Zero Hour and Other Stories

The EC Artists' Library #8

by Jack Kamen (Illustrator), Al Feldstein, J. Michael Catron (Editor)

With his wholesome approach, Jack Kamen stood out amongst the grandguignol grunge, gritty realism, or futuristic dazzle of his fellow EC cartoonists but his brilliant editor/writer Al Feldstein found a way to exploit the surface innocence of his style with seemingly nice stories of romance gone horribly wrong, or future fantasies with an unexpectedly brutal twist. And nowhere did Kamen s clean-but-lush graphics work better than in the stories he created for EC s science-fiction comics. The title story, Zero Hour (one of three in this book adapted from works by Ray Bradbury), set in a Spielbergian suburban idyll, is particularly well served by Kamen s surface innocence; A Lesson in Anatomy works similar magic, with its Mayberry-esque setting veering into alien-invasion terror. If there was any devil in Kamen, it came out in his loving depiction of the female face and form, and you could see why his hapless heroes were often fatally entranced with them as in Punishment Without Crime (Bradbury again), He Who Waits! (a scientist finds an extreme way of rejoining his eight-inch-tall inamorata), and Miscalculation! (the lucky recipient of a package from the future literally brews his own harem); even the supercomputer in Only Human! proves vulnerable to a beautiful woman s charms. Zero Hour And Other Stories contains 22 classic EC yarns plus the usual all-new biographical, historical, and critical essays that have made Fantagraphics EC Library series the ultimate version of these classics.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Anthologies, Science Fiction, Fiction

152 pages, Hardcover

First published January 23, 2014

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zero Hour and Other Stories collects 26 science fiction stories illustrated by Jack Kamen.

The father of the guy who invented the Segway is back in this collection of poetic justice themed science fiction tales. Al Feldstein, Jack Oleck, and the legendary Ray Bradbury supply the stories and Jack Kamen serves up the beautiful people and crazy gizmos.

I've said before that Jack Kamen isn't in my EC top 5 but he's still a power player. There some memorable tales within this collection, like Zero Hour and A Lesson in Anatomy. There are also some great parallel universe stories like Planely Possibly and The Parallel. Incidentally, The Parallel is one of the first EC stories I ever read about 30 years ago. It still holds up.

Zero Hour and Other Stories is possibly the father of the guy that invented the Segway's greatest work. Four out of five stars.

[EC Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are great! Jack Kamen's stuff holds up very, very well, and these stories from the later Sci Fi issues of EC are definitely better than The Martian Monster, covering his early ones. "Only Human" has great, heavy inks and a nice sense of alienation. Next is "Shrinking From Abuse", a hoot of a parable which ends with possibly Kamen's most subversively ironic panel ever, which is saying a lot. Continuing that vibe is "Miscalculation" and "He Who Waits", featuring nerdy men overwhelmed by the "scientific biological" demands of so many (as always) Marilyn Monroe lookalike women! The subtraction of color adds something to this art, making it more 'serious' and less 'toony' (Twilight Zone vibes) and emphasizes the beauty of his flawless lines. For some people, this is campy and dated. I think some things never change, and this is classic as classic gets.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

not bad all in all. the artwork was very good. yet the stories left something to be desired. probably due to the old-fashiioned ideas of women.

[Sara G · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is wonderful but the stories are... Well, frankly, awful. It genuinely surprised me because I've read comics by these writers before and they were mostly pretty good so, what was it with these stories? No idea but, if you previously loved the stories by Al Feldstein but wished there was more misogyny, incest, dare I say vore...? then this is definitely the collection for you!

[Brendan Steere · Rating 3 out of 5]

Look, these EC Collections are great, and the artwork throughout is wonderful, but I found the scripts in this one more hit and miss than some of the other collections I’ve read. The Bradbury adaptation of the title is the highlight.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s so good. I can’t precisely articulate hows/whys. One must come to it from blankness, zero knowledge/context and delve right in to fully appreciate its ingenuity.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the darker, least talked-about volumes from the Fantagraphics EC Comics series.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gave up halfway, these stories are kind of boring. I started only reading the dialogue, the captions are overloading the panel.
The art did not inspire me.

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This proves to be another lovely collection by Fantagraphics, this time featuring the artwork of Jack Kamen. The stories collected here, written by either Feldstein or Oleck, feature alternate universes, dystopian societies, time travel, multiverses, and nuclear fallout, yet are all set in the contemporary 1950's. This time frame seemed to particularly suit Kamen's clean illustrative talents. Also included are three Ray Bradbury adaptions ( Zero Hour, Surprise Package, and Punishment Without Crime).

Kamen had a particular knack for drawing gorgeous, cold hearted, villainous women, but they all lack that Wallace Wood bombshell lushness. And, although I prefer the ghoulishly moist talents of Graham Ingels, Kamen certainly has a knack for humour within his drawings that melds nicely with Feldstein's cynical scripts.

Another great collection!

[Mike Hunchback · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantagraphics' artists editions are among the absolute best reproductions of EC comics out there ... essential series.

[Vinayak Joshi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nice. Collection of short graphic stories - mostly about science or the future - with a surprising twist in the end.