EC Comics

QIANA WHITTED is a professor of English and African American studies at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She is the author of A God of Justice?: The Problem of Evil in 20th Century Black Literature.

• ContentsPrefaceA)    Introduction: The Preachies1:         Spelled Out Carefully in the CaptionsHow to Read an EC Magazine2:         We Pictured Him So Different, Joey!Optical Illusions of Blackness and Embodiment in EC3:         Oh God…Sob…What Have I Done…?Shame, Mob Rule, and the Affective Realities of EC Justice4:         Battling, in the Sea of ComicsEC's Invisible Man and the Jim Crow Future of "Judgment Day!"B)    Conclusion: Hence We See Justice Triumph!AppendixNotesBibliography  Index

"The book restores some specificity to our understanding of the way cultural norms were contested in the pages of postwar comics. It also delivers a measured appraisal of how the ostensibly shocking tactics of social protest comics secured a space in the public imagination for the modest ambitions of moral appeals for social change before the uptake of more radical civil rights discourse."— Inks: The Journal of the Comics Studies Society"Recommended."— Choice"Qiana Whitted's insightful book EC Comics thoughtfully weaves together carefully researched historical context, keen analysis of the discourse communities surrounding EC, and meticulous close readings of the comics, ultimately building a powerful argument for the decisive role the company and its comics played in combating social injustices of the day while advocating for a better, more inclusive society in the future."— Susan Kirtley, author of Lynda Barry: Girlhood through the Looking Glass"Qiana Whitted's well-written study confirms and complicates EC's reputation as the most aesthetically ambitious and politically daring comic book company of the twentieth-century. A subtle exploration of the relationship between race, gender, and representation, it should be considered essential reading for anyone with an investment in modern popular culture."— Ben Saunders, coeditor of Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby"'EC Comics: Race, Shock, Social Protest' Author Qiana Whitted: The Conskipper Interview"https://conskipper.com/ec-comics-race-shock-and-social-protest-author-qiana-whitted-conskipper-interview/— Conskipper"Race, Shock, and Social Protest: An Interview with Qiana Whitted," by Julian Chambliss— Black Perspectives"The Best Books of 2019: Non-Fiction" by PopMatters Staffhttps://www.popmatters.com/best-books-2019-non-fiction-2641136347.html— Pop Matters"This is a scholarly exploration of a much maligned genre of comic, with heavy examination of the implications both inside the comics and of the outside commenters. The beautifully illustrated, comic-style cover may send some in the wrong direction if they're not ready for such a heavy reading, but if they stay with it, they will be richly rewarded.— Pop Matters"Whitted delivers in her analysis, which takes note of the texts in such an exemplary manner, interprets the drawings, perspectives and the inkwork without neglecting the coloring, and ultimately also takes cultural and publication contexts and economic conditions into account. The result is a careful, differentiating and yet clear reading of the comics, which has seldom been taken as seriously as here."— Comic.de"Whitted's book is an excellent example of how comics can serve as tools of social protest and instigate new realms of thought in both young and old readers alike. [It] is a worthwhile entry in the field of comics studies. Qiana Whitted provides sharp analysis and insight into a publisher that pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable for a young medium to do."— The Journal of Graphic Novel and Comics"A seminal work of meticulous and original scholarship."— Midwest Book Review