EC Comics

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EC Comics
Founded1944; 80 years ago (1944)
FounderMax Gaines
Defunct1956 (1956)[a]
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
U.S.
Key people
Max Gaines
William Gaines
ProductsComics
OwnerGaines family[1]

Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American

Civil Rights Movement and the dawn of the 1960s counterculture.[3] In 1954–55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine Mad
, leading to the company's greatest and most enduring success. Consequently, by 1956, the company ceased publishing all of its comic lines except Mad.

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

225 Lafayette Street, home of EC Comics

The firm, first known as Educational Comics, was founded by

Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics,[7] considered by historians the first true American comic book.[8]

Entertaining Comics

When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son

George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, and Wally Wood. With input from Gaines, the stories were written by Kurtzman, Feldstein, and Craig. Other writers, including Carl Wessler, Jack Oleck, and Otto Binder
, were later brought on board.

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,

Weird Science and Weird Fantasy publishing stories unlike the space opera found in such titles as Fiction House's Planet Comics. Crime SuspenStories had many parallels with film noir. As noted by Max Allan Collins in his story annotations for Russ Cochran's 1983 hardcover reprint of Crime SuspenStories, Johnny Craig had developed a "film noir-ish bag of effects" in his visuals,[page needed] while characters and themes found in the crime stories often showed the strong influence of writers associated with film noir, notably James M. Cain.[citation needed] Craig excelled in drawing stories of domestic scheming and conflict, leading David Hajdu
to observe:

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:

The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of

Old Witch cackled over The Haunt of Fear. Besides gleefully recounting the unpleasant details of the stories, the characters squabbled with one another, unleashed an arsenal of puns, and even insulted and taunted the readers: "Greetings, boils and ghouls..." This irreverent mockery of the audience also became the trademark attitude of Mad, and such glib give-and-take was later mimicked by many, including Stan Lee at Marvel Comics.[citation needed
]

EC's most enduring legacy came with

Panic, edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular Mad artists plus Joe Orlando.[citation needed
]

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.

industry trade group, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers, was formed in 1948, but proved ineffective. EC left the association in 1950 after Gaines had an argument with its executive director, Henry Schultz. By 1954 only three comic publishers were still members, and Schultz admitted that the ACMP seals placed on comics were meaningless.[17]

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

Comics Magazine Association of America and its Comics Code Authority. The CCA code expanded on the ACMP's restrictions. Unlike its predecessor, the CCA code was rigorously enforced, with all comics requiring code approval prior to their publication. This not being what Gaines intended, he refused to join the association.[18]
Among the Code's new rules were that no comic book title could use the words "horror" or "terror" or "weird" on its cover. When distributors refused to handle many of his comics, Gaines ended publication of his three horror and the two SuspenStory titles on September 14, 1954. EC shifted its focus to a line of more realistic comic book titles, including M.D. and
New Direction line). It also renamed its remaining science-fiction comic. Since the initial issues did not carry the Comics Code seal, the wholesalers refused to carry them. After consulting with his staff, Gaines reluctantly started submitting his comics to the Comics Code; all the New Direction titles carried the seal starting with the second issue. This attempted revamp failed commercially and after the fifth issues, all the New Direction titles were canceled.[19]

"Judgment Day" was first published in Weird Fantasy #18 (April 1953).

"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

Comics Code. Kurtzman, regardless, left Mad soon afterward when Gaines would not give him 51 percent control of the magazine, and Gaines brought back Al Feldstein as Kurtzman's successor. The magazine enjoyed great success for decades afterward.[27]

Gaines sold the company, as E. C. Publications, Inc., in the 1960s, and it was eventually absorbed into the same corporation that later purchased

Warner Communications on February 10, 1972.[28]

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,

cable-TV network HBO. The series ran through 1996, comprising 93 episodes and seven seasons. Tales from the Crypt spawned two children's television series on broadcast TV, Tales from the Cryptkeeper and Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House. It also spawned three "Tales from the Crypt"-branded movies, Demon Knight, Bordello of Blood, and Ritual. In 1997, HBO followed the TV series with the similar Perversions of Science (comprising 10 episodes), the episodes of which were based on stories from EC's Weird Science.[citation needed
]

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,

black and white.[33]

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

  1. Mad
    .

References

  1. ^ "Tales from EC ComicsBehind the Bend". Archived from the original on September 15, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2017.
  2. ^ Groth, Gary (January 23, 2013). "Entertaining Comics". The Comics Journal. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  3. ^ Duin, Steve (April 30, 2016). "The enduring art of EC Comics". Oregon Live. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ Johnston, Rich (February 19, 2024). "More Creators Oni Press EC Comics Revival Include Brian Azzarello". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  6. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved February 22, 2024.
  7. ^ Famous Famous – Carnival of Comics at the Grand Comics Database
  8. ^ Goulart, Ron. Comic Book Encyclopedia (Harper Entertainment, New York, 2004)
  9. ^ This statement was frequently made in house ads for Weird Science and Weird Fantasy that ran in EC's horror comics.
  10. ^ Hajdu, David, The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic Book Scare and How It Changed America, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2008, p. 180
  11. ^ Diehl, Digby. Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives (St. Martin's Press, New York, 1996) pp. 30–32
  12. ^ Diehl, pp. 48–49
  13. ^ Diehl, p. 51
  14. ^ Diehl, p. 50
  15. ^ The Complete EC Library: Weird Fantasy Volume 3. Russ Cochran. 1980.
  16. ^ Diehl, pp. 37, 40
  17. ^ Diehl, p. 83
  18. Seattle
    , Washington, 2000), p. 94
  19. ^ Diehl, p. 94
  20. ^
    Orlando
    : SleuthSayers.org.
  21. ^ Incredible Science Fiction #33 at the Grand Comics Database
  22. ^ Thompson, Don & Maggie, "Crack in the Code", Newfangles #44, February 1971.
  23. ^ a b Diehl, p. 95
  24. ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 88
  25. ^ Diehl, pp. 148–49
  26. ^ Diehl, p. 147
  27. ^ Diehl, p. 150
  28. . Retrieved August 30, 2015.
  29. ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 208
  30. ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 209
  31. ^ Von Bernewitz and Geissman, p. 211
  32. ^ Jennings, Dana (October 24, 2013). "They're ... They're Still Alive!". The New York Times. Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  33. Fantagraphics Books
    . Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  34. ^ . Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  35. ^ 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.
  36. ^ 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.
  37. ^ "Jack Davis: EC Stories – Artist's Edition". ComicBookRealm.com. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  38. ^ Johnston, Rich (March 13, 2013). "How The Artist's Editions Won Comics – Wondercon". Bleeding Cool.

External links