EC Comics
This article needs to be updated.(February 2024) |
Satire | |
Founded | 1944 |
---|---|
Founder | Max Gaines |
Defunct | 1956[a] |
Headquarters | New York City, New York , U.S. |
Key people | Max Gaines William Gaines |
Products | Comics |
Owner | Gaines family[1] |
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American
In February 2024, Oni Press announced that it will revive the brand,[4] starting with horror title Epitaphs from the Abyss and the science fiction title Cruel Universe.[5]
The titles are licensed by the Gaines state.[6]
Educational Comics
The firm, first known as Educational Comics, was founded by
Entertaining Comics
When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son
EC had success with its fresh approach and pioneered in forming relationships with its readers through its letters to the editor and its fan organization, the National EC Fan-Addict Club. EC Comics promoted its stable of illustrators, allowing each to sign his art and encouraging them to develop idiosyncratic styles; the company additionally published one-page biographies of them in the comic books. This was in contrast to the industry's common practice, in which credits were often missing, although some artists at other companies, such as the Jack Kirby – Joe Simon team, Jack Cole and Bob Kane had been prominently promoted.
EC published distinct lines of titles under its Entertaining Comics umbrella. Most notorious were its horror books,
To young people of the postwar years, when the mainstream culture glorified suburban domesticity as the modern American ideal – the life that made the
Long Island Expressway emptied onto levels of Hell.[10]
Superior illustrations of stories with surprise endings became EC's trademark. Gaines would generally stay up late and read large amounts of material while seeking "springboards" for story concepts. The next day he would present each premise until Feldstein found one that he thought he could develop into a story.[11] At EC's peak, Feldstein edited seven titles while Kurtzman handled three. Artists were assigned stories specific to their styles; for example, Davis and Ingels often drew gruesome, supernatural-themed stories, while Kamen and Evans did tamer material.[12]
With hundreds of stories written, common themes surfaced. Some of EC's more well-known themes include:
- An ordinary situation given an ironic and gruesome twist, often as fur coats, and fishingare just a small sample of the kind of situations and objects used in this fashion.
- The "Grim Fairy Tale", featuring gruesome interpretations of such
- Siamese twins were a popular theme, primarily in EC's three horror comics. No fewer than nine Siamese twin stories appeared in EC's horror and crime comics from 1950 to 1954. In an interview, Feldstein speculated that he and Gaines wrote so many Siamese twin stories because of the interdependence they had on each other.[14]
- Adaptations of plagiarized two of Bradbury's stories and combined them into a single tale. Learning of the story, Bradbury sent a note praising them, while remarking that he had "inadvertently" not yet received his payment for their use. EC sent a check and negotiated a productive series of Bradbury adaptations.[15]
- Stories with a political message, which became common in EC's science fiction and suspense comics. Among the many topics were lynching, antisemitism, and police corruption.[16]
The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of
EC's most enduring legacy came with
Backlash
Beginning in the late 1940s, the comic book industry became the target of mounting public criticism for the content of comic books and their potentially harmful effects on children. The problem came to a head in 1948 with the publication by Dr.
In 1954, the publication of Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent and a highly publicized Congressional hearing on juvenile delinquency cast comic books in an especially poor light. At the same time, a federal investigation led to a shakeup in the distribution companies that delivered comic books and pulp magazines across America. Sales plummeted, and several companies went out of business.[citation needed]
Gaines called a meeting of his fellow publishers and suggested that the comic book industry gather to fight outside censorship and help repair the industry's damaged reputation. They formed the
"Judgment Day"
Gaines waged a number of battles with the Comics Code Authority in an attempt to keep his magazines free from censorship. In one particular example noted by comics historian Digby Diehl, Gaines threatened Judge Charles Murphy, the Comics Code Administrator, with a lawsuit when Murphy ordered EC to alter the science-fiction story "Judgment Day", in Incredible Science Fiction #33 (February 1956).[20] The story, by writer Al Feldstein and artist Joe Orlando, was a reprint from the pre-Code Weird Fantasy #18 (April 1953), inserted when the Code Authority had rejected an initial, original story, "An Eye for an Eye", drawn by Angelo Torres,[21] but was itself also "objected to" because of "the central character being Black".[22]
The story depicted a human astronaut, a representative of the Galactic Republic, visiting the planet Cybrinia, inhabited by robots. He finds the robots divided into functionally identical orange and blue races, one of which has fewer rights and privileges than the other. The astronaut determines that due to the robots' bigotry, the Galactic Republic should not admit the planet until these problems are resolved. In the final panel, he removes his helmet, revealing himself to be a Black man.[20] Murphy demanded, without any authority in the Code, that the Black astronaut had to be removed.[citation needed]
As Diehl recounted in Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives:
This really made 'em go bananas in the Code czar's office. "Judge Murphy was off his nut. He was really out to get us", recalls [EC editor] Feldstein. "I went in there with this story and Murphy says, 'It can't be a Black man'. But ... but that's the whole point of the story!" Feldstein sputtered. When Murphy continued to insist that the Black man had to go, Feldstein put it on the line. "Listen", he told Murphy, "you've been riding us and making it impossible to put out anything at all because you guys just want us out of business". [Feldstein] reported the results of his audience with the czar to Gaines, who was furious [and] immediately picked up the phone and called Murphy. "This is ridiculous!" he bellowed. "I'm going to call a press conference on this. You have no grounds, no basis, to do this. I'll sue you". Murphy made what he surely thought was a gracious concession. "All right. Just take off the beads of sweat". At that, Gaines and Feldstein both went ballistic. "Fuck you!" they shouted into the telephone in unison. Murphy hung up on them, but the story ran in its original form.[23]
Feldstein, interviewed for the book Tales of Terror: The EC Companion, reiterated his recollection of Murphy making the request:
So he said it can't be a Black [person]. So I said, "For God's sakes, Judge Murphy, that's the whole point of the Goddamn story!" So he said, "No, it can't be a Black". Bill [Gaines] just called him up [later] and raised the roof, and finally they said, "Well, you gotta take the perspiration off". I had the stars glistening in the perspiration on his Black skin. Bill said, "Fuck you", and he hung up.[24]
Although that reprinted story did run uncensored, Incredible Science Fiction #33 was the last EC comic book to be published.[23] Gaines switched his focus to EC's Picto-Fiction titles, a line of typeset black-and-white magazines with heavily illustrated stories. Fiction was formatted to alternate illustrations with blocks of typeset text, and some of the contents were rewrites of stories previously published in EC's comic books. This experimental line lost money from the start and only lasted two issues per title. When EC's national distributor went bankrupt, Gaines dropped all of his titles except Mad.[25]
Later years
Mad sold well throughout the company's troubles, and Gaines focused exclusively on publishing it in magazine form. This move was done to placate its editor
Gaines sold the company, as E. C. Publications, Inc., in the 1960s, and it was eventually absorbed into the same corporation that later purchased
The Tales from the Crypt title was licensed for a movie of that name in 1972. This was followed by another film, The Vault of Horror, in 1973. The omnibus movies Creepshow (1982) and Creepshow 2, while using original scripts written by Stephen King and George A. Romero, were inspired by EC's horror comics.[citation needed] Creepshow 2 included animated interstitial material between vignettes, featuring a young protagonist who goes to great length to acquire and keep possession of an issue of the comic book Creepshow.[citation needed]
In 1989,
Reprint history
Although the last non-Mad EC publication came out in 1956, EC Comics have remained popular for half a century, due to reprints that have kept them in the public eye.
Ballantine Books
In 1964–1966, Ballantine Books published five black-and-white paperbacks of EC stories: Tales of the Incredible showcased EC science fiction, while the paperbacks Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror reprinted EC horror tales. EC's Ray Bradbury adaptations were collected in The Autumn People (horror and crime) and Tomorrow Midnight (science fiction).[29]
The EC Horror Library
The EC Horror Library (Nostalgia Press, 1971) featured 23 EC stories selected by Bhob Stewart and Bill Gaines, with an introduction by Stewart and an essay by theater critic Larry Stark. One of the first books to reprint comic book stories in color throughout, it followed the original color guides by Marie Severin. In addition to the stories from EC's horror titles, the book also included Bernard Krigstein's famous "Master Race" story from Impact and the first publication of Angelo Torres' "An Eye for an Eye", originally slated for the final issue of Incredible Science Fiction but rejected by the Comics Code.[30]
East Coast Comix
East Coast Comix reprinted in comic form a number of EC's New Trend comics between 1973 and 1975. The first reprint was the final issue of Tales from the Crypt, with the title revised to state The Crypt of Terror. This issue was originally meant to be the first issue of a fourth horror comic which was changed to the final issue of Tales from the Crypt at the last minute when the horror comics were cancelled in 1954. A dozen issues ended up being reprinted.[31]
Russ Cochran reprints
Russ Cochran reprints include EC Portfolios, The Complete EC Library, EC Classics, RCP Reprints (Russ Cochran), EC Annuals, and EC Archives (hardcover books). The EC full color hardcovers were under the Gemstone imprint. This series was continued by Dark Horse in the same format.[citation needed]
Dark Horse reprints
In 2013, Dark Horse Comics began reprinting the EC Archives in hardcover volumes, picking up where Gemstone left off, and using the same hardcover full color format. The first volume to be reprinted was Tales From the Crypt: Volume 4, with an essay by Cochran.[32]
Fantagraphics Books reprints
In 2012,
IDW EC Artist's Editions
In February 2010, IDW Publishing began publishing a series of Artist's Editions books in 15" × 22" format, which consist of scans of the original inked comic book art, including pasted lettering and other editorial artifacts that remain on the original pages.[34][35] Subsequent EC books in the series included a collection of Wally Wood's EC comic stories,[36] a collection of stories from Mad,[34] and books collecting the work of Jack Davis[37] and Graham Ingels.[38]
EC publications
- See List of EC Comics publications
See also
Notes
- Mad.
References
- ^ "Tales from EC ComicsBehind the Bend". Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
- ^ Groth, Gary (January 23, 2013). "Entertaining Comics". The Comics Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ Duin, Steve (April 30, 2016). "The enduring art of EC Comics". Oregon Live. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
- ^ Kit, Borys (February 19, 2024). "After 70 Years, EC Comics Returns from the Crypt in Oni Press Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (February 19, 2024). "More Creators Oni Press EC Comics Revival Include Brian Azzarello". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
- ^ Famous Famous – Carnival of Comics at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Goulart, Ron. Comic Book Encyclopedia (Harper Entertainment, New York, 2004)
- ^ This statement was frequently made in house ads for Weird Science and Weird Fantasy that ran in EC's horror comics.
- ^ Hajdu, David, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008, p. 180
- ^ Diehl, Digby. Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1996) pp. 30–32
- ^ Diehl, pp. 48–49
- ^ Diehl, p. 51
- ^ Diehl, p. 50
- ^ The Complete EC Library: Weird Fantasy Volume 3. Russ Cochran. 1980.
- ^ Diehl, pp. 37, 40
- ^ Diehl, p. 83
- Seattle, Washington, 2000), p. 94
- ^ Diehl, p. 94
- ^ Orlando: SleuthSayers.org.
- ^ Incredible Science Fiction #33 at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Thompson, Don & Maggie, "Crack in the Code", Newfangles #44, February 1971.
- ^ a b Diehl, p. 95
- ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 88
- ^ Diehl, pp. 148–49
- ^ Diehl, p. 147
- ^ Diehl, p. 150
- ISBN 9781476737706. Retrieved August 30, 2015.
- ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 208
- ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 209
- ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 211
- ^ Jennings, Dana (October 24, 2013). "They're ... They're Still Alive!". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
- Fantagraphics Books. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
- ^ Doctorow, Cory (March 22, 2013). "MAD Artist's Edition: a massive tribute to Harvey Kurtzman". Boing Boing. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Rogers, Sean (July 19, 2011). "'I Thought It Was Worth Doing, and That Was Enough': The Walter Simonson Interview". The Comics Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Nadel, Dan (March 26, 2012). "A Few Notes on Wally Wood's EC Stories Artist's Edition" Archived January 18, 2022, at the Wayback Machine. The Comics Journal. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ "Jack Davis: EC Stories – Artist's Edition". ComicBookRealm.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (March 13, 2013). "How The Artist's Editions Won Comics – Wondercon". Bleeding Cool.
External links
- Official website
- "Senate Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency Interim Report of the Committee on the Judiciary". LCCN 55060638. Archived from the originalon October 27, 2009..
- Harris, Franklin (June 2005). "The Long, Gory Life of EC Comics". Reason. Archived from the original on July 22, 2010.
- "Weird Fantasy". (fan site reprinting Russ Cochran Newsletter. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011.