Editing EC Comics (section)

==History==
{{main|List of EC Comics publications}}
=== 1944–1950: Founding of publisher as Educational Comics<!--'Educational Comics' redirects here--> ===
[[File:60 Spring St CG bank at Lafayette jeh.jpg|thumb|225 Lafayette Street, home of EC Comics]]
The firm, first known as Educational Comics, was founded by [[Maxwell Gaines|Max Gaines]], former editor of the comic-book company [[All-American Publications]], and it was initially a shell company of All-American. When that company merged with [[DC Comics]] in June 1945,{{sfn|Schelly|2008}} 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]] to schools and churches, and soon expanded to produce children's humor titles.{{sfn|Booker|2014}} 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]].{{sfn|Goulart|2004}}

=== 1950–1955: Rebranded as Entertaining Comics, introduction to "New Trend" ===
When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son [[William Gaines|William]] inherited the comics company. After four years (1942–1946) in the [[United States Army Air Corps|Army Air Corps]], Gaines had returned home to finish school at [[New York University]], 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 fiction|horror]], [[suspense]], [[science fiction]], [[war novel|military fiction]] and [[crime fiction]]. His editors, [[Al Feldstein]] and [[Harvey Kurtzman]], who also drew covers and stories, gave assignments to such prominent and highly accomplished freelance artists as [[Johnny Craig]], [[Reed Crandall]], [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]], [[Will Elder]], [[George Evans (comics)|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 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]]&nbsp;– [[Joe Simon]] team, [[Jack Cole (artist)|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 (comics)|Tales from the Crypt]]'', ''[[The Vault of Horror (comics)|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]]'' 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]], [[sex]], [[recreational drugs|drug use]], and the American way of life. EC always claimed to be "proudest of our science fiction titles", with ''[[Weird Science (comic)|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 (publisher)|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|date=July 2019}} 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|date=July 2019}} Craig excelled in drawing stories of domestic scheming and conflict, leading [[David Hajdu]] to observe:
{{blockquote|text=To young people of the postwar years, when the mainstream culture glorified suburban domesticity as the modern American ideal – the life that made the [[Cold War]] worth fighting – nothing else in the panels of EC comics, not the giant alien cockroach that ate earthlings, not the baseball game played with human body parts, was so subversive as the idea that the exits of the [[Long Island Expressway]] emptied onto levels of Hell.{{sfn|Hajdu|2008|p=180}} }}

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.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=30–32}} 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.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|pp=48–49}}

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]] for a character's crimes. In "Collection Completed", a man takes up [[taxidermy]] 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 [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture|alien]] insect screams in horror at finding the dead pilot in his salad. [[Dissection]], the boiling of [[lobsters]], [[Mexican jumping beans]], [[fur coats]], and [[fishing]] 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]] as "[[Hansel and Gretel]]", "[[Sleeping Beauty]]", and "[[Little Red Riding Hood]]".{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=51}}
* [[Conjoined twins|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.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=50}}
* Adaptations of [[Ray Bradbury]] science-fiction stories appeared in two dozen EC comics starting in 1952. It began inauspiciously, with an incident in which Feldstein and Gaines [[plagiarized]]<!--if they did it without Bradbury's permission, it was plagiarism--> 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.{{sfn|Gaines|Feldstein|1980}}
* 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]].{{sfn|Diehl|1996|pp=37, 40}}

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]] at [[Marvel Comics]].{{fact|date=July 2022}}

EC's most enduring legacy came with ''[[Mad (magazine)|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 (comic)|Panic]]'', edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular ''Mad'' artists plus [[Joe Orlando]].{{fact|date=July 2022}}

===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 (comics)|Psychoanalysis]]'' (known as the [[New Direction (comics)|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.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=94}} ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 was the last EC comic book published.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=95}}

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''.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|pp=148–49}}

=== 1960–1989: Acquisition from Kinney National Company, focus towards ''MAD'' and other licensing ===
{{See also|Harvey Kurtzman's editorship of Mad}}
''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]], who had received an offer to join the magazine ''[[Pageant (magazine)|Pageant]]'',{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=147}} 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.{{sfn|Diehl|1996|p=150}}

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]] (later known as [[DC Comics]]). 

During the 1960s, Gaines granted Bob Barrett, Roger Hill, and Jerry Norton Weist (1949–2011), the co-founder of [[Million year picnic (comic book store) | Million Year Picnic]], permission to produce a [[Entertaining Comics|EC Comics]] fanzine "Squa Tront" (1967 - 1983) that would last for several years.<ref name=obit>Jerry Weist (1949-2011). Obituary. January 13, 2011. https://locusmag.com/2011/01/jerry-weist-1949-2011/</ref><ref name=obit_hill>Hill, Roger. In Memoriam: Jerry Weist. 2011. https://scoop.previewsworld.com/Home/4/1/73/1012?articleID=104708</ref> In June 1967, [[Kinney National Company]] (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.{{sfn|Bruck|2013}}

The ''Tales from the Crypt'' title was licensed for a [[Tales from the Crypt (film)|movie of that name]] in 1972. This was followed by another film, ''[[The Vault of Horror (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|date=February 2011}} ''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''.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

In 1989, ''[[Tales from the Crypt (TV series)|Tales from the Crypt]]'' began airing on the U.S. [[cable TV|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 [[Terrestrial television|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 (2002 film)|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 (comics)|Weird Science]]''.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

===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]] published five black-and-white paperbacks of EC stories: ''[[Tales of the Incredible]]'' showcased EC science fiction, while the paperbacks ''[[Tales from the Crypt (book)|Tales from the Crypt]]'' and ''[[The Vault of Horror (book)|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).{{sfn|Von Bernewitz|Geissman|2000|p=208}}

''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 (EC Comics)|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.{{sfn|Von Bernewitz|Geissman|2000|p=209}}

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.{{sfn|Von Bernewitz|Geissman|2000|p=211}}

[[Russ Cochran (publisher)|Russ Cochran]] reprints include ''[[Russ Cochran (publisher)#EC Portfolios|EC Portfolios]]'', ''[[Russ Cochran (publisher)#The Complete EC Library|The Complete EC Library]]'', ''[[Russ Cochran (publisher)#EC Classics|EC Classics]]'', [[Russ Cochran (publisher)#RCP Reprints (Russ Cochran)|''RCP Reprints'' (Russ Cochran)]], ''[[Russ Cochran (publisher)#EC Annuals|EC Annuals]]'', and ''[[EC Archives]]'' (hardcover books). The EC full-color hardcovers were under the 
Gemstone imprint. Dark Horse continued this series in the same format.{{fact|date=July 2022}}

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.<ref name="TheComicsJournal">{{cite web| first=Cory |last=Doctorow |author-link=Cory Doctorow |date=March 22, 2013 |url=https://boingboing.net/2013/03/22/mad-artists-edition-a-massi.html |title=MAD Artist's Edition: a massive tribute to Harvey Kurtzman |website=[[Boing Boing]]|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="walter simons interview">{{cite web|last=Rogers |first=Sean |date=July 19, 2011 |url=http://www.tcj.com/the-walter-simonson-interview/ |title=I Thought It Was Worth Doing, and That Was Enough: The Walter Simonson Interview |website=[[The Comics Journal]]|access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref> Subsequent EC books in the series included a collection of [[Wally Wood]]'s EC comic stories,<ref>{{cite web|last=Nadel |first=Dan |date=March 26, 2012 |url=http://www.tcj.com/a-few-notes-on-wally-wood's-ec-stories-artists-edition/ |title=A Few Notes on Wally Wood's EC Stories Artist's Edition" |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220118051533/https://www.tcj.com/a-few-notes-on-wally-wood%27s-ec-stories-artists-edition/ |archive-date=January 18, 2022 |website=The Comics Journal |access-date=May 20, 2019}}</ref> a collection of stories from ''Mad'',<ref name="TheComicsJournal" /> and books collecting the work of [[Jack Davis (cartoonist)|Jack Davis]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://comicbookrealm.com/series/33348/293339/jack-davis-ec-stories-artists-edition |title=Jack Davis: EC Stories – Artist's Edition |website=ComicBookRealm.com |accessdate=May 20, 2019}}</ref> and [[Graham Ingels]].<ref>{{cite web| last=Johnston|first=Rich| title=How The Artist's Editions Won Comics – Wondercon| url=http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/03/30/how-the-artists-editions-won-comics-wondercon/ |publisher=[[Bleeding Cool]]|date=March 13, 2013}}</ref>

In 2012, [[Fantagraphics Books]] 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]].<ref name="Fantagraphics-reprint">{{cite web|title=The EC Comics Library|url=http://www.fantagraphics.com/series/ec-comics/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301181941/http://www.fantagraphics.com/series/ec-comics/ |archive-date=March 1, 2016 |publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|access-date=September 5, 2017}}</ref>

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 (comics)|Tales From the Crypt]]: Volume 4'', with an essay by Cochran.<ref name="DH reprints">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/27/arts/design/ec-comics-vilified-in-the-1950s-thrive-60-years-later.html|title=They're ... They're Still Alive!|first=Dana|last=Jennings|date= October 24, 2013|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=January 3, 2018}}</ref>

===2024–present: Return to comics===
In February 2024, [[Oni Press]] announced that it will revive the brand,<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Kit |first=Borys |date=2024-02-19 |title=After 70 Years, EC Comics Returns from the Crypt in Oni Press Deal |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/ec-comics-returns-oni-press-1235829701/ |access-date=2024-02-21 |magazine=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |language=en-US}}</ref> starting with horror title ''Epitaphs from the Abyss'' and the science fiction title ''Cruel Universe''.<ref name="bc">{{Cite web |website=[[Bleeding Cool]] |date=2024-02-19 |accessdate=2024-02-22 |language=en-GB |title=More Creators Oni Press EC Comics Revival Include Brian Azzarello |first=Rich |last=Johnston |author-link=Rich Johnston |url=https://bleedingcool.com/comics/more-creators-oni-press-ec-comics-revival-include-brian-azzarello/}}</ref> 

The Gaines family licenses the titles.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gustines |first=George Gene |date=2024-02-19 |title=It's Alive! EC Comics Returns |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/19/arts/ec-comics-oni-press.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>