Extra #5, December 1955
Johnny Craig helped usher in the classic era of EC comics and here he helps bring the curtain down on that same era.
Craig, The EC crime and horror stalwart, creates a typically clean and graphic page in this final issue of a title he also edited.
EXTRA! was one of the seven comic book titles in ECs’ “New Direction” series launched in 1955 to satisfy the Comics Code Authority, the industry’s new self-censorship body, created in the wake of Senate hearings on comics and juvenile delinquency. None of the seven could survive the distribution pushback on EC, and by early 1956, EC Comics existed in legend only.
“EXTRA! built an impressive cast with an image of journalists that fit neatly into professional and gender stereotypes of the era. The male journalists were young, rugged, and handsome… more likely to use their fists or a gun than a pen or camera.”
-Tom Brislin, Extra! Journalism History v21 p123-30 Autumn ’95
