E.C. Comics are perhaps the oldest established mainstream Comic Organization, and still considered by many to have produced the finest artwork and most stimulating storylines ever to be associated with the Comic Book.
From 1950-1955, E.C. comics hit one of the high points of comic book art in the history of comics. The company added excellent science fiction, war, crime and humor comics to its line. E.C. in this period is most notable for the extraordinary stable of artists it recruited and spurred on to higher and higher quality. Some of the finest artists ever worked for E.C. in this period.
The most famous of these titles are TALES FROM THE CRYPT, VAULT OF HORROR, THE HAUNT OF FEAR, CRIME SUSPENSTORIES, SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES, WEIRD SCIENCE & WEIRD FANTASY.
*
In the 1940's they specialised in Comic Books devoted mainly to Crime, History, Bible stories, Cowboys & Romance. (These books prior to the 'Horror explosion' are known now as 'Pre-Trend')
Books such as CRIME PATROL, WAR AGAINST CRIME, SADDLE JUSTICE, GUNFIGHTER ,MODERN LOVE, etc.etc..
*
In 1950 they introduced the spectacular 'New trend' in Comic Book magazines, namely through their Horror, more graphic Crime, AND Science Fiction Books.
They also published the groundbreaking MAD (1952), (first published in Comic Book format, then later as a magazine..... (from Issue # 24) and still going to this day, thanks to talented people and particularly to the efforts in the past of one Albert B. Feldstein! ) and many other titles such as TWO-FISTED TALES, FRONTLINE COMBAT, PIRACY, PANIC, EXTRA, M.D., PSYCHOANALYSIS, IMPACT etc.
*
These Titles thrived when published but were to lead a relatively short life from 1950-1955 (with the exception of MAD), when they were dramatically snuffed out of life and forced off the newstand shelves, due to the paranoia induced by the Communist fearing politicians and do-gooders of 1950's McCarthyist/Werthamesque America.
(For a more detailed account of these events, see the BILL GAINES Biography below).
In short E.C. New trend magazines were blamed (quite ridiculously) on the rise of juvenile delinquency in America at that time. The Case was put forward by Dr.Wertham, in his work 'Seduction of the Innocent'. There was a Senate Investigation and this ultimately led to the Censorship body of the 'Comics Code Authority', which still exists today, but is far more liberal in its views than back in those days when it began.
The sign of those times was that politicians were looking for a scapegoats...and Comics in this instance fitted the bill.
Movies and the Arts also did not escape the sweeping paranoia of the time.
*
I guess in some sort of perverse way, it was a good thing because E.C ended up like James Dean, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison et al....'live fast, die young and leave a good looking corpse'...and that's what happened at E.C.
Who knows, if they had gone on and on, the stories may have become bland or silly or just plain run of the mill, like so many of their contemporaries.
But this did not happen! E.C blazed a trail in those five years or so, which gave us beautiful critically acclaimed Artwork and genuinely interesting, well thought out stories and plots which were macabre, scary thought provoking, funny and sometimes plain daft.
*
To take the Title CRIME SUSPENSTORIES as an example;
CRIME SUSPENSTORIES captured the hard-boiled noir style of the fiction popular in that period.
JOHNNY CRAIG edited, wrote and drew many of these fine stories, with a frank presentation of sex, betrayal, murder and revenge. Often, as in the horror stories, there was a twist at the end.
With SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES Electrocutions, lynchings, mob violence, and auto accidents are but a few of the chilling themes that run through the 18 issues of this series from the glory days of EC!
The tales here are some of the most brutal in the EC catalog -- as they shift past the fantasy and horror of other books, and show the cold and cruel nature of society in the postwar years -- written as 7 and 8 page anthology stories, each capturing a brutal moment with insane clarity and a cold vision for the world at large.
The world of SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES is one populated by racists, xenophobes, misers, killers, and other phantoms of modern society -- beautifully illustrated by some of EC's best talents of the time!
*
While the horror comics were the main money-makers for the company, the real labor of love was E.C.'s elaborate science fiction comics (WEIRD SCIENCE, WEIRD FANTASY), which did not sell as well, but have had a major influence on science fiction art and storytelling in comics, literature and film.
*
The stories in the science fiction line were less formulaic than the horror stories, in part because GAINES & FELDSTEIN "borrowed" stories from other published science fiction. One particular author noticed a lot of "borrowing" from his work and approached GAINES about it. An arrangement was worked out where the author was paid a stipend for use of his stories and his name was featured prominently on the covers of the comics. Thus, the later issues of WEIRD SCIENCE & WEIRD FANTASY proudly bore the announcement "In this issue: E.C.'s adaptation of a story by RAY BRADBURY, America's Top science-fiction writer!"
*
Will science fiction comics ever be this great again? I think not !
EC was one of the few comic companies to really get at the bleakness of science fiction in the postwar age -- and the tales in these titles are a mindblowing blend of paranoia that stretches across a galaxy of the mind. The art is incredible -- with work by most of EC's best of the time (including WALLY WOOD, JOE ORLANDO & AL WILLIAMSON) in styles that moved way past the cliches of the horror work at the time -- and the writing of the stories is on a par with the best of Asimov or BRADBURY, the latter of whom contributed material to later volumes!
**
One also must not forget the E.C. 'War' Comics. Not the usual blindly patriotic Gung-Ho nonsense of the era, but thought provoking, disturbing, poignant, moving, some may even say sad and a little depressing stories...about the despair and the ultimate tragedy and futulity of war. These titles of TWO-FISTED TALES & FRONTLINE COMBAT had it all, and remain two of the brightest jewels in the E.C. Crown. I have to say when I first discovered E.C., I never paid these titles much attention...but when I actually started to read' em, WOW!...I was hooked. They are actually up there with all the 'glamour' titles of the E.C. line in my opinion. The success of these books was due in no small measure to the stories, art & meticulous layouts & methods of Editor HARVEY KURTZMAN.
***
E.C had an incredible stable of Comic Book Artists and writers, all now recognised as greats in the Comic Book world and beyond.
Many are ranked in the All-time top 100 list of Comic Book Artists. You can click on the link above... 'Top 100 Artists in American Comic Books' above for more detailed information, and also read detailed biographies on each Artist, on the BIOGRAPHY page).
*
Perhaps the most important Biography of all belongs to the man who started it all.....BILL GAINES
BILL GAINES (1922-1992)
"With this kind of stuff you got to keep pushing the envelope constantly. Otherwise, the readers don't get enough, they're insatiable”
When William M. Gaines took over Entertaining Comics (EC) after his father's death in 1947, the company was already $100,000 in debt.
Three years later in 1950, Gaines & Feldstein would devise their 'New Trend' in Comic Book magazines, which would lead to ultimately lead to Gaines becoming a millionaire several times over.
*
Who would have thought that the publisher of a comic book, a humor comic book no less (MAD), would have an FBI file? William Maxwell Gaines was no ordinary publisher. As a gourmet, practical joker, zeppelin enthusiast, and millionaire, he brought to life modern horror fiction and science fiction. His humour and that of his editors took root in his young readers and inspired a whole generation of comedians and comics.
His father, Max (M.C.) Gaines originated the idea of reprinting Sunday comic strips in an inexpensive format in 1933: the comic book.
*
In 1937, Max was partly responsible for the start of the Superman series, and was responsible for encouraging the development of Wonder Woman, and by 1943 he had developed a series of successful comic books under the DC name. He sold out for half a million dollars, huge money then, and established a new company called Educational Comics, publishing kiddie comics, Bible stories and so on. In August 20, 1947, Max was killed in a boating accident, leaving 25 year old Bill in charge of the company.
*
Max¹s rules were: Never show anyone stabbed or shot--show no torture scenes--never show a hypodermic needle--don¹t chop the limbs off anybody--never show a coffin, especially with anyone in it. Within a couple of years, Bill broke all those rules in titles like The Crypt of Terror, The Vault of Horror, Shock SuspenStories, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy. These comics, with their imaginative thoughtful stories and twist endings, are today considered sheer classics. While many found (and still find) them great fun to read, others were put-off by the cannibalism, necrophilia, incest, bondage, sadomasochism, dismemberment, disembowelment and family murders of every sort. But the horror and science fiction comics thrived nevertheless.
*
In the early 1954, there was great concern over juvenile delinquency combined with McCarthyism, Communist witch hunts and blacklists, paranoia and the Red Scare. The Senate Judiciary Committee got interested in the dangers comic books posed to children, particularly after a psychiatrist, Dr. Frederic Wertham wrote his infamous inflammatory book Seduction of the Innocent, which focused on some of the excesses of the comic books without recognizing any redeeming value. (Interestingly, Seduction was supposedly ghost written by G. Legman, who became famous for his encyclopedic compendium of dirty jokes.) Wertham had problems even with the superhero comics: he believed that Batman and Robin had a homosexual relationship; and that Wonder Woman was a lesbian.
*
Gaines volunteered to testify on behalf of the Industry (New York City 1954), as his teaching degree would help answer the questions clearly , but was taken aback by the tone of the questions he got.
He proudly claimed that he started the horror comic trend in America, and then read his prepared statement:
"It would be just as difficult to explain the harmless thrill of a horror story to a Dr. Wertham as it would be to explain the sublimity of love to a frigid old maid....My father was proud of the comics he published, and I am proud of the comics I publish. We use the best writers, the finest artists; we spare nothing to make each magazine, each story, each page, a work of art....Our American children are for the most part normal children. They are bright children, but those who want to prohibit comic magazines seem to see dirty, sneaky, perverted monsters who use the comics as a blueprint for action.
The truth is that delinquency is the product of the real environment in which the child lives and not of the fiction he reads.... The problems are economic and social and they are complex. Our people need understanding; they need to have affection, decent homes, decent food.Are we afraid of our own children? Do we forget that they are citizens too and entitled to select what to read or do?" Rejecting the notion that children were "so evil" and "simple minded that it takes a story of murder to set them to murder, a story of robbery to set them to robbery… delinquency is the product of [the] real environment in which the child lives and not of the fiction he reads"
DR.FREDERIC WERTHAM
This would quickly lead into the most famous question and answer from the hearing:
Senator Estes Kefauver, who had just completed his televised investigation of organized crime, asked:
"Here is your May issue. (CS # 22 see pic below)
This seems to be a man with a bloody axe holding a woman¹s head up which has been severed from her body. Do you think that¹s in good taste?"
Gaines, who was actually quite squeamish and couldn¹t stand the sight of blood, replied:
"Yes sir, I do--for the cover of a horror comic. A cover in bad taste, for example might be defined as holding the head a little higher so that the blood could be seen dripping from it, and moving the body over a little further so that the neck of the body could be seen to be bloody."
Gaines spoke knowledgeably, since he had actually toned down the original artwork for that very cover.
Kefauver continued...."You've got blood coming out of her mouth."
Gaines replied...." A little".
CRAIG EVANS
Chairman (Senator Robert C. Hendrickson) continues ....." Here is another one I want to show him."
Kefauver...... "This is the July one (CS # 23 see pic above) , It seems to be a man with a woman in a boat and he is choking her to death here with a crowbar. Is that in good taste?"
Gaines.... "I think so".
Gaines achieved nationwide notoreity there and then, inadvertently playing right into the hands of the 'witch-hunters'.
In retrospect Gaines would admit that no matter what he had said, "That committee was there to hang the comic publishers" and nothing would have stopped them. Gaines testimony had been turned against him and the industry. Papers features headlines like ‘Bloody head- Good Taste’.
*
The industry was quick to respond fearing that the government would censor them, and it would have very real consequences. The Comic Code Authority (CCA) was formed on October 26, 1954. All but three publishers joined the CCA —Dell and Classics Illustrated much like when the ACMP was formed, felt being associated with the CCA would lower their image. The other, Gaines’ company EC comics despised the code and on that ground refused to join.
*
The CCA was stricter in guidelines, and in order to be sold, the comic needed to get the seal of approval from the governing body. Union Truck drivers refused to deliver comics without the seal.
Stores refused to sell books that did not have the seal clearly displayed on the cover. Scott McCloud in his book Reinventing Comics summarized the impact the code had, “To understand the impact of the code, imagine movie producers were subjected to far more stringent requirements for a film to receive a G rating—and there were no other ratings!".
Warren Ellis, a celebrated comic writer once pointed out in a interview how "Some of the world's greatest children’s stories would not pass the comic code. Nether would much of the bible".
*
Wertham denounced this self-regulatory response – after it all it had failed once. Fans claimed it brought the death of their beloved comic books. The fans may have been right, in the period shortly following the creation of the code, 1954-1956, 18 publishers went out of business, while over 350 titles disappeared. The comic book industry would never enjoy the same kind of success they had before 'Seduction' had come out. The comic code has remained with only three revisions having been made to date. It would not be until 2000 when Marvel Comics and other publishers would began to stop supporting the code.
*
Gaines however persevered with One main title....MAD! This is what eventually greatly irritated the FBI, after their initial displeasure with EC's War Titles.
The FBI didn't seem to be interested in horror stories. Rather, most of the FBI's 57 page main file on Bill Gaines, captioned 'Sedition/Internal Security', starts in April, 1952, with a report from Army Intelligence (G-2) that certain war comics are "detrimental to the morale of combat soldiers and emphasizes the horrors, hardships and futility of war". The Army continued to assert that "these comic books portray the seemingly needless sacrifices due to blunders on the part of Officers and demonstrate the lack of protection of the United States forces against the trickery of the enemy. G-2 considers these publications subversive because they tend to discredit the army and undermine troop morale by presenting a picture of the inevitability of personal disaster in combat."
*
During the Korean War years, Harvey Kurtzman worked on Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales for Bill Gaines at EC comics. (He began his career with EC illustrating Lucky Luke, a comic book about VD.) Kurtzman plotted out each panel of his war comics with painstaking research; every detail had to be exactly right. Unlike some of the their competitors, Kurtzman's and Gaines' war comics were authentic semi-documentaries. Neither man saw any romance in the war, and in fact Gaines had partially subsidized the war comics from the lucrative horror titles. By simply portraying war absolutely accurately, EC had angered the military leaders.
*
In 1952, The Army asked the FBI's New York office to find out if EC, Fables, Inc., or Tiny Tots Comics were trying to disseminate these comics to those of draft age, or to servicemen, and to ask the Justice Department if the comics publishers were violating the sedition statutes. One confidential informant noted that a new comic book entitled "Mad" was soon due to be published. Two years later, the FBI followed through on the Army's request and asked the Attorney General whether the comics violated the law, but their request was probably moot, since by this time the Korean War was nearly over, and almost all of the war comics had ceased publication.
*
Two decades later, Gaines and Kurtzman once again came to the attention of the Bureau with the publication of an episode of "Little Annie Fanny," a lavish satire regularly published in Playboy magazine. The comic strip in question includes a squad of FBI agents led by "the Chief" in the investigation of the kidnapping of a nuclear scientist, assisted by busty Annie Fanny. The report's author, FBI Special Agent M. A. Jones, wrote in part, "This highly satirical strip attempts to poke fun at the Director and the Bureau¹s well-established reputation for loyalty, patriotism and high moral behavior. Its ridiculous exaggerations indirectly compliment the character and ideas of the FBI. ... Recognizing the notoriously low caliber of the whole "Playboy publication and its staff, this attempt to belittle the Bureau can in effect be considered an unintended compliment."
Mr. Jones obviously perused the rest of the magazine, because the formerly confidential memo continued: "The balance of the May issue of Playboy contains numerous photographs and sketches of nude or semi-nude women but no other pertinent references to the Director of the FBI. In view of the known hostility and well-established low character of this publication, there would appear to be no advantage to the Bureau in protesting the "Little Annie Fanny" column in "Playboy" magazine, any acknowledgment from the Bureau merely conveying an air of dignity which is completely nonexistent with this publication.
*
Frank Jacobs, in his book, The Mad World of William Gaines, reported that Mad had run afoul of the FBI on at least two occasions, neither of which shows up in the released files. The first time, Mad printed a story on board games, in which it suggested that players of an imaginary board game called Draft Dodger could write to Hoover to get an official draft dodger card. Hoover¹s office, deluged with mail, sent two polite but insistent FBI men to suggest that Mad refrain from adding to the FBI's workload.
*
Another FBI visit occurred after Mad had printed a three dollar bill illustration, which somehow worked in money changing machines in Las Vegas.
*
Bill Gaines died in 1992, having made his fame and fortune from Mad Magazine. Little did the Army and the FBI know that Mad would prove more subversive in its own way to advertising, politics, pretension and war than all the other comics put together.
*
( BILL GAINES destroys VAULT OF HORROR # 39. On September 14, 1954, Bill Gaines held a press conference in the EC offices
to announce the death of EC's horror and crime comics. "If this is the way the public wants it, then this is the way it will have
to be as far as I'm concerned, Gaines said. He then tore up a copy of Vault of Horror #39, the next to last issue. )
*
Gaines legacy lives on thru' the Comic Books and many other mediums, including this Website.
The sign behind Bill's desk reads, "Everything I like is illegal, immoral or fattening"
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
THE STORY OF THE GAINES FILE COPIES
The story of the opening of the GAINES FILE COPIES is one of the most fascinating and compelling in Comic Book History. This momentous event took place in August 1989, in Bill Gaines New York Apartment. The X7 Museum has acquired the original 1990 brochure, produced to aid the sale of this supreme Pedigree Collection. The Brochure also included the News release from 'Comic Buyers Guide' (June 29th 1990) and The MASTER LIST of all 3769 GAINES FILE COPIES.
Click on thumbnails below to read in full the details of this amazing collection.
Intro Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4
Page 5 Master List Page 1 Master List Page 2
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
