Monster Kid Online Magazine #4

In the late '50s Jack Davis graduated from comic book illustrator to top commercial and advertising cartoonist. Luckily for monster fans, his popularity with agencies and publishers coincided with the monster craze that swept the nation following the first TV showings of the classic horror films on local Shock Theater programs. His talent for creating scenes of monstery mayhem added many memorable images to that unforgettable era. Above: The cover art for the 1959 RCA LP Monster Rally.


Humor magazines were still Jack's main home throughout the '60s. Besides MAD, the prolific cartoonist also did work for most of its competitors.

Right: Two SICK covers from the early '60s featuring a familar face.

Below: "Horror Movie Scenes We'd Like To See" from a 1965 issue of MAD.

 

 
©1965 EC Publications, Inc.

 

 

Davis' work for Warren also included the art for the letters pages of Famous Monsters and Spacemen magazines.


Classic portraits of the two hosts of Warren's revival of EC style horror comics, Uncle Creepy and Cousin Eerie.


© Warren Publishing Co Inc.

 
 
The RCA novelty song album DRACULA'S GREATEST HITS not only featured incredible Jack Davis illustrations on the front and back covers, it included a set of monster trading cards by Davis as well. Some of this art later popped up in Famous Monsters magazine.
© RCA Victor
 
 

Our own resident horror humorist Frank Dietz comments.

"Where would any of us Monster Kid artists be without Jack Davis? Most of us grew up with his legendary six-foot Frankenstein posted on our bedroom doors. The corners of mine were pockmarked with about a hundred pinholes, just from moving it from one wall to another. I never tired looking at it. Jack's love for his subject always shines through, so his distinctive style continues to both entertain and inspire us. Thank you, Jack!"

 

Another Jack Davis contribution to the world of classic monsterdom was for the Rankin Bass all-star animated feature Mad Monster Party in 1967. Jack's drawings were the inspiration for the film's stop-motion puppet versions of the monsters.

Some people may claim that Jack Davis went on to bigger and better things when he left comic books, trading cards and monster posters behind for major publications like Time, TV Guide and Playboy. But to us monster fans, caricatures of world leaders and top stars just can't compare to the wild creatures and classic monsters that once flowed from Jack Davis' magical pen. His art will always remain an Indelible part of the fabric of those monster crazed days of decades past.

Back | Home | Next