The Short (and Bloody) History of EC

This chapter traces the history of the EC comics that inspired George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982). The origins of EC can be traced to the beginnings of the American comic book at the start of the 1930s. For all the EC horror titles that ran for only four years from 1950 to 1954 before finally being quashed by the establishment, their legacy, and their importance to both comic book and horror history, is undeniable. Through their political and social messages and their uncompromising images, they were an important site for subversion for American youth in a period which stressed conformity. Some of those American youth, like Stephen King and Romero, would grow up to become significant figures in American horror films and literature, and bring the influence of EC into the genre.

The Reception of Creepshow

This chapter analyses the reception of George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982). Creepshow, in spite of the involvement of Romero and Tom Savini, and also Stephen King's stated desire to make a film so scary that people would ‘literally crawl out of the theatre’, stands apart from the splatter/slash/body horror/gore traditions of early 1980s horror cinema. This did not however prevent the film from being criticised for its violence. Given the moderate levels of violence actually in the film, the fact that Creepshow was criticised for its violence was more likely to do with the reputation of its producer and director rather than its content. Creepshow was a milder form of the kind of horrors that Romero had explored in his previous work. It also lacked the overt, angry social commentary about militarism, racism, poverty, urban decline, and consumerism that had categorised his prior horror output. Although social commentary was present in the form of Romero and King's critique of wealth, greed, and consumption, like the violence, it appeared in Creepshow in a much subtler form.

The Most Fun You’ll Have Being Scared: Creepshow and Humour

This chapter explores the way in which George A. Romero's Creepshow (1982) is situated within the early 1980s tradition of the horror comedy. If Creepshow did not have the level of savage violence and equally fierce social commentary that they expected from Romero, what did remain largely intact was Romero's subversive humour. This merging of the gory and the funny was an identifiable trope in the emerging splatter and body horror movement. King's comedy is sometimes even broader, particularly in his screenplays, which often lack the sophistication of Romero's use of humour in Dawn of the Dead. Although Creepshow was advertised as ‘The most fun you'll have being scared’, the film does not aim for big laughs. In general, Creepshow uses humour to undermine the horrors of what is depicted, which is similar to the way in which EC used puns.