Messages in a Bottle: Comic Book Stories by B. Krigstein [Paperback]

This book is a new, improved version of the long out of print "Krigstein Comics". Pay no attention to the previous one star review, posted by a disgruntled customer who didn't bother to read the product description. This book is substantially different from the earlier version. Twelve stories were dropped from that edition, and there are nineteen stories added (not "three or four" as that person erroneously stated).

One of the major improvements is that there are eight stories from Krigstein's late Atlas period, as opposed to three in the earlier book. These were done after EC folded, and Bernie runs wild with the experimental panel breakdowns and subdivisions that he is famous for. "They Wait Below" has an astonishing 75(!) panels over its four pages. There is a poignancy to these tales; they come at the end of Krigstein's tenure in comics, as the plummeting page rates and constant fighting with editors to present his artistic vision untampered with finally drove him out of the field he loved.
EC is where Krigstein made his name and his eight greatest stories are present. Four have appeared in the out of print "B.Krigstein, Volume 1" book from 2002, but it's nice to have them all in one place, even if you have the biography. "Master Race" and "The Flying Machine" deserve to be in this book.

Production values are, for the most part, top notch- as usual with a Sadowski book. The coloring and reproduction is mostly excellent, even on the stories reprinted from old comics, which present a real challenge.
Absolutely SPECTACULAR are the twenty stories colored by Marie Severin, EC's original colorist back in the 50's. These (which include all the EC stories) were printed from original photostats and silverplates, and then colored by Marie. They are beautiful. You will not find a better looking comic story anywhere. Coloring these Krigstein stories were Marie's last major job in a 50-year career, and she gave them her all. Her talent and vision was not diminished, and these beautifully rendered pieces of art are a fine capstone to her career.
One glitch should be noted.The contents page was to highlight Ms. Severin's stories in blue, but an unfortunate production error negated that. The end notes do contain all necessary credits, though.

Another fine addition are eleven pages reproduced from the B&W original art, including "Poetic Justice" in its entirety. It is a real eye-opener to see the stupid and petty changes made to that story by the Comics Code Authority, as the paste-overs that were added to meet code standards have been removed.

A wonderful cover and Sadowski's concise, insightful notes round out the book.

Except for a few of the EC stories, these are all new to me. What a great overview of this influential artist's career. Editorial notes by Sadowski are icing on the cake, and illuminating as always. Highly recommended.

This just released collection of 41 stories by Krigstein is fantastic, with 20 of the stories newly recolored by Marie Severin! Included are some of his earliest work for the comics from 1943 up through his last work for Atlas in 1957...8 EC stories inlcuding "Pipe Dream" and "The Flying Machine",10 Atlas stories and the rest from Prize, Hillman and other publishers! There are also 11 pages of detailed
notes and many reproductions from original art including the entire EC story "Poetic Justice"! Sadowski remains my favorite editor of comic
story collections! My Highest recommendation!