EC Comics, the notorious and influential publishing house from the 1950s headed up by William Gaines that was at the forefront of Dr. Fredric Wertham’s campaign against comics, will return as an imprint of Oni Press this summer.
Oni Press has partnered with William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. to bring Entertaining Comics, or EC Comics, back from the dead. The publisher of Tales from the Crypt, Two-Fisted Tales, Weird Science and more has not published new comic books since the 1950s — with MAD Magazine, probably their most famous publication, being the exception.
“There are few things more sacred to the canon of comic book history – and global pop culture – than EC Comics. The company’s audaciously inspired sensibilities have continuously echoed through nearly all facets of entertainment – like pieces of shrapnel embedded in American imagination,” said Oni Press President and Publisher Hunter Gorinson. “It’s both a huge honor and immense responsibility to be entrusted to work alongside the Gaines family in inhabiting EC’s indomitable spirit for a new generation. At a moment when we find ourselves confronting the same reactionary forces – injustice, inequality, and of course, censorship – that EC challenged head-on, we intend to write a new and powerful chapter that honors and expands one of the most important legacies the comic book medium has ever produced.”
Gorinson and Oni Press Editor-in-Chief Sierra Hahn will oversee the line of titles, along with Cathy Gaines Mifsud and Corey Mifsud, the daughter and grandson of EC Publisher William M. Gaines and administrators of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.
“As my father said, ‘Only in the bounds of good taste!’ and I’m so excited to exhibit EC’s good taste with Oni Press, who have distinguished themselves with both an award-winning library of comics and graphic novels and a passionate understanding of EC’s singular role in shaping comics history,” said Cathy Gaines Mifsud, President of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.
They plan to publish at least two series every month, starting with the horror-themed Epitaphs From The Abyss in July and then the science fiction anthology Cruel Universe in August. They’ll feature the genres that EC was known for, including horror, science fiction, fantasy and more, with contributions from a long, killer list of announced creators:
Jason Aaron (Thor, Southern Bastards), Brian Azzarello (Batman: Damned, 100 Bullets), Rodney Barnes (Killadelphia), Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic), Cullen Bunn (The Sixth Gun), Christopher Cantwell (Briar), Cecil Castellucci (Shade the Changing Girl), Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Joshua Hale Fialkov (The Bunker), J. Holtham (AMC’s The Handmaid’s Tale), Jeff Jensen (HBO’s Watchmen, Green River Killer), Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), Sean Lewis (King Spawn), Stephanie Phillips (Grim), Jay Stephens (Dwellings), Zac Thompson (Cemetery Kids Don’t Die), Ben H. Winters (CBS’ Tracker), and more; artists Kano (Gotham Central, Immortal Iron Fist), Peter Krause (Irredeemable), Leomacs (Rogues), Malachi Ward (Black Hammer: The End), Dustin Weaver (Avengers, Paklis), and more; designer Rian Hughes (The Multiversity); alongside covers from Lee Bermejo (A Vicious Circle, Batman: Damned), Greg Smallwood (The Human Target), J.H. Williams III (Sandman: Overture, Promethea), and more to be revealed in the weeks and months ahead.
Oni has always published a diverse line of comics that cut across just about all of the genres that EC published, with their recent Xino miniseries, a science fiction anthology, almost being a model for what they might publish here.
“Seventy years ago, EC Comics redefined what comics could be with shocking, confrontational and brilliantly crafted stories that challenged the existential issues at the center of American life – censorship, racism, sexism, nuclear proliferation, and more. Today, those battles continue in alarming and pernicious new ways,” Hahn said. “What better time to resurrect the undying spirit of EC Comics – one of the most entertaining, subversive, and influential publishers of all time – with an all-star cast of storytellers to examine today’s society through the lens that William Gaines and his legendary collaborators have left us.”
If you’re looking for more on EC, their original run in the 1950s and subsequent fall, I’d recommend this article at the Paris Review or, if you’re looking for something print, The History of EC Comics from Taschen.
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