Booknote: Came the Dawn

Wallace Wood, et.al., Came the Dawn and Other Stories. Seattle, WA: Fantagraphics, 2012. ISBN: 9781606995464.

A very good read, this is part of Fantagraphics' series of EC Comics compilations. Wood did work in horror and suspense, but most of his focus was on crime and small town stories. He really could bring small town people and their sins to life. Most of the scripts are by Al Feldstein, and together they created some very daring comics in the 1940s and 1950s.

It is significant that at a time when Jim Crow and racism were going strong in the United States, some of their comics highlighted these wrongs and questioned them. Comics such as "Blood Brothers" and "The Whipping" clearly condemned Jim Crow and racism. A favorite tale of mine in this collection was "In Gratitude" where a G.I. coming home from fighting in Korea has a lesson for a town more interested in jingoistic expressions than actually honoring its veterans. This is a tale that definitely has relevance even today.

This is a solid collection that I am giving 5 out of 5 stars as it does a great job of celebrating Wallace Wood's genius and legacy.