC Comics in dire straits. Many of their titles were targeted by the highly restrictive Comics Code. This industry-created measure was a result of the sensational book 'Seduction of the Innocent' (1954) by psychologist Dr. Frederic Wertham. Wertham claimed there was a correlation between comics and juvenile delinquency, which concerned parents, teachers and moral guardians were all too eager to agree with. During the Congressional Hearings in front of a Senatorial Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency regarding the "violent nature" of comics, Feldstein and publisher Bill Gaines were specifically asked to testify. Although they eventually agreed to have all the EC stories test-read by the Comics Code board, they couldn't prevent the New Trend's cancellation. At this point, the company's reputation was so tainted that many store owners boycotted their horror and mystery titles.
In 1955, Feldstein and Gaines tried to cleanse their reputation by launching new, more "educational and wholesome" comic books. This short-lived New Direction included the titles 'Impact', 'Valor', 'Extra!', 'Aces High', 'Psychoanalysis', 'M.D.' and 'Incredible Science-Fiction'. Feldstein was the editor for many of them, but none were a success and only lasted a couple of months. In late 1955, EC took another shot and switched to illustrated short stories with the Picto-Fiction series (1955-1956), consisting of 'Confessions Illustrated', 'Crime Illustrated', 'Shock Illustrated' and 'Terror Illustrated', but also to no avail. Even though it was a humor title, 'Panic' couldn't escape the fate of the other EC titles. The title had been "suspect" since its very first issue, when Will Elder had drawn a parody of Clement Clarke Moore's classic poem 'Twas the Night Before Christmas', which caused Panic to be banned in Massachusetts for "mocking Santa Claus". In early 1956, Panic was also canceled after 12 issues, leaving 'Mad' as the only original New Trend title on the market. In 1955, this title had switched from the comic book to a magazine format, freeing it from the comic book stigma. Also, magazines had a wider distribution than comic books, and a more adult readership.
Al Feldstein in a Mad ad. Published in issue #62 (April 1961). Photo by Lester Krauss.
Mad Magazine
For a short while after the fall of the EC titles, Al Feldstein went freelance again, scripting stories like 'The Yellow Claw' for editor Stan Lee at Atlas Comics. In 1956, Feldstein was called back to the company, which was now facing another crisis as its distributor Leader News went bankrupt. Mad's chief editor and comic writer Harvey Kurtzman convinced Gaines' mother to invest 100,000 dollars of private family money to bail out the separate publishing corporation and pay off their printing debts. The plan worked and EC found a new reliable distributor in the American News Company. However, Kurtzman was still mad at Gaines for letting it all come to this. After his request for more control and a higher paycheck was denied, Kurtzman left Mad. Many of the regular EC artists followed his example, fearing that, without Kurtzman, Mad would lose its popularity soon. Feldstein was asked to do everything in his power to save the company. Much to the surprise of their detractors, Feldstein and Gaines managed to keep EC Comics and especially Mad afloat.
During his time as Mad's chief editor (1956-1984), Feldstein was often criticized by Kurtzman fans, who claimed that Mad was far more daring and experimental when Kurtzman was in charge. Yet Feldstein recognized the need to make EC and Mad magazine financially stable first, leaving the artistic aspects secondary. Between 1957 and 1961, Mad was syndicated by Independent News Distribution. Gaines then sold the title to the Kinney Parking Company (1961), who later purchased National Periodicals (nowadays DC Comics) and Warner Brothers. Although they were now part of a conglomerate, EC remained an independent business and didn't take sponsors or placed advertisements in Mad. Originally, Feldstein wasn't fond of the Kinney Parking Company, but when he saw his income increase and even surpass that of Gaines, he curtailed his criticism. Gaines often joked that Feldstein was the "highest paid editor in the world", though interviewed by Jim Vanhollebeke (2002), Feldstein said that editors Henry Luce (founder of Time, Life, Fortune and Sports Illustrated), Harold Ross (co-founder of The New Yorker) and Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy) earned more than him.
Since switching to the magazine format, every issue of Mad appeared in black-and-white, save for the front and back cover and the backsides of these two pages. Starting with issue #37 (January 1958), Mad appeared eight times a year, usually with one month between each new issue. Despite the long wait, each new issue was a major event. Since Wallace Wood was the only original EC artist who stayed at the company after Kurtzman's departure, Feldstein searched for several new artists to become part of the nicknamed "usual gang of idiots": Don Martin, George Woodbridge, Mort Drucker, Norman Mingo, Frank Kelly Freas, Bob Clarke, Dave Berg, Paul Coker, Angelo Torres, Sergio Aragonés and Antonio Prohias. After a few months, Al Jaffee also returned to Mad and in 1965, Jack Davis did the same, staying with the magazine for decades to come. Among Mad's notable new writers under Feldstein's editorship were E. Nelson Bridwell, Dick DeBartolo, Stan Hart, Frank Jacobs, Arnie Kogen, Tom Koch, Barry Liebmann, John Putnam, Larry Siegel and Lou Silverstone. Towards the end of the Feldstein era, writers John Ficarra, Mike Snider, cartoonist Sam Viviano and cover illustrator James Warhola also debuted, but would only really come to blossom after his retirement in 1984.
Feldstein's team of artists and writers brought fresh energy to Mad, of which the sales skyrocketed as a result. At the height of its success in the 1960s and 1970s, Mad sold over two million copies per issue. Many of Mad's most enduring series debuted under Feldstein's editorship, including 'The Lighter Side' (by Dave Berg, 1961), 'Spy vs. Spy' (by Antonio Prohias, 1962), 'A Mad Look At...' (by Sergio Aragonés, 1963), 'Drawn-Out Dramas' AKA 'Mad Marginals' (by Sergio Aragonés, 1963), the Fold-ins (by Al Jaffee, 1964), 'Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions' (by Jaffee, 1965) and 'Horrifying Clichés' (by Paul Coker, 1966). Additional money was brought in by paperback compilations, special issues, licensed international editions, as well as Mad posters, calendars, postcards, stencils, stickers, badges and a 1979 board game. Mad's only real failures were a 1974 animated TV special, which never aired since the networks deemed it "too family unfriendly", and their involvement with the comedy film 'Up the Academy' (1980), which flopped at the box office. After its test screening, Gaines paid to have all references to Mad removed from the picture. In the next Mad issue (#218, October 1980), Stan Hart and Angelo Torres spoofed the film and torpedoed it into the ground, ending their parody after only two pages, because the picture was "so awful".
A ferocious worker and inventive creative soul, Feldstein mostly concentrated on Mad's lay-out design and rewriting articles and comics, if necessary. Although he had no time for actually writing or drawing comics himself any longer, he did design the full-color art poster in the Mad special 'Mad Trash' issue #8 (1965). He also frequently posed for advertising parodies in Mad, or to promote the magazine itself. On the bonus flexi disc added to 'The Worst From Mad issue #2' (1959), Feldstein can be heard trying to introduce himself on the record, while the people around him erupt in outrageous laughter, drowning his entire speech out. The punchline is also delivered by him: "They are all mad."
Despite their longtime creative partnership, Feldstein and Gaines were different personalities. Feldstein was a lifelong U.S. Democrat with left-wing opinions, while Gaines was a Republican who believed in capitalism. However, they didn't let their politics interfere with Mad's content, as both knew that nothing was sacred for ridicule. Still, Feldstein often had strong disagreements with Gaines about the paths Mad magazine should take. In a 1999 interview conducted by Jim Vanhollebeke, Feldstein pointed out that many of his ideas, like a Mad-themed TV show, were only done after Gaines' 1992 death and still failed because it was more done in the style of 'Saturday Night Live' than what he envisioned. He also felt that Mad's diminishing sales since his departure proved that he was right. Whether true or not, Feldstein's departure in 1984 had marked the end of an era.
One of Feldstein's "EC Revisited" paintings.
Recognition
In 1994, Al Feldstein received an Inkpot Award and in 2003 he was inducted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame. In 1999, he received an honorary doctorate of the arts at Rocky Mountain College in Billings, Montana.
Final years and death
On 31 December 1984, Al Feldstein retired and was succeeded as Mad's editor-in-chief by John Ficarra and Nick Meglin. He sold his home in Connecticut, settled in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and later bought a ranch near the Yellowstone River in Livingston, Montana. He spent his time making fine art paintings depicting Western life, while also attending comic book conventions as a featured guest. In 1997, he briefly came back to the field of comics to draw covers for the comic book series 'Tomb Tales', published by Cryptic Comics. In the 1990s, he also returned to his early EC years in a so-called series of "EC Revisited" paintings.
Al Feldstein passed away at the age of 88 in his home in Livingston, Montana, on 29 April 2014.
Legacy and influence
EC Comics was arguably the most innovative, daring and therefore controversial U.S. comics publisher of the 1950s. The company launched the careers of many of the most revered writers and artists, whose influence was felt in comic book art for decades to come. Although forced to give up their horror and suspense comics, EC had a tremendous impact on a whole generation of impressionable young readers. As a child, horror author Stephen King loved EC comic books, because they offered more thrilling, unpredictable and gory stories than superhero comics. Film director Ridley Scott and Swiss graphic artist H.R. Giger based the claustrophobic terror of the sci-fi horror film 'Alien' directly on EC's horror stories. For instance, Al Feldstein's EC story 'Seeds of Jupiter' (Weird Science #8) served as the inspiration for the infamous "chestbursting" scene.
Many artists of the later underground comix movement, like Art Spiegelman, Robert Williams and S. Clay Wilson, also remembered EC as an exciting time before the Comics Code censorship turned the medium into a bland, sanitized bunch of children's stories. EC Comics' haunting suspense stories were also a strong influence on many horror comics artists, including Charles Burns and Bernie Wrightson. They additionally found fans among less niche-bound comic creators in the United States (Bill Hauser, Tim Lane, Jim Scancarelli, Steve Stiles and Mark Zingarelli), but also in Belgium (Maarten Vande Wiele), The Netherlands (Charles Guthrie, Erik Kriek) and The United Kingdom (Alan Moore).
As early as 1972, Amicus Productions produced 'Tales From the Crypt' (1972), a film adapting several stories from the EC horror titles Tales From the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror. Later that decade, it also spawned a horror-themed TV adaptation, 'Tales From The Crypt' (1989-1996), which had a puppet version of the comic book's host, The Cryptkeeper. The title even spawned a Saturday Morning cartoon show 'Tales From the Cryptkeeper' (1993-1999) and a children's game show 'Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House' (1996-1997), with seriously toned down content. The 1982 horror anthology film 'Creepshow' (1982) by George A. Romero was also a tribute to EC Comics.
Cover for a Tales of Terror annual, 1951. Artwork by Al Feldstein.