Number 1969: Johnny Craig and Pretty Boy

Artist Johnny Craig did this version of the life of “Pretty Boy” Floyd for the 1948 ME one-shot, GUNS of Fact and Fiction. Before he became a major talent for the (in)famous EC Comics crew Craig was like the rest of them, free-lancing amongst the comic book publishers of the day. (“Ghastly” Graham Ingels drew the lead story of the issue.)

I don’t verify the truth in this comic book version of the gangster’s story. Floyd ended up shot down in a field and then he entered American bad guy immortality. Pretty Boy is celebrated for his place in the gaggle of gangsters of the early-to-mid 1930s, roaming the country robbing banks and thumbing their noses at law enforcement. The only truth I can verify is my appreciation for Craig’s clean-cut artwork, beautifully staged, crisply drawn and inked.

Posted in: Pappy Comics