In the 1950s, EC Comics were such a force that it took the combined might of the US government, a moral panic, and an industry censorship board to drive them off the newsstands. Since then, the company that published Tales from the Crypt, Weird Science, MAD, Shock SuspenStories and more has haunted the comic world, spawning endless imitations and media interest, but never a full-fledged revival. Earlier this year, Portland-based Oni Press announced it was bringing back the legendary imprint under an exclusive agreement with the William M. Gaines Agent, Inc (representing EC’s late founder/publisher), and today, the company has announced the talent lineup for its first new title under the EC banner, a science fiction anthology title, Cruel Universe.
“EC’s science fiction stories hit so hard in the 1950s because there was a lot of anxiety in American society,” said Oni publisher Hunter Gorinson. “20 years ago, doing a revival might have seemed retro. But today, a lot of those anxieties are back in a big way.”
Oni announced the double-sized 40 page debut issue will feature stories by Hugo Award nominee Corinna Bechko (Invisible Republic, The Space Between), rising star Chris Condon (That Texas Blood), Eisner Award nominee Matt Kindt (BRZRKR, Mind MGMT), and Edgar Award winner Ben H. Winters (The Last Policeman), with art by Jonathan Case (Green River Killer), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Artyom Topilin (I Hate This Place), and Caitlin Yarsky (Black Hammer: Reborn).
I’m really excited about the mix of writers and voices coming from different mediums,’ said Sierra Hahn, Oni Editor-in-Chief. “We have TV writers, novelists, tried and true comics writers who all have a passion for EC Comics. They grew up with that legacy and they want to contribute to it going forward.”
“The cool thing about “going back” to the classic EC style is that it doesn’t really feel like going back,” said Ben H. Winters, author of Big Time and creator of the TV show Tracker. “These guys were thinking and drawing so far ahead of their time, aesthetically and thematically, it’s as if we’re still trying to catch up with them, now. So my tale for CRUEL UNIVERSE—about a hard-luck loser who ekes out a living selling memories to the rich—has a touch of Philip K. Dick, a touch of Black Mirror, maybe a smidge of Blade Runner…but all of these touchstones owe a debt back to EC. Being part of this lineage is an honor, and a total blast.”
Gorinson said that the company is not just trying to recapture the aesthetic of EC, which was known for its “snap-ending” stories and top shelf artwork, but also the subversive quality that landed the company in hot water with the guardians of public morality back in the 1950s. This was particularly evident in the pointed satire of Harvey Kurtzman’s Mad comics (currently owned by DC) and Two-Fisted Tales, which defied the conventions of war comics by emphasizing questions of morality rather than glorifying militarism. EC’s science fiction books Weird Science and Weird Fantasy adapted thoughtful original works by authors like Ray Bradbury alongside unsettling dystopian visions that anticipated work like The Twilight Zone. Even the company’s crime and horror comics depicted morally ambiguous situations that gave its younger readers some insight into the ugliness of adult behavior.
Kids loved it, but some adults became alarmed. Psychologist Frederic Wertham rallied public outrage around EC’s gory, sardonic and irreverent approach to comics in his notorious best seller Seduction of the Innocent, which led to nationwide bans, an appearance by publisher William Gaines before the Senate Committee on Juvenile Delinquency, and eventually the establishment of the Comics Code, which imposed restrictions on the art and story of comics for two generations.
“We’ve given ourselves permission to cut our own path, but we view our mission here as upholding the very specific intensity, power and kind of tonal through line, and hopefully also the we’re going to do our best approximation of the level of artistic quality that EC put forward,” said Gorinson. “We really want to capture that brazen sensibility, that brash go F yourself attitude that the original EC had in a big way.”
Oni Press is no stranger to these kinds of controversies: it publishes Maia Kobabe’s acclaimed graphic novel Gender Queer, which is going on four years as the country’s most banned work of literature. The company first gained attention as a belleweather of generational zeitgeist in the late 90s as the publisher of Kevin Smith’s GenX classic Clerks, the Millennial favorite Scott Pilgrim, and, recently, the comic book version of Rick and Morty.
“For me, I look forward to doing socially, politically relevant, challenging stories,” said Hahn. “We’re not aiming to be grotesque and sensational, but we want to take ideas and push them further. EC gives us an opportunity to do that using a framework that is exciting and fun.”
Hahn said the new titles, envisioned to eventually cover the wide range of subject matter tackled by the original EC, will follow the classic anthology format of several tight short stories drawn by different artists. Those constraints, plus the looming legacy of EC’s reputation, serves as a challenge to the creators.
“EC stories are in my DNA,” said bestselling writer Matt Kindt. “I’ve always been writing them, or my version of them, with one difference: My stories usually end with a sense of optimism, or at least a melancholy hope that things will get better. Spoiler: These stories don’t do that. They are hard cautionary tales and observations of the darkest part of the human spirit. And hopefully they put up a sign: do not go there. Don’t do this. Don’t be like this. They are cautionary tales with the optimism that you the reader can be a better person.”
There is some optimism on Oni’s part as well. The relaunch comes in the midst of a prolonged downturn in the sales of periodical comics, at a time when many retailers are fighting for their lives. Even in a strong market, anthology titles have not sold since, well, the heyday of EC nearly 70 years ago. The crew at Oni is hoping that EC’s unique combination of contemporary relevance, elevated craftsmanship and enduring legacy will help it break through one more time.
