A comiXologist Recommends:
Harris Smith recommends Judgment Day

The impression one walks away with after reading Judgment Day, a collection of science-fiction stories drawn by Joe Orlando, as well as the other recently released volumes in fantagraphics’ EC Comics Library is that, had the 1954 Senate Subcommittee Hearings on Juvenile Delinquency not led to the formation of the Comics Code Authority, effectively rendering EC unable to continue publishing their forward-thinking but hard-edged line of crime, horror and sci-fi comics, the medium of comics as a whole would have been viewed much earlier with the kind of legitimacy it has garnered today.  EC is known today for producing gory, controversial horror comics like Tales From the Crypt and Vault of Horror, these titles and others they published contained superior art and writing to anything else being published at the time (one notable exception being Will Eisner’s The Spirit.  In addition to the high quality of their comics, EC brought an intelligence to their work, with literary adaptations of Ray Bradbury stories, satirical humor in , and comics dealing with important issues of the day, such as racism and anti-semitism.

The title story in “Judgement Day,” written (like many of EC’s best stories) by Al Feldstein and drawn by the legendary, influential Orlando, is one of such story, dealing slyly yet poignantly with racial prejudice.  It was the censoring of this comic by the Comics Code, in fact, that inspired EC Publisher William Gaines to turn his focus from comic books to Mad Magazine, of which Orlando would eventually become associate publisher.

History and controversy aside, pick up Judgment Day for, if nothing else, the wonderful stories and beautiful draftsmanship by Orlando, presented in crisp, detailed black and white.  Whether your interest is in what could have been or just what was, you are in for an experience.

[Read Judgment Day on comiXology]

For fans of: horror, classics, science fiction

_{Harris Smith is a Brooklyn-based comics and media professional. In addition to his role as a Senior Production Coordinator at comiXology, he edits several comics anthologies, including Jeans and Felony Comics, under the banner of Negative Pleasure Publications. He’s also the host of the weekly radio show Neagtive Pleasure on Newtown Radio.}