Here's a treat!
Let's enjoy the original art-boards for "MADE OF THE FUTURE!", written and drawn by Al Feldstein. It first appeared in WEIRD SCIENCE # 5 (Jan.-Feb. 1951), published by EC Comics.
Al Feldstein became involved with comics as a teen, working for Iger & Eisner Studios, initially doing basic assistance like cleaning up pages by erasing pencils, inking balloons, and ruling panel borders. Later he began inking backgrounds, and also inking in leopard spots on the skimpy outfits of SHEENA, QUEEN OF THE JUNGLE. Toward the end of the Forties, after being discharged from the service in 1945, he found work for Fox Comics, where he wrote and drew SUNNY and JUNIOR, which showcased his ability to delineate pretty girls.
In 1948 Feldstein joined EC Comics where, along with art chores, he became their main writer and editor during the company's highest successes. Along with publisher William M.Gaines, Feldstein helped forge the New Trend comics line, with titles like TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VAULT OF HORROR, WEIRD SCIENCE, and others that are widely regarded as benchmarks in 1950's comic book production. After the United States Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency and the Comic Book Hearings in 1954, championed by anti-comic book advocate Dr. Fredric Wertham, artistic freedom in the genre was effectively stifled by the new Comics Code Authority, and among the many industry casualties was EC Comics, whose entire line drew to a close by 1956, save the lone publication of MAD magazine. After MAD creator Harvey Kurtzman left EC, Feldstein took the helm of MAD from 1956 until retiring in 1985. Since then he has continued his triumphant artistic life by returning to painting, focusing on Western wildlife.
These rare original art boards from EC, with the Leroy machine-lettered panels and pencil marks visible, reveal the competent and confident hand of Al Feldstein in his tell-tale style.
The story tells of a man who ends up unlucky in love, though a freak occurrence leads him to a discovery that could end his unhappy existence. Of course, we should realize life is always uncertain, especially when the life we build in the present is:
"MADE OF THE FUTURE"
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For more Al Feldstein art click here.
...and here.
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