FEAR IN FOUR COLORS: THE MYSTERY OF WILLIAM EKGREN

Saturday, June 7, 2025

THE MYSTERY OF WILLIAM EKGREN

Archer St. John's horror comics weren't a high target on Dr. Fredric Wertham's hit list, but they nevertheless produced some very good stories, albeit without the excessive violence and gore of other, more notorious publishers.

One such title, STRANGE TERRORS was significant for another reason: the very bizarre and many times referred to as psychedelic cover of issue #4 (November 1952). Clearly signed on the bottom right is the name of the artist, "William Ekgren".

For years the man remained a mystery. Was the name a pseudonym? Was he dead? Was he an artist visiting from another planet?

This and the following photo is believed to be of Ekgren.

The answer was a long time coming, but comics historian Ken Quattro manged to contact Ekgren. According to Ekgren he met publisher Arthur St. John and Marion McDermott, editor of St. John's romance comics line at an art market in Greenwich Village. Ekgren sold the rights to his paintings to St. John for $100 apiece, which were of course, used on the covers because they were so unique and would stand out on the newsstands. St. John returned the art to Ekgren after they had been published and it is presumed he sold them again to someone else.

Quattro goes into more detail and shares a letter he received from Ekgren:

“One day in the Spring of 1952--at the Greenwich Village Outdoor Art Show--three men and a woman were murmuring between themselves looking at one of my paintings…after less than 5 minutes they had bought the publication right to it--for 100 dollars. After a week they gave me the painting back so that I could sell it again…the same procedure came about at the next Outdoor Show (and then the next after that)…the same persons coming back, acting in an almost impolite way and paying 100 dollars for each picture.”

"Family of Three" (1950) sold at Heritage Auctions in 2020.

"Girl at Piano" (1950) sold at Heritage Auctions in 2007.

He also responded to Quattro hearing about that he was possibly schizophrenic:

“About that and that: yes, of course, I’m schizophrenic, thus being more nutty than a fine fruitcake. But thus far I’ve been able to handle this “mental thing” rather nicely, by using ingredients, as well as wholeness, as basic measures giving informative vividness and strength to all my creative activities.”