Russo, Lou :: L. Russo Comic Book artwork

EC, Mad Magazine, Tales from the Crypt, with Frazetta, Wood, etc., by Lou Russo

5 Comments - 537 Views - 3 Likes

Previous Item:
Monster Monster page 1 by Lou Russo

Next Item:
Love is blind 1 by Lou Russo

Artwork Details

Title:	EC, Mad Magazine, Tales from the Crypt, with Frazetta, Wood, etc., by Lou Russo
Artist:	None Specified
Media Type:	Pen and Ink
Art Type:	Interior Page
For Sale Status:	NFS
Views:	537
Likes on CAF:	3 4
Comments:	5
Added to Site:	4/30/2023
Comic Art Archive:

Description

�The Gangs All Here!� is a recent commission featuring the creative people behind EC Comics. EC Comics was founded in 1944 by publisher Maxwell Gaines. Prior to that �in 1933, Gaines devised the first four-color, saddle-stitched newsprint pamphlet� That same year, [he] and sales manager Harry I. Wildenberg collaborated with Dell to publish the 36-page one-shot Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics, considered by historians to be the first true American comic book.� A few years after publishing EC comics, Max Gaines passed away and his son, William �Bill� Gaines, inherited the business. It was under Bill�s direction that EC took off as the foremost publisher of Horror, Crime, War, and Sci-Fi comics. In fact, during the 1950s, EC became notable (and notorious) for the horror comics �Tales from the Crypt,� �The Haunt of Fear,� and �The Vault of Horror.� These books arguably had the best writers and artists of the time. Unfortunately, in 1954, the book �Seduction of the Innocent� led to a Congressional hearing on juvenile delinquency that blamed comic books for antisocial teens. Many comic publishers went out of business and countless writers and artists were out of a job as a result. Gaines stopped publishing all the books EC was famous for and eventually pivoted to printing the humor magazine entitled �Mad.� Mad Magazine had an impressive run publishing new content from 1952 to 2018. Happily, with this piece, I enjoyed reading up on my EC and Mad history. In fact, it brought back a recollection from my childhood, when I saw the 60 Minutes interview with Bill Gaines. (I never forgot the impression it made on me). I searched the internet looking for it and found it on YouTube. The link is provided below and worth checking out. Gaines was a fascinating man on many levels. One of my favorite parts of the interview is when he explains that he has another man take his annual physical for him to appease the executives at Warner Brothers. For some reason, the footage of him testifying before Congress was edited out of the first video. The second link shows his testimony during the Congressional hearings. Thank you to Bill Leach for giving me an opportunity to work on this project. He is a walking encyclopedia of all things EC! Enjoy!

60 Minutes � Mad Maniacs, TRT: 12 minutes:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_DF5KePAiPg

60 Minutes - Mad missing segment from 1988, TRT: 4 minutes:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FCB3q-PFd3w

Here's the Gang...
Crypt Keeper
Old Witch
Vault Keeper
Drusilla
Nuemanstein
Bill Gaines
Al Feldstein
Johnny Craig
Harvey Kurtzman
Bill Elder
Wally Wood
Jack Davis
Graham Ingels
Jack Kamen
Joe Orlando
Reed Crandall
John Severin
Marie Severin
Bernie Krigstein
George Evans
Angelo Torres
Lyle Stewart
John Putnam
Fred Peters
Basil Wolverton
Russ Heath
Al Williamson
Frank Frazetta
Sid Check
George Roussos
Bill Leach
Sam Kingston
ghost of Max Gaines

Social/Sharing

About the Owner

	L. Russo
Joined:	November 2009
Last Login:	August 2025
Ebay Id:	lrusso3472
Country:	UNITED STATES
On CAF:	Artworks Commented On Liked Art Site Activity on CAF

Contact the Owner

Use can use a contact form to send an email to this gallery owner,
but, you must be logged in to use this feature.

Comments on this Artwork

You must be logged in to make comments.

ilia georgiev
Member Since 2006

1 - Posted on 4/30/2023

The Who's Who of one of the greatest eras in comics. This is a spectacularly well done rendition of all the players.

L. Russo
Member Since 2009

Posted on 4/30/2023

ilia georgiev wrote:

The Who's Who of one of the greatest eras in comics.� �This is a spectacularly well done rendition of all the players.��

thank you for the kind words. I truly appreciate it.

Zachary Prusak
Member Since 2023

1 - Posted on 5/1/2023

Absolutely incredible piece.....memories are flooding back as I look at each name!

Keep up the great work Lou!

Zach

John B
Member Since 2004

1 - Posted on 5/1/2023

This is incredible.

L. Russo
Member Since 2009

Posted on 5/2/2023

John B wrote:

This is incredible.

Thank you for commenting and for the kind words.

All
	Paul Handler 9/6/2025 2:50:00 PM
	J Murdock 9/6/2025 2:47:00 PM
	Hassan T 9/6/2025 2:47:00 PM
	Chris Johnson 9/6/2025 2:36:00 PM
	Comic_Lore @ 9/6/2025 2:19:00 PM
View All