This is one comics line we didn’t count on to rise from the crypt: EC Comics, maybe probably the most revered and controversial comics line of all, is again as an imprint at Oni Press. The NY Times broke the story this morning.
The line launches this summer time with two anthologies: the horror-centered EPITAPHS FROM THE ABYSS #1 in July and SF-flavored CRUEL UNIVERSE #1 in August. The enterprise is a partnership with William M. Gaines Agent, Inc., the belief that holds the rights to EC; directors Cathy Gaines Mifsud and Corey Mifsud, the daughter and grandson of EC Publisher William M. Gaines, will oversee it together with Oni’s writer Hunter Gorinson and eic Sierra Hahn.
Creators on faucet for the reanimated EC embody just about who you’ll hope for: 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)
The launch covers are by Lee Bermejo (A Vicious Circle, Batman: Damned), Greg Smallwood (The Human Target) and J.H. Williams III (Sandman: Overture, Promethea).
EC Comics launched in 1944 and by the had 50s gained fame for each its superior content material – artwork by notables together with Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, Al Feldstein, Frank Frazetta, Harvey Kurtzman, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Marie Severin, Al Williamson, Wally Wood – and a mixture of outre gore and socially related themes as written by Al Feldstein and Harvey Kurtzman. The line was additionally the main target of the famed “Seduction of the Innocent” Senate hearings in 1954 which led to the institution of the Comics Code.
EC’s cowl designs for titles like TALES FROM THE CRYPT, MAD MAGAZINE, WEIRD SCIENCE, TWO-FISTED TALES – a gallery of ghoulish hosts just like the Cryptkeeper abutting ironic teaser photos – has been infinite imitated, and the shock endings of its tales have influenced generations of story tellers – John Carpenter, Guillermo del Toro, Matt Groening, James Gunn, George Lucas, Stephen King, George R.R. Martin, The Ramones, George Romero and Steven Spielberg all admit to having been entranced by these tales.
So bringing again the road with new titles – and a revamped brand by Rian Hughes – is a little bit of a daring flex by all concerned.
“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,” mentioned Cathy Gaines Mifsud, President of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc.
“EC Comics is no stranger to a good comeback story! We’re thrilled to make this return with Oni Press and usher the classic EC sensibilities into the modern world,” mentioned Corey Mifsud, Executive Director of William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. “It’s always been our dream to one day bring the fearless creative spirit of EC to a new generation. Working hand-in-hand with Oni’s award-winning team and a sensational cast of creators, it’s a pleasure to – at long last – shepherd EC into the 21st century with all-new series and stories.”
“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.,” mentioned Oni Press Editor-in-Chief, Sierra Hahn. “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.”
“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,” mentioned Oni Press President & 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.”
In case you aren’t conversant in the rise and fall (and continued resurrection of) EC Comics – together with the story of how a choose in 1956 ordered them to take away a black character from the story “Judgement Day” -Wikipedia is perhaps your greatest guess to begin.
EC’s unique comics can be found by way of a plethora of reprints – Dark Horse, TASCHEN, Fantagraphics, and IDW Publishing all have their books obtainable in numerous codecs and costs.
This is the primary time EC has been introduced again as an ongoing line of comics nonetheless. Developing!
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