Psychoanalysis

  Seeing that the days of crime and horror comics were over, William Gaines sought to move EC Comics into a ‘New Direction.’ It was a short lived attempt as fans didn't enjoy this neutered approach. Most of EC’s talent left for greener (and career- safer) pastures. The newly formed Comics Code Authority was censoring material with abandon. One such title that didn't survive the changing tides of the 1950s comics industry was Psychoanalysis!

    The premise of Psychoanalysis was pretty revolutionary. Each chapter revolved around a patient of an unnamed therapist know only as The Psychiatrist. In reality, psychotherapy takes months, even years, to complete. So the idea behind Psychoanalysis was that each patient’s story was supposed to be spread out anywhere from 3-5 issues per case study.

   Unfortunately, the Psychiatrist gave up his practice after only 4 issues. Thankfully Gaines had the insight to complete all of the patient's therapy before closing the doors on this series.
     
    Chronicling the patient's progress was Jack Kamen. He had built up a small following with his works on the horror titles of EC. Yet, he's also one of the most controversial talents on Gaines’ roster. A lot of EC fans hate his art style, calling it 2-dimensional. His most fervent detractors call him a rip-off artist of universally accepted fan favorite, Johnny Craig.

      I didn't mind the effort of Kamen with this series. Kamen was the difficult task of taking an experimental book and making in work at a time when the industry was crippled thanks to the Estes-Kefauver hearings on juvenile delinquency. The stories themselves were quite interesting- so much that I think my psychology major wife might enjoy them as well.

   The endings to each episode were a little hoo-hum for my liking. How exciting can you end a procedure that has the practice of finishing with the immortal words ‘I'm sorry, that's all the time we have for today.’

     I've been collecting EC titles since I was 11. So I can expertly say that Psychoanalysis is the most difficult of all of the EC titles ​to find in any media. I found this volume just this past May during my Free Comic Book Day excursions. Believe me when I say that I shouted out the words 'Dibs!’ and 'Mine!’ when I found this!

  This collection also contains an in-depth interview with one of my personal EC favorites, Marie Severin. Her account of time spent as a pioneering woman artist in the man's world of the 1950s comics industry was fascinating. Severins’s story would make a fantastic series on AMC or Netflix!

Psychoanalysis may not the most polished of EC works. But this series has been on my wish list for quite a while. It was a major Grail find! Very cerebral!

  Worth Consuming!

   Rating: 8 out of 10 stars.