New from Dark Horse is Extra!, a hardcover EC Archives edition. It is another really well assembled and remastered volume of 1950’s comics.
The volume consists of issues 1-5 of the 1955 EC Comics title “Extra!”.
Extra! was part of EC’s attempts to distance themselves from mounting public pressure against the lurid violence of comic books such as EC’s horror comics during the 50’s. Extra! was a cleaner, less controversial comic. More like Steve Canyon, or other newspaper strips. It featured news reporters and journalists traveling to exotic locations (Key West Florida, Cuba, Hong Kong, and so on) in pursuit of a hot story. There were dirty tricks, liars, and opportunists everywhere! You never know when someone would double-cross ya!
There are twenty-seven comic stories in all. While they are tamer than those in the EC horror comics, the artwork is by some of the same big names: John Severin, Reed Crandall, Joe Orlando, and Johnny Craig. The coloring, originally done for the comics by Marie Severin, has been restored, so it looks similar but remastered rather than simply scanned from existing comic book pages. The color is vivid and atmospheric without being garish or overly ‘computer-driven’.
I really enjoyed reading these tales from the ’50s, with their attitudes, fashions, and slang. So much has changed over the years. The pages are a bit ‘wordy’ to today’s audience, perhaps, but still hold their power. The drawings are exquisite. Faces, features, bodies, lighting, panel layout; all done by masters of the comic page.
Check out Extra! for “intriguing tales of crime and danger”!
Dark Horse comics EC Archives: Extra! $49.99 for 180 pages of content Rated 14+
Anthony Andujar Jr. 
Newsdesk