Jack Kamen's EC Cover Art

Jack Kamen was one of the EC Comics' most profilic horror artists. In the early fifties he drew art for Crypt, Haunt, Vault and Shock horror comics, for all the Weird ... science fiction comics and for the Crime comic book.

Here is a small collection of Kamen's horror covers, which he made for the Crime and Shock comic books. To recover from all this there will be one Psychoanalysis cover, too.

Maniac at Large cover for Crime SuspenStories #27 (1955, detail)

Jack Kamen drew a story for most of the Crime comic books. These stories usually dealt with infidelity and the battle of the sexes.

For Cryin' Out Loud cover for Shock SuspenStories #15 (1954, detail)

There was a Jack Kamen story in all the Shock comic books. In these stories violence and bloodshed were more implied than overt. Kamen used to leave more space for the reader's imagination than other EC artists.

Squeeze Play cover for Shock SuspenStories #13 (1954, detail)

At the beginning of 1955, when it had become impossible to get published real horror comics, EC started the New Direction comic books. Perhaps the most interesting of these was Psychoanalysis, which told "stories of people searching for peace of mind through the modern science of psychoanalysis". Jack Kamen produced all the art for this comic book.

Ellen Lyman, Case No. 102 cover for Psychoanalysis #3 (1955)

Psychoanalysis was even approved by the Comics Code censors. But the New Direction books were not approved by news agents, who didn't want put them on display. Because of poor circulation EC had to cease publishing all New Direction comic books. So only four issues of Psychoanalysis appeared.

LINKS

EC Biography from Weird Science #11 and Haunt of Fear #11 (1952)
Tomb Tales #2 (1997), cover by Jack Kamen