Nightmare on Gerber Street

In my last post, I extolled the virtues of Steve Gerber, the artist's writer. I kept it brief because I don't believe any amount of words can do him justice, you simply have to see his work for yourself. One such example is his contribution to the Marvel Magazine "A Nightmare on Elm Street"(incidentally some of the best work ever was produced in the black and white series', including Tomb of Dracula Magazine and Savage Sword of Conan. This is something the industry should really bring back; nice pulpy B&W comics for adults).

Unlike Man-thing this is decidedly not a cartoony yet surreal adventure, rather a psychological horror driven work. But since Gerber fills it with such great character detail(though film continuity be damned) and acute observation of human nature it's still a great read. This is essentially what makes a writer good or great, is his work a pleasure to read? The answer here is, decidedly, Yes. Of course this is a comic book, and it can't be great one without great art. For their part Rich Buckler and Tony DeZuniga do solid, frame-able work. But it really excels with the exquisite details by Alfredo Alcala, who keeps the lines of the former(s) but makes the art distinctively his. Work like this is why Alcala is one of my favorite artists. And let not forget those great covers by Joe Jusko!

With all this talent these stories read as the definitive take on Kruger, not only in comics but in all media(with the possible exception of part 3, the Dream Warriors).But don't take my word for it, see for yourself.

(Be sure to read everything in the page, including the excellent Sam Keith pin-ups, to--on the other hand--the sad reason this excellent series was canceled after a mere two issues).

http://nightmareonelmstreetfilms.com/nightmarecomicbooks1.html

Enjoy!