Crime

doi:10.1017/9781009379311.008

6 - Crime

From EC Comics to Ed Brubaker

from Part I - History and Genre

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 January 2024

Edited by

Hugo Frey and

Jan Baetens: Affiliation:
KU Leuven, Belgium
Hugo Frey: Affiliation:
University of Chichester
Fabrice Leroy: Affiliation:
University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Book contents

Get access

Summary

This chapter focuses on a specific comics genre, crime fiction, and the multiple relationships between the two spheres of comics and graphic novels. It takes as its starting point the Crime Does Not Pay magazine (1942), while also presenting a detailed overview and critical analysis of the history of crime comics, which in the beginning often purported to be based on true crime stories. The chapter further analyzes the policy of EC Comics, which entered the crime fiction trend in 1948 before transitioning to horror and science fiction. The chapter then examines the appearance of a new orientation within the EC stories, aiming at effecting progressive social change, in sharp contrast to the severe criticism voiced by psychologist Fredric Wertham, whose anti-comics crusade resulted in the Comics Code (1954). After its implementation, crime fiction disappeared from mainstream comics, but reappeared in the independent comics boom, where creators continued to mine the subversive potential of the genre for political commentary. A close reading of Ed Brubaker’s oeuvre illustrates the new forms of the crime comics tradition today.

Keywords

Fredric Wertham true crime Comics Code genre didacticism social critique Ed Brubaker EC Comics

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to the American Graphic Novel , pp. 106 - 121

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009379311.008 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Aaron., J., and Guéra, R. M. (2007–2012). Scalped . 60 issues. New York: DC Comics-Vertigo.Google Scholar

Baetens, J., and Frey, H. (2015). The Graphic Novel: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar

Benton, M. (1993). The Illustrated History of Crime Comics. The Taylor History of Comics Number 5. Dallas, TX: Taylor.Google Scholar

Besnon, J., Kasakove, D., and Spiegelman, A. (2009 [1975]). An Examination of “Master Race.” In Heer, J. and Worcester, K., eds., A Comics Studies Reader. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, pp. 288–305.Google Scholar

Biro, C., Wood, B., et al. (1942–1955) Crime Does Not Pay . 126 issues. New York: Lev Gleason.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2006–2020). Criminal . 45 issues. New York: Marvel Comics-Icon; Portland, OR: Image Comics .Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2012–2014). Fatale. 24 issues. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2014–2016). The Fade Out. 12 issues. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2020a) Pulp. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2020b). Reckless. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2021a). Friend of the Devil: A Reckless Book. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Brubaker, E., and Phillips, S. (2021b). Destroy All Monsters: A Reckless Book. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Collins, M. A., and Beatty, T. (1981–1989). Ms. Tree. 50 issues. Staten Island, NY: Eclipse Comics; Kitchener: Aardvark-Vanaheim; Long Beach: Renegade Press.Google Scholar

Collins, M. A., and Beatty, T. (1990–1993). Ms. Tree Quarterly. New York: DC Comics.Google Scholar

Collins, M. A., and Beatty, T., eds. (2020). Johnny Dynamite: Explosive Pre-Code Crime Comics – The Complete Adventures of Pete Morisi’s Wild Man of Chicago! San Diego, CA: IDW-Yoe Books.Google Scholar

Creekmur, C. K. (2010). Crime Comics. In Booker, M. K., ed., Encyclopedia of Comic Books and Graphic Novels. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood, pp. 119–125.Google Scholar

Feldstein, A., Gaines, W., and Krigstein, B. (1955). Master Race. In Impact 1. New York: EC Comics.Google Scholar

Feldstein, A., Gaines, W., et al. (1952–1954). Shock SuspenStories. 18 issues. New York: EC Comics.Google Scholar

Gabilliet, J.-P. (2010). Of Comics and Men: A Cultural History of American Comic Books. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.Google Scholar

Jensen, V., and Powell, N. (2019). Two Dead. New York: Gallery 13.Google Scholar

Kunka, A. (2018). Crime Genre Fiction in the Graphic Novel. In Baetens, J., Frey, H., and Tabachnick, S., eds., The Cambridge History of the Graphic Novel. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 457–475.Google Scholar

McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperPerennial.Google Scholar

Nyberg, A. K. (1998). Seal of Approval: The History of the Comics Code. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi.Google Scholar

Pichetshote, P., and Tefengki, A. (2021–2022). The Good Asian. 10 issues. Portland, OR: Image Comics.Google Scholar

Sabin, R. (1993). Adult Comics: An Introduction. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar

Wandtke, T. R. (2015). The Dark Night Returns: The Contemporary Resurgence of Crime Comics. Rochester: RIT Press.Google Scholar

Whitted, Q. (2019). EC Comics: Race, Shock, and Social Protest. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.Google Scholar

Wright, B. (2001). Comic Book Nation: The Transformation of Youth Culture in America. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar

Book contents

6 - Crime

Summary

Keywords

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive