Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.51: Johnny Craig

No.51: Johnny Craig

Considered by many of his EC peers to be the most talented and exacting of the publisher’s roster of artists, Johnny Craig was perhaps more than any of his colleagues the definitive illustrator throughout EC’s “New Trend” period of the early 1950s. Words: Andrew Colman

A perfectionist who worked at a far slower pace than was usual at EC, Craig immediately left his mark by drawing the first of Bill Gaines’s horror anthologies, Crypt of Terror 17, and went on to focus his efforts on Vault of Horror (making the title very much his) and Crime Suspenstories.

Ironically for such an understated, subtle penciller and storyteller who preferred implicit horror, atmosphere and mood to the more gothic grotesquery of Ghastly Graham Ingels (who was synonymous with sister title Haunt of Fear) he did draw many of EC’s infamous covers, such as Vault of Horror 30, 35 and 37, along with Crime Suspenstories 16, 20 and of course 22. Vault 37’s cover was lambasted by Dr. Wertham in Seduction of the Innocent, while Crime 22’s graphic decapitation cover was pivotal regarding the fortunes of EC, as it became the subject of a Senate subcommittee hearing regarding comics’ influence on juvenile delinquency, which featured a (fatally ham-fisted) defence of it by Gaines himself.

Craig’s arrival at EC in the late 40s saw him move into pre-Trend titles in various genres such as War against Crime, Crime Patrol, Moon Girl and Saddle Justice. His noirish, filmic style was already established by then, and during the New Trend period he began writing stories as well as drawing them, focusing his efforts on Vault of Horror’s Vault Keeper tales, refitting the character from Al Feldstein’s blueprint. At his best, Craig’s horror stories brimmed with tension and skilful psychology, which effortlessly ramped up the suspense to remarkable levels, allowing the reader to provide closure – his all too real, if idealized protagonists doing dreadful things in a benighted, banal, interior world.

After the senate investigations EC brought in the short-lived New Direction titles, with Craig working on Extra! and then on the Picto-Fiction magazines. After EC, Craig had brief stints at Atlas, Warren and DC, leading finally to a short run at Marvel in the early 70s. Not particularly suited to any of those publishers (due to his work methods and inability to adjust to the dominant super-hero genre) Craig left the industry. Nevertheless his legacy has been immense, his pioneering work at EC’s crime and horror books providing a significant step forward for both genres.

Here’s links through to the other entries in our 101 Greatest so far as well

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.52: Darwyn Cooke

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.53: Steve Dillon

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.54: Gil Kane

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.55: Michael Zulli

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.56: John Romita

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.57: Joe Maneely

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.58: Marshall Rogers

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.59: John Severin

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.60: Alex Toth

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.61: Brian Bolland

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.62: David Mazzuchelli

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.63 Reed Crandall

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.64 Harry Anderson

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.65 Nick Cardy

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.66 Matt Wagner

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.67 Bryan Hitch

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.68 Shawn Martinbrough

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.69 Al Feldstein

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.70 Nestor Redondo

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.71 Tarpe Mills

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.72 Eduardo Risso

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.73 JH Williams III

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.74 Irv Novick

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.75 Dan Zolnerowich

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.76 Gilbert Shelton

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.77 Tommy Lee Edwards

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.78: Sean Phillips

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.79: Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.80: Dan DeCarlo

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.81: Marie Severin

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.82: John Paul Leon

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.83: Jim Lee

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.84: Denys Cowan

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.85: Ross Andru

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.86: Paul Gustavson

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.87: George Evans

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.88: Michael Golden

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.89: Matt Baker

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.90: Todd McFarlane

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.91: Fiona Staples

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.92: Carl Barks

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.93: Carmine Infantino

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.94: Alan Davis

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.95: CC Beck

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.96: Syd Shores

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.97: Bob Fujitani

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.98: Tim Sale

Tripwire’s 101 Greatest Comic Artists Of All Time: No.99: Jim Aparo

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https://tripwiremagazine.co.uk/headlines/tripwires-101-greatest-comic-artists-of-all-time-no-101/