Bernard Krigstein

Bernard Krigstein (aka Bernie Krigstein) (March 22, 1919 – January 8, 1990), was an American illustrator and gallery artist best known for his groundbreaking work in comic books. His artwork usually carried the signature B. Krigstein.

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Krigstein was trained as a classical painter. He is best remembered for his contributions to EC Comics during the early 1950s. At a time when many comics artists regarded their work as disposable, Krigstein struggled to expand the boundaries of what could be possible in the comics medium. Influenced by the Futurist painters and other aspects of fine art, Krigstein was one of the first comics illustrators to experiment with panels of different sizes and shapes in order to portray the passage of time, and he also displayed different art styles to match the emotional content of stories and characters.

"Master Race"

Perhaps his most famous work is the short story "Master Race," a powerful fable about the Holocaust, originally published in the debut issue (March-April 1955) of EC's "Impact". This story is remarkable both for a cinematic style and its subject matter, since the Holocaust was rarely discussed in popular media of the 1950s. [ [http://www.jukovsky.com/masterrace.html Jukovsky, Martin. "Master Race and the Holocaust," "Impact", Russ Cochran, 1988.] ]

"Mad"

Krigstein also did humor, such as "Crash McCool" in "Mad" #26 and "From Eternity Back to Here" in "Mad" #12. "Bringing Back Father" ("Mad" #17) has been included in Art Spiegelman's slide lectures about the greatest creations in the history of comics.

By the early 1960s, Krigstein became frustrated by the artistic compromises demanded by the comics industry. After leaving comics, he drew and painted illustrations for magazines, book jackets and record albums, eventually turning away from commercial assignments in order to focus on fine art. In 1962 he took a position at the High School of Art and Design in Manhattan, where he taught for 20 years. One of his students there was the artist-writer-editor Larry Hama, who worked extensively in comics for Marvel, DC and other companies.

Awards

He was inducted into the Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2003, and the Hall of Fame of the Harvey Awards (1992) and the Eisner Awards (2003). Greg Sadowski's book "B. Krigstein, Vol. 1" won the Harvey Award for Best Biographical, Historical, or Journalistic Presentation in 2003, and it was also nominated for the Harvey Special Award for Excellence in Presentation in 2003.

References

Notes

*"B. Krigstein: Comics" by Bernard Krigstein, edited by Greg Sadowski. Fantagraphics Books, 2004. ISBN 1-56097-573-3 A collection of comics stories by Krigstein.
*"B. Krigstein, Vol. 1" by Greg Sadowski. Fantagraphics Books, 2002. ISBN 1-56097-466-4. A lavishly illustrated biography of Krigstein, complete with eight of his comics stories.

External links

* [http://www.bkrigstein.com/ The Krigstein Archives] , his work in multiple media.
* [http://www.newyorker.com/critics/books/?020722crbo_books Essay on Krigstein] from "The New Yorker", by Art Spiegelman.
* [http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/index.html Comic Book Awards Almanac]