Various
ISBN:
978-1595829306
Dark
Horse Archives, 2012
Plot
Summary: A
nice, hardcover comic collection of the first four issues of the comic
magazine, Adventures into the Unknown—a
pre-Comics Code horror anthology collection that first appeared in 1948.
Critical
Evaluation:
Before the Cryptkeeper and his friends at EC, there was Adventures into the Unknown, a pre-code horror anthology. Dark
Horse is now adding it to its Archive series. This first volume reprints the
first four issues of the comic in full-color (including the original covers and
advertisements). It features an introduction on the importance of pre-code
horror comics to comic book history and scholarship. Each issue contained at
least four stories along with some illustrated “true” ghost stories, tales of
different cultural superstitions, and more. There is an important editorial
note that the comics are a product of their time and many do contain culturally
insensitive aspects. Dark Horse didn’t edit these stories in order to keep the
historical accuracy of the tales. Most of the insensitive aspects in this
volume are more geared towards gender roles for women and their “frail” natures
(“Oh, Nancy!
You didn’t see a ghost. You’re just under strain. Go lie down and you’ll stop
hallucinating.”) It’s interesting for a magazine aimed at males more so than
females that most of the ads or for figure sliming products (that teens will
laugh their heads off at). The stories are by no means terrifying to today’s
audiences but die hard comic fans and horror fans will find this collection
intriguing with some laugh out load moments, some horror clichés, and some
stories that are still chill-inducing.
Reader's
Annotation:
Craving some werewolves, vampires, and zombies in your graphic novels? Cuddle
up with this collection of the first four issues of this classic pre-Comics
Code Authority magazine for some good chills and to see what all the fuss was
about in regards to horror and crime comics in the 1940s!
Author
Information:
Adventures into the Unknown was a
horror and supernatural comic series from the Golden Age of comic books. The
title was released in the fall of 1948 by B&I Publishing (later known as
American Comics Group) and enjoyed a run of 174 issues for nearly two decades,
ceasing publication in August 1967. Adventures
into the Unknown was the first horror comic to enjoy regularly scheduled
publication. Unlike many horror comics of the Golden Age, it weathered the
public criticism of the early 1950s and survived the aftermath of the Senate
Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency hearings of April and June 1954 when the
comics industry attempted self-regulation with a highly restrictive Comics Code
Authority (Adventures, 2012).
Genre: Horror, Mystery
Curriculum
Ties: Comic
Code Authority history, race and gender issues and roles in society, censorship
in literature
Booktalking
Ideas: Read
one of the short stories or a suspenseful piece of one.
Reading
Level/Interest Age:
16+
Challenge
Issues: Comics
are “trash”, horrific elements
Challenge
Defense: If
this book were challenged, I would make sure the library has a Challenge
Defense File ready for such a situation. Inside the Challenge Defense File,
librarians and the public could find:
·
A
copy of the American Library Association’s Library
Bill of Rights. (Can be found and printed from ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill)
·
A
copy of the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement (Can be
found and printed from ALA’s
website at http://www.ala.org/offices/oif/statementspols/ftrstatement/freedomreadstatement)
·
A
copy of the library’s own selection policy (my library, the La Vista Public
Library, has a policy but it is not online so I can’t link to it as an
example).
·
A
copy of the library’s citizen’s complaint/reconsideration form (my library, the
La Vista Public Library’s, form is called the City of La Vista Service Request form).
·
Copies
of reviews—both good and bad—from reputable library and publishing services to
justify why a book was selected for inclusion in the collection. These include
not only reviews from such journals as School
Library Journal, VOYA, Horn Book, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, but also any mention of books
on YALSA lists and other copies of articles about any awards or nominations
such books may have received.
·
Include
a short rationale file for other coworkers so if the librarian in charge of
selecting materials is not available when a challenge occurs the other staff
members have some information to go by (the rational would include such
information as a short summary, what could be challenged, reviews, awards and
nominations, etc.)
·
Include
for staff members a copy of “Strategies and Tips for Dealing with Challenges to
Library Materials,” a document written by the American Library Association.
Make sure that staff reviews this document periodically so they are prepared
and know how to face such situations. (Can be found and printed from ALA’s website at http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/copingwithchallenges/strategiestips)
Reason
for Inclusion:
Classic horror stories from before the self-censorship of the comic industry.
If first volume circulates well, purchase second volume out in 2013. This title
would also be considered an adult crossover since many people who might
remember it are adults.
References:
Adventures
into the Unknown. (2012). Retrieved from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventures_into_the_Unknown
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