List of Entertaining Comics publications
Encyclopedia
EC Comics was a major publisher of comic books in the 1940s and 1950s. The letters EC stood for the company's name, Educational Comics, although the cover logo was later changed from An Educational Comic to An Enteraining Comic. EC's Pre-Trend titles are those published by Max Gaines
and his son William M. Gaines, who took over the family business after his father's death in 1947.
In 1950, with the addition of writer and artist Al Feldstein
EC found success with their New Trend i.e. horror titles Haunt of Fear, Tales From the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. This ushered in a wave of over 150 copy-cat titles from other publishers, many with little or no standards in their production. A line of science fiction titles soon followed, Weird Sceince and Weird Fantasyillustrated by the best artists in the business, such as Wallace Wood, Reed Crandall, Johnny Craig, George Evans, Graham Ingles, Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, and Frank Frazetta, just to name a few.
All the stories were written by the team of Gaines
and now editor Feldstein
, with the addition of the adaptation of some of Ray Bradbury's short stories.
The New Direction group was a response to the Comics Code Authority. Picto-Fiction was a short-lived line of heavily illustrated short story magazines. Beginning in 1958, EC published annual and special editions of Mad
.
, both independently and in conjunction with Gladstone Publishing
and later with Gemstone Publishing
.
Russ Cochran's reprints include The Complete EC Library in black and white but with full-color covers; EC Annuals in full-color, comic-book sized reprints with four to six complete comics in each Annual; and EC Archives
full-color hardcover books containing six complete EC comics.
Max Gaines
Maxwell Charles Gaines was a pioneering figure in the creation of the modern comic book. Born Maxwell Ginsburg or Maxwell Ginzberg, he was also known as Max Gaines, M.C...
and his son William M. Gaines, who took over the family business after his father's death in 1947.
In 1950, with the addition of writer and artist Al Feldstein
Al Feldstein
Albert B. Feldstein is an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. Since retiring from Mad, Feldstein has concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife...
EC found success with their New Trend i.e. horror titles Haunt of Fear, Tales From the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. This ushered in a wave of over 150 copy-cat titles from other publishers, many with little or no standards in their production. A line of science fiction titles soon followed, Weird Sceince and Weird Fantasyillustrated by the best artists in the business, such as Wallace Wood, Reed Crandall, Johnny Craig, George Evans, Graham Ingles, Jack Davis, Bill Elder, Joe Orlando, Al Williamson, and Frank Frazetta, just to name a few.
All the stories were written by the team of Gaines
William Gaines
William Maxwell Gaines , better known as Bill Gaines, was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics...
and now editor Feldstein
Feldstein
Feldstein is a surname and may refer to:* Al Feldstein, American painter* Jack Feldstein, animator* Jonah Hill Feldstein, actor* Lewis M. Feldstein, attorney* Mark Feldstein, artist and photographer* Martin "Marty" S. Feldstein, economist...
, with the addition of the adaptation of some of Ray Bradbury's short stories.
The New Direction group was a response to the Comics Code Authority. Picto-Fiction was a short-lived line of heavily illustrated short story magazines. Beginning in 1958, EC published annual and special editions of Mad
Mad (magazine)
Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
.
Pre-Trend
- Animal Fables (1946–1947) #1-7
- Animated Comics (1947) #1
- Blackstone the Magician Detective Fights Crime (1947) #1
- Crime Patrol (1948–1950) #7-16 (continued as The Crypt of Terror)
- Dandy Comics (1947–1948) #1-7
- Fat and Slat (1947–1948) #1-4 (continued as Gunfighter)
- Gunfighter (1948–1950) #5-14 (continued as The Haunt of Fear)
- Happy Houlihans (1947) #1-2 (continued as Saddle Justice)
- International Comics (1947) #1-5 (continued as International Crime Patrol)
- International Crime Patrol (1948) #6 (continued as Crime Patrol)
- Land of the LostLand of the Lost (radio)Land of the Lost was a 1940s radio fantasy adventure, written and narrated by Isabel Manning Hewson, about the adventures of two children who traveled underwater with the fatherly fish Red Lantern...
(1946–1948) #1-9 - Modern Love (1949–1950) #1-8
- A Moon, a Girl...Romance (1949–1950) #9-12 (continued as Weird Fantasy)
- Moon GirlMoon GirlMoon Girl is a fictional character published by EC Comics. Created by Max Gaines, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff. Moon Girl is a character from the Golden Age of Comic Books and has since slipped into the public domain...
(1947–1949) #2-6 (continued as Moon Girl Fights Crime!) - Moon GirlMoon GirlMoon Girl is a fictional character published by EC Comics. Created by Max Gaines, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff. Moon Girl is a character from the Golden Age of Comic Books and has since slipped into the public domain...
and the Prince (1947) #1 (continued as Moon Girl) - Moon GirlMoon GirlMoon Girl is a fictional character published by EC Comics. Created by Max Gaines, Gardner Fox and Sheldon Moldoff. Moon Girl is a character from the Golden Age of Comic Books and has since slipped into the public domain...
Fights Crime! (1949) #7-8 (continued as A Moon, a Girl...Romance) - Picture Stories from the Bible (1944–1946) #1-3 (New Testament edition, Old Testament edition published by DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
) - Picture Stories from American History (1945–1947) #1-4
- Picture Stories from Science (1947) #1-2
- Picture Stories from World History (1947) #1-2
- Saddle Justice (1948–1949) #3-8 (continued as Saddle Romances)
- Saddle Romances (1949–1950) #9-11 (continued as Weird Science)
- Tiny Tot Comics (1946–1947) #1-10
- War Against Crime! (1948–1950) #1-11 (continued as The Vault of Horror)
New Trend
- The Crypt of Terror/Tales from the Crypt (April/May 1950)
- The Vault of Horror (April/May 1950)
- The Haunt of FearThe Haunt of FearThe Haunt of Fear was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue...
(May/June 1950) - Weird FantasyWeird FantasyWeird Fantasy is a science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The companion comic for Weird Fantasy was Weird Science...
(May/June 1950) - Weird Science (May/June 1950)
- Crime SuspenStoriesCrime SuspenStoriesCrime SuspenStories was a bi-monthly anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title first arrived on newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of 27 issues...
(October/November 1950) - Two-Fisted TalesTwo-Fisted TalesTwo-Fisted Tales was a bimonthly, anthology war comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor of Two-Fisted Tales, and with the advent of the Korean War,...
(November/December 1950) - Frontline CombatFrontline CombatFrontline Combat was a bi-monthly, anthology war comic edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951. Over a three-year span, the title ran for 15 issues, ending with the January, 1954 issue...
(July/August, 1951) - Shock SuspenStoriesShock SuspenStoriesShock SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending with the December/January 1955 issue.- Artists and writers...
(February/March 1952) - MadMad (magazine)Mad is an American humor magazine founded by editor Harvey Kurtzman and publisher William Gaines in 1952. Launched as a comic book before it became a magazine, it was widely imitated and influential, impacting not only satirical media but the entire cultural landscape of the 20th century.The last...
(October–November 1952) - Three Dimensional E.C. Classics/Three Dimensional Tales from the Crypt of TerrorThree Dimensional E.C. ClassicsThree Dimensional E.C. Classics was a quarterly comic book anthology series published by EC Comics in 1954. It began publication with its Spring 1954 issue and ceased with its March 1954 issue, producing a total of two issues. The stories it contained were classics in that they were recyclings of...
(Spring 1954) - PanicPanic (comic)Panic was part of the EC Comics line during the early 1950s. The bi-monthly humor comic, published by Bill Gaines as a companion to Harvey Kurtzman's Mad. Panic was edited by Al Feldstein . Beginning with its first issue , Panic had a 12-issue run for two years...
(February-March 1954) - Weird Science-FantasyWeird Science-FantasyWeird Science-Fantasy was a science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955....
(March 1954) - Piracy (October/November 1954)
New Direction
- Impact (March/April 1955)
- Valor (March/April 1955)
- Extra!Extra! (comics)Extra! was a short lived comic book published by EC Comics in 1955 as the third title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by Bill Gaines and edited by Johnny Craig...
(March/April 1955) - Aces High (March/April 1955)
- PsychoanalysisPsychoanalysis (comics)Psychoanalysis was a short-lived comic book published by EC Comics in 1955, the fifth title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by William Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein. Psychoanalysis was approved by the Comics Code Authority, but newsstands were reluctant to display it...
(March/April, 1955) - M.D.M.D. (comics)M.D. was a short lived comic book published by EC Comics in 1955, the sixth title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein...
(April/May 1955) - Incredible Science FictionIncredible Science FictionIncredible Science Fiction was a science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues.- Origin :...
(July/August 1955)
Picto-Fiction
- Confessions IllustratedConfessions IllustratedConfessions Illustrated was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrations per page....
- Crime IllustratedCrime IllustratedCrime Illustrated was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated panels of typography with panels of illustrations...
- Shock IllustratedShock IllustratedShock Illustrated was a black and white magazine published by EC Comics from late 1955 to early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The artists drew one to four panels per page with the text overlaid onto the artwork...
- Terror IllustratedTerror IllustratedTerror Illustrated was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrations per page....
Mad annuals and specials
- Mad Classics, 2005-2009 (25 issues)
- Mad Color Classics, 2000-2005 (11 issues)
- Mad Follies, 1963-1969 (7 issues)
- Mad Kids, 2005-2009 (14 issues)
- Mad Special, 1970-1973 (10 issues)
- Mad Super Special, 1973-1999 (131 issues)
- Mad XL, 2000-2005 (34 issues)
- More Trash from Mad, 1958-1969 (12 issues)
- Worst from Mad, 1958-1969 (12 issues)
Reprints
Many of these titles were reprinted during the past 30 years by publisher Russ CochranRuss Cochran (publisher)
Russ Cochran is a publisher of EC Comics reprints, Disney comics and books on Hopalong Cassidy, Chet Atkins, Les Paul and vacuum tubes. He has been a publisher for over 30 years, after quitting his job as a physics professor....
, both independently and in conjunction with Gladstone Publishing
Gladstone Publishing
Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of "Another Rainbow", a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to publish the Carl Barks Library and produce limited edition...
and later with Gemstone Publishing
Gemstone Publishing
Gemstone Publishing is a U.S. company that publishes comic books and collectors' guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Stephen A. Geppi. Gemstone published licensed Disney comic books from June 2003 until November 2008. The company has...
.
Russ Cochran's reprints include The Complete EC Library in black and white but with full-color covers; EC Annuals in full-color, comic-book sized reprints with four to six complete comics in each Annual; and EC Archives
EC Archives
The EC Archives are a series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008....
full-color hardcover books containing six complete EC comics.