Excellent condition, very slight edge curl. Photographic prints, high-gloss finish, 5" x 7". 1960s reprint edition (first true photographic prints; the 1950s originals were machine-printed).
"The first EC premiums... were 5" x 7" black and white photos of the hosts of EC's horror comics, the three 'GhouLunatics.' They were offered in letter columns beginning in late 1950, and continued for two years... The photos are heavily retouched shots of artist Johnny Craig (in costume and make-up) taken by editor Al Feldstein... The photos were reprinted around 1969; the reprints are photo glossies, while the originals were printed with a fine dot screen." -Grant Geissman. Collectibly MAD: The Mad and EC Collectibles Guide [Kitchen Sink: 1995].
According to EC historian Roger Hill, "Gaines reproduced the GhouLunatic photos as cheaply as he could. So he had his printer print them, instead of using a more expensive photographic process." Thus, the GhouLunatic pix sold by EC in the 1950s are not in fact photographs; rather, they are photomechanical prints. This anonymously-issued reprint set appears to have been reproduced from the original negatives, and represents the first and only actual photographic iteration of these putrid portraits. About 10,000 sets of the 1950s pix were sold; the print run for the 1960s set is unknown but likely to be significantly lower.
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