©2001 The Krigstein Archives Home Early Illustration Painting |
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Comics (1943-57) |
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| The Accursed Diamond (1945)
On the very day of his army release in October 1945, Krigstein went straight back to his old job at Bernard Baily's 42nd Street comics factory. He was welcomed back with this assignment. |
Nyoka the Jungle Girl (1948)
To repay his family's medical expenses, Krigstein churned out hundreds of pages for Fawcett from 1947-48. "I never signed them; they were hackwork of the purest distillation. But they were fun, and helped me learn my trade." |
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| The Monkey's Circle (1948)
Now signing his work "B.B. Krig," Krigstein tried his hand at super heroes just as they were losing popularity to the realist genres of western, romance, and crime. The only story both penciled and inked, "The Monkey's Circle" is the finest of his four DC entries. |
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| Eugene Vidoq-First Great Detective (1949)
Inspired by its impressive artist roster (including Jack Kirby, Harvey Kurtzman, Mort Meskin, John Severin, and Manny Stallman), this story for Simon and Kirby's Justice Traps the Guilty can be seen as Krigstein's first serious comics work. |
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| Liar (1949)
In better financial and emotional shape by 1949, Krigstein left Fawcett and created his first serious group of comics for publisher Rae Herman (1948-50). "Liar" appeared in the second issue of Love Diary (Oct. 49). |
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| Magician of Murder Creek (1949)
Not popular enough to be trusted with Rae Herman's western star, Wild Bill Pecos, Krigstein was usually assigned sidekick Nuggets Nugent, whose Gabby Hayesian personality brought out the ham in the artist. |
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| One Way Street (1950)
Introduced in the late forties, crime was the most durable of the pre-code genres. This tale of a mispent youth is the second of two stories for Rae Herman's Wanted Comics. |
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| Dead End Desperado (1950)
This eight-page story (page six is lost), was presumably slated for Wanted Comics but never finished. Krigstein's advanced skills are already evident. |
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| Now I Can Die Easy (1950)
The Hillman work (1948-52) deserves to be better known. Although his initial stories were unusually stiff, this was due to editor Ed Cronin's policy of separating pencillers and inkers. Tired of seeing his pencils butchered, he threatened to quit unless given the complete job, and Cronin relented. From that point on Krigstein's stories breathe. |
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| Capt. Splint's Hairy Helper (1951)
One of Krigstein's great moments at Hillman. The original script had the worthier title, "Monster of the Seas." |
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Black Silver Heart (1951)
Krigstein was so pleased with "Black Silver Heart" that he photocopied it for his portfolio (artists weren't given back their work in those days). Here are his b&w stats. |
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| Lester of the Bowery (1952)
Impressed by what he was seeing at Hillman (including "Lester of the Bowery"), Harvey Kurtzman offered the artist a job on Two Fisted Tales. Krigstein opted instead for Martin Goodman's Atlas Comics, whose rates were slightly higher. It was a decision he later regretted. |
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| Love Puzzle (1952)
Krigstein's lone story for MLJ Comics appeared in Darling Love #9. Though one of his best romance jobs, he was never again hired by the publisher of Archie. |
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| Ghoul's Gold (1952)
Before arriving at EC in May 1953, Krigstein spent a year at Atlas. Hired to do romance, he quickly moved to the crime and horror titles, turning in several distinctive efforts, including this classic. |
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Horror in the Graveyard (1952)Atlas editor Stan Lee encouraged in his artists an overdone "house" style, based on Lee's personal favorite, Joe Maneely. Krigstein relented at first, and tried to approach it as a study in primitivism (somewhat akin to that of Gauguin in Tahiti). From October 1952, this amusingly shrill zombie tale was his last acquiescence to the Atlas house style. |
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| Garibaldi (1955)
Following EC's banishment from comics in late 1955, Krigstein returned to Atlas for 29 final stories. Though he would soon develop a spontaneous approach, his second story, "Garibaldi," was given a dignified gravity. |
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| The House That Lived (1956)
This story is representative of the overall tone of the post-EC Atlas stories. Krigstein explained his approach to John Benson and Bhob Stewart in 1963: "I thought the plots Stan Lee was using weren't that bad, but their treatment was very banal. I tried to bring out the idea behind the story, and to give them a lighter touch." |
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| Last Bullet (1953)
By 1953 Krigstein was honing in on his classic style, which would bloom six months later at EC. These graphics show his debt to Alex Toth, the medium's great designer. |
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Dinosaur (1956)Inheriting many of the former EC artists, Stan Lee was wise enough to allow them to work in their individual styles (which had worked so well at EC). Krigstein continued to experiment with panel breakdowns, but rates had shrunk so low ($23 a page) that he wasn't about to spend as much time on the finishes. A consolation for this is brushwork executed with the spontaneity of a Japanese master. |
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| He Hides in the Tower (1956)
This was Krigstein's first story following an eight-month attempt in his father's garment factory. If not his nuttiest Atlas story, this one's high on the list, yet the breakdowns and settings make it worthwhile. |
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| Phantom of the Farm (1957)
Created during his last month at Atlas, "Phantom of the Farm" was Krigstein's last classic comics work. Organic characterizations and breakdowns transform a meager plot into a rewarding narrative experience. |
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| Sire De Maletroit's Door (c.1961)
For years Krigstein tried to interest a publisher in letting him adapt a classic work of literature. Finally (and with some bitterness) he gave up on comics in 1964. Here are unfinished layouts to a short story by Robert Louis Stevenson. |
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©2001 The Krigstein Archives Home Early Comics Illustration Painting |
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