Stern, Charlie

Charlie Stern was an EC bullpen artist, who was also very good friends with Will Elder and Harvey Kurtzman. In fact, the three of them got together and formed a commercial art studio in the late 40s, called the Charles William Harvey Studio.

Charlie Stern, who passed away in 1981, was also a neighbor of mine in Kendall Park, New Jersey. By the time I knew Charlie, he was a professional photographer. I collected comic books starting in the 70s, and I recall one conversation with him about his time at EC. He told me about Jack Davis being such a procrastinator, waiting until the end of a deadline before starting work, then would whip out some of the most beautiful artwork you'd ever see. Charlie told me a bit more about working for EC, but most of it is lost to the haze of memory. He didn't really have much left from those days.

The pages in this gallery are from issue #15 of Battle Cry, published by Stanmore Publications in November 1954. The GCD lists the story as being signed by Stern, but it looks as if the signature box was inked over. I'm not sure why. Drawing-wise, the Harvey Kurtzman and Jack Davis influences (and direct swipes) are clearly evident. The drawings of the enemy soldiers on the last page, for instance, are clearly borrowed from one of Kurtzman's EC war stories. There's a mix of lovely ink work combined with awkward drawing throughout the story, but the power of the message comes through clearly, in the best EC fashion.

Update: I'm giving the story to the Stern family, where it belongs, but will keep this gallery active for folks to check out.