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E.C. Publications, Inc., (
doing business as A trade name, trading name, or business name is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name. Registering the fictitious name with ...
EC Comics) is an
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
. It specialized in
horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...
,
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
,
satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...
,
military fiction Military fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or alternate history, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life. Classes of military fiction Types of military fiction include: * War novels, ...
,
dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...
, and
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the '' Tales from the Crypt'' series. Initially, EC was founded as Educational Comics by Maxwell Gaines and specialized in educational and child-oriented stories. After Max Gaines died in a boating accident in 1947, his son William Gaines took over the company and renamed it Entertaining Comics. He printed more mature stories, delving into horror, war, fantasy, science-fiction, adventure, and other genres. Noted for their high quality and shock endings, these stories were also unique in their socially conscious, progressive themes (including racial equality, anti-war advocacy,
nuclear disarmament Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...
, and
environmentalism Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of green ideology and politics, ecolog ...
) that anticipated the Civil Rights Movement and the dawn of the
1960s counterculture The counterculture of the 1960s was an anti-establishment cultural phenomenon and political movement that developed in the Western world during the mid-20th century. It began in the early 1960s, and continued through the early 1970s. It is oft ...
. 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 its comic lines except ''Mad''.


History


1944–1950: Founding of publisher as Educational Comics

The firm, first known as Educational Comics, was founded by Max Gaines, former editor of the comic-book company
All-American Publications All-American Publications, Inc.The name is spelled with a hyphen per its logo (pictured) and sources includinat Don Markstein's ToonopediaArchivedfrom the original on April 15, 2012. was one of two American comic book companies that merged to fo ...
, and it was initially a shell company of All-American. When that company merged with
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
in June 1945, Gaines retained rights to the comic book ''Picture Stories from the Bible'', and began his new company using the EC name with a plan to market comics about science, history, and the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
to schools and churches, and soon expanded to produce children's humor titles. A decade earlier, Max Gaines had been one of the pioneers of the comic book form, with Eastern Color Printing's proto-comic book '' Funnies on Parade'', and with Dell Publishing's '' Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics'', considered by historians the first true
American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical literature originating in the United States, commonly between 24 and 64 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publ ...
.


1950–1955: Rebranded as Entertaining Comics, introduction to "New Trend"

When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
inherited the comics company. After four years (1942–1946) in the Army Air Corps, Gaines had returned home to finish school at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, planning to work as a chemistry teacher. He never taught but instead took over the family business. In 1949 and 1950, Bill Gaines began a line of new titles featuring horror,
suspense Suspense is a state of anxiety or excitement caused by mysteriousness, uncertainty, doubt, or undecidedness. In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a viol ...
,
science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
,
military fiction Military fiction is a subgenre of science fiction or alternate history, focusing on military activities, such as war, battles, combat, fighting; or military life. Classes of military fiction Types of military fiction include: * War novels, ...
and
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
. His editors, Al Feldstein and
Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...
, who also drew covers and stories, gave assignments to such prominent and highly accomplished freelance artists as Johnny Craig,
Reed Crandall Reed Leonard Crandall (February 22, 1917 – September 13, 1982) Reed Crandall
at ...
, Jack Davis,
Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...
,
George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (sin ...
, Frank Frazetta, Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando,
John Severin John Powers Severin (; December 26, 1921 – February 12, 2012) was an American comics artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics '' Two-Fisted Tales'' and ''Frontline Combat''; for Marvel Comics, e ...
, Al Williamson, Basil Wolverton, and
Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
. 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 succeeded with its fresh approach and pioneered forming relationships with its readers through its letters to the editor and 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 distinctive styles; the company published one-page biographies of them in 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 Jack Kirby (; born Jacob Kurtzberg; August 28, 1917 – February 6, 1994) was an American comics artist, comic book artist, widely regarded as one of the medium's major innovators and one of its most prolific and influential creators. He grew ...
 – 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, '' Tales from the Crypt'', '' The Vault of Horror'', and '' The Haunt of Fear''. These titles reveled in a gruesome ''joie de vivre'', with grimly ironic fates meted out to many of the stories' protagonists. The company's war comics, ''
Frontline Combat ''Frontline Combat'' is an anthology war comics, war comic book written and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published bi-monthly by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951. It ran for 15 issues over three years, and ended wit ...
'' and '' Two-Fisted Tales'', often featured weary-eyed, unheroic stories out of step with the jingoistic times. '' Shock SuspenStories'' tackled weighty political and social issues such as
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...
, sex, drug use, and the American way of life. EC always claimed to be "proudest of our science fiction titles", with '' Weird Science'' and '' Weird Fantasy'' publishing stories unlike the
space opera Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes Space warfare in science fiction, space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, i ...
found in such titles as Fiction House's '' Planet Comics''. '' Crime SuspenStories'' had many parallels with ''
film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...
''. 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, while characters and themes found in the crime stories often showed the strong influence of writers associated with ''film noir'', notably James M. Cain. Craig excelled in drawing stories of domestic scheming and conflict, leading David Hajdu to observe: 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. 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. 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
poetic justice Poetic justice, also called poetic irony, is a literary device with which ultimately virtue is rewarded and misdeeds are punished. In modern literature, it is often accompanied by an ironic twist of fate related to the character's own action, h ...
for a character's crimes. In "Collection Completed", a man takes up
taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...
to annoy his wife. When he kills and stuffs her beloved cat, the wife snaps and kills him, stuffing and mounting his body. In "Revulsion", a spaceship pilot is bothered by insects due to an experience when he found one in his food. After the story, a giant alien insect screams in horror at finding the dead pilot in his salad.
Dissection Dissection (from Latin ' "to cut to pieces"; also called anatomization) is the dismembering of the body of a deceased animal or plant to study its anatomical structure. Autopsy is used in pathology and forensic medicine to determine the cause of ...
, the boiling of lobsters, Mexican jumping beans, fur coats, and
fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...
are just a small sample of the kind of situations and objects used in this fashion. * The "Grim Fairy Tale", featuring gruesome interpretations of such
fairy tales A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, household tale, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the Folklore, folklore genre. Such stories typically feature Magic (supernatural), magic, Incantation, e ...
as "
Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; ) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 as part of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). Hansel and Gretel are siblings who are abandoned in a forest and fall into the hands of a witch ...
", "
Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...
", and " Little Red Riding Hood". * 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. * Adaptations of
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...
science-fiction stories appeared in two dozen EC comics starting in 1952. It began inauspiciously, with an incident in which Feldstein and Gaines 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. * Stories with a political message, which became common in EC's science fiction and suspense comics. Among the many topics were
lynching Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of i ...
,
antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
, and
police corruption Police corruption is a form of police misconduct in which a law enforcement officer breaks their political contract and abuses their power for personal gain. A corrupt officer may act alone or as part of a group. Corrupt acts include taking ...
. The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of horror hosts: The Crypt Keeper introduced ''Tales from the Crypt''; The Vault-Keeper welcomed readers to ''The Vault of Horror''; and the 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 Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book author, writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later bec ...
at
Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...
. EC's most enduring legacy came with '' Mad'', which started as a side project for Kurtzman before buoying the company's fortunes and becoming one of the country's most notable and long-running humor publications. When satire became an industry rage in 1954, and other publishers created imitations of ''Mad'', EC introduced a sister title, '' Panic'', edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular ''Mad'' artists plus Joe Orlando.


1955–1956: "New Direction" and "Picto-Fiction"

EC shifted its focus to a line of more realistic comic book titles, including ''M.D.'' and ''
Psychoanalysis PsychoanalysisFrom Greek language, Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious mind, unconscious processes and their influence on conscious mind, conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on The Inte ...
'' (known as the 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 issue, all the New Direction titles were canceled. ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 was the last EC comic book published. Gaines switched 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''.


1960–1989: Acquisition from Kinney National Company, focus towards ''MAD'' and other licensing

''Mad'' sold well throughout the company's troubles, and Gaines focused exclusively on publishing it in magazine form. This move was to reconcile its editor
Harvey Kurtzman Harvey Kurtzman (; October 3, 1924 – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and editor. His best-known work includes writing and editing the parodic comic book ''Mad (magazine), Mad'' from 1952 until 1956, and writing the ...
, who had received an offer to join the magazine '' Pageant'', but preferred to remain in charge of his magazine. The switch also removed ''Mad'' from the auspices of the 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. Gaines sold the company in the 1960s as E.C. Publications, Inc., and was eventually absorbed into the same corporation that later purchased
National Periodical Publications National Comics Publications (NCP; later known as National Periodical Publications Inc. or simply National) was an American comic book publishing company. It was the direct predecessor of modern-day DC Comics. History The corporation was origin ...
(later known as
DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
). During the 1960s, Gaines granted Bob Barrett, Roger Hill, and Jerry Norton Weist (1949–2011), the co-founder of Million Year Picnic, permission to produce a
EC Comics E.C. Publications, Inc., (doing business as EC Comics) is an American comic book publisher. It specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, nota ...
fanzine "Squa Tront" (1967 - 1983) that would last for several years.Jerry Weist (1949-2011). Obituary. January 13, 2011. https://locusmag.com/2011/01/jerry-weist-1949-2011/Hill, Roger. In Memoriam: Jerry Weist. 2011. https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?articleID=104708 In June 1967,
Kinney National Company Kinney Services Inc. was an American conglomerate company that existed from 1961 to 1972. Kinney Services was established as a holding company and originated from a joint venture between a funeral business and parking company. After Mergers and ...
(it formed on August 12, 1966, after Kinney Parking/National Cleaning merge) bought National Periodical and E.C., then it purchased Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in early 1969. Due to a financial scandal involving price fixing in its parking operations, Kinney Services spun off its non-entertainment assets as National Kinney Corporation in September 1971, and it changed names to Warner Communications on February 10, 1972. 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 Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...
and George A. Romero, were inspired by EC's horror comics. ''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''. In 1989, '' Tales from the Crypt'' began airing on the U.S. cable-TV network
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
. The series ran through 1996, comprising 93 episodes and seven seasons. ''Tales from the Crypt'' spawned two
children's television series Children's television series (or children's television shows) are Television show, television programs designed specifically for Child, children. They are typically characterised by easy-going content devoid of sensitive or adult themes and are ...
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 A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...
''. 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''.


1973–2024: Focus on reprints

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. In 1964–1966,
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...
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). ''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. East Coast Comix reprinted several of EC's New Trend comics in comic form 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. Russ Cochran reprints include '' EC Portfolios'', '' The Complete EC Library'', '' EC Classics'', ''RCP Reprints'' (Russ Cochran), '' EC Annuals'', and ''
EC Archives The ''EC Archives'' are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran (publisher), Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochr ...
'' (hardcover books). The EC full-color hardcovers were under the Gemstone imprint. Dark Horse continued this series in the same format. In February 2010,
IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW) and is recognized as the fifth-largest comic ...
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. Subsequent EC books in the series included a collection of
Wally Wood Wallace Allan Wood (June 17, 1927 – November 2, 1981) was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, widely known for his work on EC Comics's titles such as ''Weird Science (comic), Weird Science'', ''Weird Fantasy'', an ...
's EC comic stories, a collection of stories from ''Mad'', and books collecting the work of Jack Davis and Graham Ingels. In 2012,
Fantagraphics Books Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...
began a reprint series called '' The EC Artists' Library'' featuring the comics published by EC, releasing each book by artist. This collection is printed in
black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white to produce a range of achromatic brightnesses of grey. It is also known as greyscale in technical settings. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, ...
. In 2013,
Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, manga and Artist's book, art book publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon, by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, O ...
began reprinting the
EC Archives The ''EC Archives'' are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran (publisher), Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochr ...
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.


2024–present: Return to comics

In February 2024, Oni Press announced that it will revive the brand, starting with horror title ''Epitaphs from the Abyss'' and the science fiction title ''Cruel Universe''. The Gaines family licenses the titles.


Criticisms and controversies

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.
Fredric Wertham Fredric Wertham (; born Friedrich Ignatz Wertheimer, March 20, 1895 – November 18, 1981) was a German–American psychiatrist and author. Wertham had an early reputation as a progressive psychiatrist who treated poor black patients at his Lafa ...
of two articles: "Horror in the Nursery" (in ''
Collier's } ''Collier's'' was an American general interest magazine founded in 1888 by Peter F. Collier, Peter Fenelon Collier. It was launched as ''Collier's Once a Week'', then renamed in 1895 as ''Collier's Weekly: An Illustrated Journal'', shortened i ...
'') and "The Psychopathology of Comic Books" (in the '' American Journal of Psychotherapy''). As a result, an industry trade group, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers, was formed in 1948 but proved ineffective. EC left the association in 1950 after Gaines argued 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. In 1954, the publication of Wertham's ''
Seduction of the Innocent ''Seduction of the Innocent'' is a book by German-born American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a harmful form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was tak ...
'' and a highly publicized Congressional hearing on
juvenile delinquency Juvenile delinquency, also known as juvenile offending, is the act of participating in unlawful behavior younger than the statutory age of majority. These acts would be considered crimes if the individuals committing them were older. The term ...
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 magazine Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 until around 1955. The term "pulp" derives from the Pulp (paper), wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed, due to their ...
s across America. Sales plummeted, and several companies went out of business. 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 Comics Code Authority (CCA) was formed in 1954 by the Comics Magazine Association of America as an alternative to government regulation. The CCA enabled comic publishers to self-regulate the content of American comic book, comic books in the ...
. The CCA code expanded on the ACMP's restrictions. Unlike its predecessor, the CCA code was rigorously enforced, with all comics requiring code approval before their publication. This not being what Gaines intended, he refused to join the association. Among the Code's new rules were that no comic book title could use the words "horror" or "terror" 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.


"Judgment Day"

Gaines waged several battles with the Comics Code Authority 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). The story, by the 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, but was itself also "objected to" because of "the central character being
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
". Thompson, Don & Maggie, "Crack in the Code", ''Newfangles'' #44, February 1971. 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, with one having 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 he is a Black man. Murphy demanded, without any authority in the Code, that the Black astronaut had to be removed. As Diehl recounted in ''Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives'': Feldstein, interviewed for the book ''Tales of Terror: The EC Companion'', reiterated his recollection of Murphy making the request:


See also

* Atom Age of Comic Books


Notes


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* * . * * {{Authority control Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Comic book publishing companies of the United States 1944 comics debuts Publishing companies established in 1944 DC Comics DC Comics imprints Warner Bros. 1944 establishments in New York City Comics controversies