High Adventure

    (Red Top, 1957)
™ and ©1957 Decker Publications

Before artist Bernie Krigstein astounded the world with his futuristic storytelling in the pages of EC Comics, he was another in the long and venerable tradition of Milton Caniff imitators. Evidence of this was presented in Explorer Joe, a red-blooded adventure strip from the early 1950s, reprinted in this 1957 one-shot. In true adventure-hero fashion, explorer Joe searches for Viking gold in the arctic, battles pirates in the South Seas and rides with the hill tribes in Central Asia. Krigstein’s early style reveals very little of the experimentalism that characterizes his classic work. The storytelling is traditional, relying almost exclusively on medium shots and figures, though the characters are expressive and the background are well-rendered in the Caniff spotted-black style. For curious collectors, High Adventure offers an interesting look at some obscure work by a 1950s master.
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