EC Comics
Encyclopedia
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American
publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction
, crime fiction
, satire
, military fiction
and science fiction
from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series. In 1954-55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine Mad
, leading to the company's greatest success. EC was privately owned by Maxwell Gaines and later, during its period of notoriety, by his son, William Gaines
. It was eventually absorbed into the same corporation that later purchased DC Comics
and Warner Brothers.
. When that company merged with DC Comics
in 1944, Gaines retained rights to the comic book Picture Stories from the Bible, and began his new company with a plan to market comics about science, history and the Bible to schools and churches. A decade earlier, Max Gaines had been one of the pioneers of the comic book form, with Eastern Color Printing's proto-comic book Funnies on Parade
, and with Dell Publishing
's Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics, considered by historians the first true American comic book
.
, Gaines had returned home to finish school at New York University
, planning to work as a chemistry teacher. He never taught but instead took over the family business. In 1949 and 1950, Bill Gaines began a line of new titles featuring horror
, suspense
, science fiction
, military fiction
and crime fiction
. His editors, Al Feldstein
and Harvey Kurtzman
, who also drew covers and stories, gave assignments to such prominent and highly accomplished freelance artists as Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall
, Jack Davis
, Will Elder
, George Evans, Frank Frazetta
, Graham Ingels
, Jack Kamen
, Bernard Krigstein
, Joe Orlando
, John Severin
, Al Williamson
, Basil Wolverton
, and Wally Wood
. With input from Gaines, the stories were scripted by Kurtzman, Feldstein and Craig. Other writers including Carl Wessler
, Jack Oleck
and Otto Binder
were later brought on board.
EC had success with its fresh approach and pioneered in forming relationships with its readers through its letters to the editor and its fan organization, the National EC Fan-Addict Club. EC Comics promoted its stable of illustrators, allowing each to sign his art and encouraging them to develop idiosyncratic styles; the company additionally published one-page biographies of them in the comic books. This was in contrast to the industry's common practice, in which credits were often missing, although some artists at other companies, such as the Jack Kirby
-Joe Simon
team, Jack Cole
and Bob Kane
had been prominently promoted.
EC published distinct lines of titles under its Entertaining Comics umbrella. Most notorious were its horror books, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror
and The Haunt of Fear
. These titles reveled in a gruesome joie de vivre, with grimly ironic fates meted out to many of the stories' protagonists. The company's war comics Frontline Combat
and Two-Fisted Tales
often featured weary-eyed, unheroic stories out of step with the jingoistic times. Shock SuspenStories
tackled weighty issues such as racism
, sex
, drug use and the American way of life. EC always claimed to be "proudest of our science fiction titles", with Weird Science
and Weird Fantasy
publishing stories unlike the space opera
found in such titles as Fiction House
's Planet Comics
. Crime SuspenStories
had many parallels with film noir
. As noted by Max Allan Collins
in his story annotations for Russ Cochran
's 1983 hardcover reprint of Crime SuspenStories, Johnny Craig had developed a "film noir-ish bag of effects" in his visuals, while characters and themes found in the crime stories often showed the strong influence of writers associated with film noir, notably James M. Cain
.
Superior illustrations of stories with surprise endings became EC's trademark. Gaines would generally stay up late and read large amounts of material while seeking "springboards" for story concepts. The next day he would present each premise until Feldstein found one that he thought he could develop into a story. At EC's peak, Feldstein edited seven titles while Kurtzman handled three. Artists were assigned stories specific to their styles. Davis and Ingels often drew gruesome, supernatural-themed stories, while Kamen and Evans did tamer material.
With hundreds of stories written, common themes surfaced. Some of EC's more well-known themes include:
The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of horror hosts. The Crypt Keeper introduced Tales from the Crypt, the Vault Keeper welcomed readers to The Vault of Horror and the Old Witch cackled over The Haunt of Fear. Besides gleefully recounting the unpleasant details of the stories, the characters squabbled with one another, unleashed an arsenal of puns and even insulted and taunted the readers: "Greetings, boils and ghouls..." This irreverent mockery of the audience also became the trademark attitude of Mad, and such glib give-and-take was later mimicked by many, including Stan Lee
at Marvel Comics
.
EC's most enduring legacy came with Mad
, which started as a side project for Kurtzman before buoying the company's fortunes and becoming one of the country's most notable and long-running humor publications. When satire became an industry rage in 1954 and other publishers created imitations of Mad, EC introduced a sister title, Panic
, edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular Mad artists, plus Joe Orlando
.
of two articles: "Horror in the Nursery" (in Collier's
) and "The Psychopathology of Comic Books" (in the American Journal of Psychotherapy
). As a result, an industry trade group
, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
, was formed in 1948, but proved ineffective. EC left the association in 1950 after Gaines had an argument with its executive director, Henry Schultz. By 1954 only three comic publishers were still members, and Schultz admitted that the ACMP seals placed on comics were meaningless.
In 1954, the publication of Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent
and a highly publicized Congressional hearing on juvenile delinquency
cast comic books in an especially poor light. At the same time, a federal investigation led to a shakeup in the distribution companies that delivered comic books and pulp magazine
s across America. Sales plummeted, and several companies went out of business.
Gaines called a meeting of his fellow publishers and suggested that the comic book industry gather to fight outside censorship and help repair the industry's damaged reputation. They formed the Comics Magazine Association of America and its Comics Code Authority
. The CCA code expanded on the ACMP's restrictions. Unlike its predecessor, the CCA code was rigorously enforced, with all comics requiring code approval prior to their publication. This not being what Gaines intended, he refused to join the association. Among the Code's new rules were that no comic book title could use the words "horror" or "terror" or "weird" on its cover. When distributors refused to handle many of his comics, Gaines ended publication of his three horror and the two SuspenStory titles on September 14, 1954.
EC shifted its focus to a line of more realistic comic book titles, including M.D. and Psychoanalysis (known as the New Direction line). It also renamed its remaining science-fiction comic. Since the initial issues did not carry the Comics Code seal, the wholesalers refused to carry them. After consulting with his staff, Gaines reluctantly started submitting his comics to the Comics Code; all the New Direction titles carried the seal starting with the second issue. This attempted revamp failed commercially and after the fifth issues, all the New Direction titles were canceled.
#33 (Feb. 1956). The story, by writer Al Feldstein
and artist Joe Orlando
, was a reprint from the pre-Code Weird Fantasy
#18 (April 1953), inserted when the Code Authority had rejected an initial, original story, "An Eye For an Eye", drawn by Angelo Torres but was itself also "objected to" because of "the central character being black
."
The story depicted a human astronaut, a representative of the Galactic Republic, visiting the planet Cybrinia inhabited by robots. He finds the robots divided into functionally identical orange and blue races, one of which has fewer rights and privileges than the other. The astronaut decides that due to the robots' bigotry, the Galactic Republic should not admit the planet. In the final panel, he removes his helmet, revealing himself to be a black man. Murphy demanded, without any authority in the Code, that the black astronaut had to be removed. As Diehl recounted in Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives:
Feldstein, interviewed for the book Tales of Terror: The EC Companion, reiterated his recollection of Murphy making the request:
Although the story would eventually be reprinted uncensored in Incredible Science Fiction #33, that comic book was the last EC published. Gaines switched his focus to EC's Picto-Fiction titles, a line of typeset black-and-white magazines with heavily illustrated stories. Fiction was formatted to alternate illustrations with blocks of typeset text, and some of the contents were rewrites of stories previously published in EC's comic books. This experimental line lost money from the start and only lasted two issues per title. When EC's national distributor went bankrupt, Gaines dropped all of his titles except Mad.
, who had received an offer to join the magazine Pageant
, but preferred to remain in charge of his own magazine. As well, the switch removed Mad from the auspices of the Comics Code. Kurtzman, regardless, left Mad soon afterward when Gaines would not give him 51 percent control of the magazine, and Gaines brought back Al Feldstein
as Kurtzman's successor. The magazine enjoyed great success for decades afterward.
The Tales from the Crypt title was licensed for a movie of that name
in 1972. This was followed by another film, The Vault of Horror
, in 1973. The omnibus movies Creepshow
(1982) and Creepshow 2
, while using original scripts written by Stephen King
and George A. Romero
, were inspired by EC's horror comics and hosted by a Ghoulunatic-inspired character. Creepshow 2 included an animated interstitial material between vignettes, featuring a young protagonist who goes to great length to acquire and keep possession of an issue of the comic book Creepshow.
In 1989, Tales from the Crypt
began airing on the U.S. cable-TV network HBO. The series ran through 1996, comprising 93 episodes and seven seasons. Tales from the Crypt spawned two TV series, Tales from the Cryptkeeper
and Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
. It also spawned three "Tales from the Crypt"-branded movies, Demon Knight
, Bordello of Blood
, and Ritual
. In 1997, HBO followed the TV series with the similar Perversions of Science
, the episodes of which were based on stories from EC's Weird Science. It ran 10 episodes.
As of 2011, EC Publications continues as a legal entity holding copyrights to Mad magazine, and is under the management of the DC Comics
unit of Time Warner
.
published five black-and-white paperbacks of EC stories: Tales of the Incredible
showcased EC science fiction, while the paperbacks Tales from the Crypt
and The Vault of Horror
reprinted EC horror tales. EC's Ray Bradbury adaptations were collected in The Autumn People
(horror and crime) and Tomorrow Midnight
(science fiction).
. Despite its title, the book also included Bernard Krigstein
's famous "Master Race" story from Impact and other selections from non-horror EC titles. This book also featured the first publication of "An Eye for an Eye," originally slated for the final issue of Incredible Science Fiction
but rejected by the Comics Code.
(hardcover books).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publisher of comic books specializing in horror fiction
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
, satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
, military fiction
War novel
A war novel is a novel in which the primary action takes place in a field of armed combat, or in a domestic setting where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, or recovery from, war...
and science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series. In 1954-55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine 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...
, leading to the company's greatest success. EC was privately owned by Maxwell Gaines and later, during its period of notoriety, by his son, William 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...
. It was eventually absorbed into the same corporation that later purchased DC Comics
DC Comics
DC 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...
and Warner Brothers.
Educational Comics
The firm, first known as Educational Comics, was founded by Max Gaines, former editor of the comic-book company All-American PublicationsAll-American Publications
All-American Publications is one of three American comic book companies that combined to form the modern-day DC Comics, one of the world's two largest comics publishers...
. When that company merged with DC Comics
DC Comics
DC 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...
in 1944, Gaines retained rights to the comic book Picture Stories from the Bible, and began his new company with a plan to market comics about science, history and the Bible to schools and churches. A decade earlier, Max Gaines had been one of the pioneers of the comic book form, with Eastern Color Printing's proto-comic book Funnies on Parade
Funnies on Parade
Funnies on Parade is an American publication of 1933 that was a precursor of comic books.The creation of the modern American comic book came in stages. Dell Publishing in 1929 published a 16-page, newsprint periodical of original, comic strip-styled material titled The Funnies and described by the...
, and with Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing
Dell Publishing, an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte, Jr.During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, Dell was one of the largest publishers of magazines, including pulp magazines. Their line of humor magazines included 1000 Jokes, launched in...
's Famous Funnies: A Carnival of Comics, considered by historians the first true American comic book
American comic book
An American comic book is a small magazine originating in the United States and containing a narrative in the form of comics. Since 1975 the dimensions have standardized at 6 5/8" x 10 ¼" , down from 6 ¾" x 10 ¼" in the Silver Age, although larger formats appeared in the past...
.
Entertaining Comics
When Max Gaines died in 1947 in a boating accident, his son William inherited the comics company. After four years (1942–46) in the Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
, Gaines had returned home to finish school at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
, planning to work as a chemistry teacher. He never taught but instead took over the family business. In 1949 and 1950, Bill Gaines began a line of new titles featuring horror
Horror fiction
Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...
, suspense
Suspense
Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty and anxiety about the outcome of certain actions, most often referring to an audience's perceptions in a dramatic work. Suspense is not exclusive to fiction, though. Suspense may operate in any situation where there is a lead-up to a big event or dramatic...
, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
, military fiction
War novel
A war novel is a novel in which the primary action takes place in a field of armed combat, or in a domestic setting where the characters are preoccupied with the preparations for, or recovery from, war...
and crime fiction
Crime fiction
Crime fiction is the literary genre that fictionalizes crimes, their detection, criminals and their motives. It is usually distinguished from mainstream fiction and other genres such as science fiction or historical fiction, but boundaries can be, and indeed are, blurred...
. His editors, 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...
and Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
, who also drew covers and stories, gave assignments to such prominent and highly accomplished freelance artists as Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall
Reed Crandall was an American illustrator and penciller of comic books and magazines. He was best known for the Quality Comics character Blackhawk and for stories in the critically acclaimed EC Comics of the 1950s.Crandall was inducted into the Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early...
, Jack Davis
Jack Davis (cartoonist)
Jack Davis is an American cartoonist and illustrator, known for his advertising art, magazine covers, film posters, record album art and numerous comic book stories...
, Will Elder
Will Elder
William Elder was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art, but is best known for a zany cartoon style that helped launch Harvey Kurtzman's Mad comic book in 1952....
, George Evans, Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta
Frank Frazetta was an American fantasy and science fiction artist, noted for work in comic books, paperback book covers, paintings, posters, LP record album covers and other media...
, Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels
Graham Ingels was a comic book and magazine illustrator best known for his work in EC Comics during the 1950s, notably on The Haunt of Fear and Tales from the Crypt, horror titles written and edited by Al Feldstein, and The Vault of Horror, written and edited by Feldstein and Johnny Craig...
, Jack Kamen
Jack Kamen
Jack Kamen was an illustrator from Brooklyn, New York. His first professional job was as an assistant to a sculptor working for the Texas Centennial. He studied sculpture with Agop Agopoff and was a student of Harvey Dunn, George Brandt Bridgman and William C. McNulty...
, Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B...
, Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
, John Severin
John Severin
John Powers Severin is an American comic book artist noted for his distinctive work with EC Comics, primarily on the war comics Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat; for Marvel Comics, primarily on its war and Western comics; and for the satiric magazine Cracked...
, Al Williamson
Al Williamson
Alfonso "Al" Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western and science-fiction/fantasy...
, Basil Wolverton
Basil Wolverton
Basil Wolverton was an American cartoonist, illustrator, comic book writer-artist and professed "Producer of Preposterous Pictures of Peculiar People who Prowl this Perplexing Planet", whose many publishers included Marvel Comics and Mad.His unique, humorously grotesque drawings have elicited a...
, and Wally Wood
Wally Wood
Wallace Allan Wood was an American comic book writer, artist and independent publisher, best known for his work in EC Comics and Mad. He was one of Mads founding cartoonists in 1952. Although much of his early professional artwork is signed Wallace Wood, he became known as Wally Wood, a name he...
. With input from Gaines, the stories were scripted by Kurtzman, Feldstein and Craig. Other writers including Carl Wessler
Carl Wessler
Carroll O. "Carl" Wessler was an American animator of the 1930s and a comic book writer from the 1940s though the 1970s for such companies as DC Comics, EC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Warren Publishing....
, Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck
Jack Oleck was an American novelist and comic book writer particularly known for his work in the horror genre.The brother-in-law of comics pioneer Joe Simon, Oleck's comic book career was basically in two parts. During the Golden Age of comics Oleck wrote for EC Comics and the Simon-Jack Kirby...
and Otto Binder
Otto Binder
Otto Oscar Binder was an American author of science fiction and non-fiction books and stories, and comic books...
were later brought on board.
EC had success with its fresh approach and pioneered in forming relationships with its readers through its letters to the editor and its fan organization, the National EC Fan-Addict Club. EC Comics promoted its stable of illustrators, allowing each to sign his art and encouraging them to develop idiosyncratic styles; the company additionally published one-page biographies of them in the comic books. This was in contrast to the industry's common practice, in which credits were often missing, although some artists at other companies, such as the Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby
Jack Kirby , born Jacob Kurtzberg, was an American comic book artist, writer and editor regarded by historians and fans as one of the major innovators and most influential creators in the comic book medium....
-Joe Simon
Joe Simon
Joseph Henry "Joe" Simon is an American comic book writer, artist, editor, and publisher. Simon created or co-created many important characters in the 1930s-1940s Golden Age of Comic Books and served as the first editor of Timely Comics, the company that would evolve into Marvel Comics.With his...
team, Jack Cole
Jack Cole (artist)
Jack Ralph Cole was an American comic book artist and Playboy magazine cartoonist best known for creating the comedic superhero Plastic Man....
and Bob Kane
Bob Kane
Bob Kane was an American comic book artist and writer, credited as the creator of the DC Comics superhero Batman...
had been prominently promoted.
EC published distinct lines of titles under its Entertaining Comics umbrella. Most notorious were its horror books, Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror was a bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies...
and The Haunt of Fear
The Haunt of Fear
The 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...
. These titles reveled in a gruesome joie de vivre, with grimly ironic fates meted out to many of the stories' protagonists. The company's war comics Frontline Combat
Frontline Combat
Frontline 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...
and Two-Fisted Tales
Two-Fisted Tales
Two-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,...
often featured weary-eyed, unheroic stories out of step with the jingoistic times. Shock SuspenStories
Shock SuspenStories
Shock 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...
tackled weighty issues such as racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, drug use and the American way of life. EC always claimed to be "proudest of our science fiction titles", with Weird Science
Weird Science (comic)
Weird Science was a science fiction anthology comic book that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December, 1953 issue...
and Weird Fantasy
Weird Fantasy
Weird 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...
publishing stories unlike the space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
found in such titles as Fiction House
Fiction House
Fiction House is an American publisher of pulp magazines and comic books that existed from the 1920s to the 1950s. Its comics division was best known for its pinup-style good girl art, as epitomized by the company's most popular character, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle.-History:-Jumbo and Jack...
's Planet Comics
Planet Comics
Planet Comics was a science fiction comic book title produced by Fiction House and ran for 73 issues from January 1940 to Winter 1953. Like many of Fiction House's early comics titles, Planet Comics was a spinoff of a pulp magazine, in this case Planet Stories, which featured space operatic tales...
. Crime SuspenStories
Crime SuspenStories
Crime 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...
had many parallels with film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
. As noted by Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins
Max Allan Collins is an American mystery writer. He has written novels, screenplays, comic books, comic strips, trading cards, short stories, movie novelizations and historical fiction. He wrote the graphic novel Road to Perdition , created the comic book private eye Ms...
in his story annotations for Russ Cochran
Russ 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....
's 1983 hardcover reprint of Crime SuspenStories, Johnny Craig had developed a "film noir-ish bag of effects" in his visuals, while characters and themes found in the crime stories often showed the strong influence of writers associated with film noir, notably James M. Cain
James M. Cain
James Mallahan Cain was an American author and journalist. Although Cain himself vehemently opposed labeling, he is usually associated with the hardboiled school of American crime fiction and seen as one of the creators of the roman noir...
.
Superior illustrations of stories with surprise endings became EC's trademark. Gaines would generally stay up late and read large amounts of material while seeking "springboards" for story concepts. The next day he would present each premise until Feldstein found one that he thought he could develop into a story. At EC's peak, Feldstein edited seven titles while Kurtzman handled three. Artists were assigned stories specific to their styles. Davis and Ingels often drew gruesome, supernatural-themed stories, while Kamen and Evans did tamer material.
With hundreds of stories written, common themes surfaced. Some of EC's more well-known themes include:
- An ordinary situation given an ironic and gruesome twist, often as poetic justicePoetic justicePoetic justice is a literary device in which virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished, often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate intimately related to the character's own conduct.- Origin of the term :...
for a character's crimes. In "Collection Completed" a man takes up taxidermyTaxidermyTaxidermy is the act of mounting or reproducing dead animals for display or for other sources of study. Taxidermy can be done on all vertebrate species of animals, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians...
in order to annoy his wife. When he kills and stuffs her beloved cat, the wife snaps and kills him, stuffing and mounting his body. In "Revulsion", a spaceship pilot is bothered by insects due to a past experience when he found one in his food. At the conclusion of the story, a giant alienExtraterrestrial life in popular cultureIn popular cultures, "extraterrestrials" are life forms — especially intelligent life forms— that are of extraterrestrial origin .-Historical ideas:-Pre-modern:...
insect screams in horror at finding the dead pilot in his salad. DissectionDissectionDissection is usually the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components....
, the broiling of lobsters, Mexican jumping beans, fur coats and fishingFishingFishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....
are just a small sample of the kind of situations and objects used in this fashion. - The "Grim Fairy Tale", featuring gruesome interpretations of such fairy tales as "Hansel and GretelHansel and Gretel"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
", "Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
" and "Little Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
". - Siamese twinsConjoined twinsConjoined twins are identical twins whose bodies are joined in utero. A rare phenomenon, the occurrence is estimated to range from 1 in 50,000 births to 1 in 100,000 births, with a somewhat higher incidence in Southwest Asia and Africa. Approximately half are stillborn, and a smaller fraction of...
were a popular theme, primarily in EC's three horror comics. No fewer than nine Siamese twin stories appeared in EC's horror and crime comics from 1950-1954. In an interview, Feldstein speculated that he and Gaines wrote so many Siamese twin stories because of the interdependence they had on each other. - Adaptations of Ray BradburyRay BradburyRay Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...
science-fiction stories, which appeared in two dozen EC comics starting in 1952. It began inauspiciously, with an incident in which Feldstein and Gaines plagiarized two of Bradbury's stories and combined them into a single tale. Learning of the story, Bradbury sent a note praising them, while remarking that he had "inadvertently" not yet received his payment for their use. EC sent a check and negotiated a productive series of Bradbury adaptations. - Stories with a political message, which became common in EC's science fiction and suspense comics. Among the many topics were lynchingLynchingLynching is an extrajudicial execution carried out by a mob, often by hanging, but also by burning at the stake or shooting, in order to punish an alleged transgressor, or to intimidate, control, or otherwise manipulate a population of people. It is related to other means of social control that...
, anti-SemitismAnti-SemitismAntisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
and police corruptionPolice corruptionPolice corruption is a specific form of police misconduct designed to obtain financial benefits, other personal gain, or career advancement for a police officer or officers in exchange for not pursuing, or selectively pursuing, an investigation or arrest....
.
The three horror titles featured stories introduced by a trio of horror hosts. The Crypt Keeper introduced Tales from the Crypt, the Vault Keeper welcomed readers to The Vault of Horror and the Old Witch cackled over The Haunt of Fear. Besides gleefully recounting the unpleasant details of the stories, the characters squabbled with one another, unleashed an arsenal of puns and even insulted and taunted the readers: "Greetings, boils and ghouls..." This irreverent mockery of the audience also became the trademark attitude of Mad, and such glib give-and-take was later mimicked by many, including Stan Lee
Stan Lee
Stan Lee is an American comic book writer, editor, actor, producer, publisher, television personality, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics....
at Marvel Comics
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
.
EC's most enduring legacy came with 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...
, which started as a side project for Kurtzman before buoying the company's fortunes and becoming one of the country's most notable and long-running humor publications. When satire became an industry rage in 1954 and other publishers created imitations of Mad, EC introduced a sister title, Panic
Panic (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...
, edited by Al Feldstein and using the regular Mad artists, plus Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
.
Backlash
Beginning in the late 1940s, the comic book industry became the target of mounting public criticism for the content of comic books and their potentially harmful effects on children. The problem came to a head in 1948 with the publication by Dr. Fredric WerthamFredric Wertham
Fredric Wertham was a Jewish German-American psychiatrist and crusading author who protested the purportedly harmful effects of violent imagery in mass media and comic books on the development of children. His best-known book was Seduction of the Innocent , which purported that comic books are...
of two articles: "Horror in the Nursery" (in Collier's
Collier's Weekly
Collier's Weekly was an American magazine founded by Peter Fenelon Collier and published from 1888 to 1957. With the passage of decades, the title was shortened to Collier's....
) and "The Psychopathology of Comic Books" (in the American Journal of Psychotherapy
American Journal of Psychotherapy
The American Journal of Psychotherapy is the official scientific journal of the Association for the Advancement of Psychotherapy. It began publishing in 1947. It is published 4 times a year. Since 2001, it incorporates the Journal of Psychotherapy Practice and Research. The editor in chief is T....
). As a result, an industry trade group
Industry trade group
A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association or sector association, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry...
, the Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
Association of Comics Magazine Publishers
The Association of Comics Magazine Publishers was an American industry trade group formed in May 1947 and publicly announced on July 1, 1948, to regulate the content of comic books in the face of public criticism during this time...
, was formed in 1948, but proved ineffective. EC left the association in 1950 after Gaines had an argument with its executive director, Henry Schultz. By 1954 only three comic publishers were still members, and Schultz admitted that the ACMP seals placed on comics were meaningless.
In 1954, the publication of Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent
Seduction of the Innocent is a book by German-American psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, published in 1954, that warned that comic books were a negative form of popular literature and a serious cause of juvenile delinquency. The book was a minor bestseller that created alarm in parents and galvanized...
and a highly publicized Congressional hearing on juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency
Juvenile delinquency is participation in illegal behavior by minors who fall under a statutory age limit. Most legal systems prescribe specific procedures for dealing with juveniles, such as juvenile detention centers. There are a multitude of different theories on the causes of crime, most if not...
cast comic books in an especially poor light. At the same time, a federal investigation led to a shakeup in the distribution companies that delivered comic books and pulp magazine
Pulp magazine
Pulp magazines , also collectively known as pulp fiction, refers to inexpensive fiction magazines published from 1896 through the 1950s. The typical pulp magazine was seven inches wide by ten inches high, half an inch thick, and 128 pages long...
s across America. Sales plummeted, and several companies went out of business.
Gaines called a meeting of his fellow publishers and suggested that the comic book industry gather to fight outside censorship and help repair the industry's damaged reputation. They formed the Comics Magazine Association of America and its Comics Code Authority
Comics Code Authority
The Comics Code Authority was a body created as part of the Comics Magazine Association of America, as a tool for the comics-publishing industry to self-regulate the content of comic books in the United States. Member publishers submitted comic books to the CCA, which screened them for adherence to...
. The CCA code expanded on the ACMP's restrictions. Unlike its predecessor, the CCA code was rigorously enforced, with all comics requiring code approval prior to their publication. This not being what Gaines intended, he refused to join the association. Among the Code's new rules were that no comic book title could use the words "horror" or "terror" or "weird" on its cover. When distributors refused to handle many of his comics, Gaines ended publication of his three horror and the two SuspenStory titles on September 14, 1954.
EC shifted its focus to a line of more realistic comic book titles, including M.D. and Psychoanalysis (known as the New Direction line). It also renamed its remaining science-fiction comic. Since the initial issues did not carry the Comics Code seal, the wholesalers refused to carry them. After consulting with his staff, Gaines reluctantly started submitting his comics to the Comics Code; all the New Direction titles carried the seal starting with the second issue. This attempted revamp failed commercially and after the fifth issues, all the New Direction titles were canceled.
"Judgment Day"
Gaines waged a number of battles with the Comics Code Authority in an attempt to keep his magazines free from censorship. In one particular example noted by comics historian Digby Diehl, Gaines threatened Judge Charles Murphy, the Comics Code Administrator, with a lawsuit when Murphy ordered EC to alter the science-fiction story "Judgment Day", in Incredible Science FictionIncredible Science Fiction
Incredible Science Fiction was a science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues.- Origin :...
#33 (Feb. 1956). The story, by writer 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...
and artist Joe Orlando
Joe Orlando
Joseph Orlando was a prolific illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades...
, was a reprint from the pre-Code Weird Fantasy
Weird Fantasy
Weird 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...
#18 (April 1953), inserted when the Code Authority had rejected an initial, original story, "An Eye For an Eye", drawn by Angelo Torres but was itself also "objected to" because of "the central character being black
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
."
The story depicted a human astronaut, a representative of the Galactic Republic, visiting the planet Cybrinia inhabited by robots. He finds the robots divided into functionally identical orange and blue races, one of which has fewer rights and privileges than the other. The astronaut decides that due to the robots' bigotry, the Galactic Republic should not admit the planet. In the final panel, he removes his helmet, revealing himself to be a black man. Murphy demanded, without any authority in the Code, that the black astronaut had to be removed. As Diehl recounted in Tales from the Crypt: The Official Archives:
Feldstein, interviewed for the book Tales of Terror: The EC Companion, reiterated his recollection of Murphy making the request:
Although the story would eventually be reprinted uncensored in Incredible Science Fiction #33, that comic book was the last EC published. Gaines switched his focus to EC's Picto-Fiction titles, a line of typeset black-and-white magazines with heavily illustrated stories. Fiction was formatted to alternate illustrations with blocks of typeset text, and some of the contents were rewrites of stories previously published in EC's comic books. This experimental line lost money from the start and only lasted two issues per title. When EC's national distributor went bankrupt, Gaines dropped all of his titles except Mad.
Mad and later years
Mad sold well throughout the company's troubles, and Gaines focused exclusively on publishing it in magazine form. This move was done to placate its editor Harvey KurtzmanHarvey Kurtzman
Harvey Kurtzman was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic books and magazines. Kurtzman often signed his name H. Kurtz, followed by a stick figure Harvey Kurtzman (October 3, 1924, Brooklyn, New York – February 21, 1993) was an American cartoonist and the editor of several comic...
, who had received an offer to join the magazine Pageant
Pageant (magazine)
Pageant was a 20th-century monthly magazine published in the United States from November 1944 until February 1977. Printed in a digest size format, it became Coronet magazine's leading competition, although it aimed for comparison to Reader's Digest....
, but preferred to remain in charge of his own magazine. As well, the switch removed Mad from the auspices of the Comics Code. Kurtzman, regardless, left Mad soon afterward when Gaines would not give him 51 percent control of the magazine, and Gaines brought back 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...
as Kurtzman's successor. The magazine enjoyed great success for decades afterward.
The Tales from the Crypt title was licensed for a movie of that name
Tales from the Crypt (film)
Tales from the Crypt is a British horror movie, made in 1972 by Amicus Productions. It is an anthology film consisting of five separate segments, based on stories from EC Comics. Only two of the stories, however, are actually from EC's Tales from the Crypt...
in 1972. This was followed by another film, The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror (film)
The Vault of Horror is a British portmanteau horror film made in 1973 by Amicus Productions. Like its predecessor, Tales from the Crypt, it is based on stories from the EC Comics series written by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines...
, in 1973. The omnibus movies Creepshow
Creepshow
Creepshow is a 1982 American horror anthology film directed by George A. Romero and written by Stephen King. The film's ensemble cast included Ted Danson, Leslie Nielsen, Hal Holbrook, E.G...
(1982) and Creepshow 2
Creepshow 2
Creepshow 2 is an American horror comedy anthology film directed by Michael Gornick, who was George A. Romero's cinematographer on the original Creepshow. Released in 1987, the screenplay for Creepshow 2 was penned by Romero , and once again based upon stories by Stephen King...
, while using original scripts written by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
and George A. Romero
George A. Romero
George Andrew Romero is a Canadian-American film director, screenwriter and editor, best known for his gruesome and satirical horror films about a hypothetical zombie apocalypse. He is nicknamed "Godfather of all Zombies." -Life and career:...
, were inspired by EC's horror comics and hosted by a Ghoulunatic-inspired character. Creepshow 2 included an animated interstitial material between vignettes, featuring a young protagonist who goes to great length to acquire and keep possession of an issue of the comic book Creepshow.
In 1989, Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (TV series)
Tales from the Crypt, sometimes titled HBO's Tales from the Crypt, is an American horror anthology television series that ran from 1989 to 1996 on the premium cable channel HBO...
began airing on the U.S. cable-TV network HBO. The series ran through 1996, comprising 93 episodes and seven seasons. Tales from the Crypt spawned two TV series, Tales from the Cryptkeeper
Tales from the Cryptkeeper
Tales from the Cryptkeeper is an animated series aimed at children made byNelvana Limited, PeaceArch Entertainment, kaBOOM! Entertainment and Warner Bros. Television Animation. It was shown on TVO and ABC,and is still shown near Halloween on Teletoon. It was based on the live-action television...
and Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
Secrets of the Cryptkeeper's Haunted House
Secrets of the Cryptkeeper’s Haunted House is a Children's Saturday-morning game show that ran on CBS. It premiered on September 14, 1996 and lasted until August 23, 1997. It featured the Cryptkeeper of Tales from the Crypt now serving as an announcer...
. It also spawned three "Tales from the Crypt"-branded movies, Demon Knight
Demon Knight
Demon Knight is a 1995 American horror film directed by Ernest Dickerson, starring Billy Zane, William Sadler, and Jada Pinkett Smith...
, Bordello of Blood
Bordello of Blood
Bordello of Blood is a 1996 comedy/horror film starring Dennis Miller, Erika Eleniak, Angie Everhart, Corey Feldman, and Chris Sarandon. It is based on the HBO television series Tales from the Crypt. It received an R rating for vampire violence, gore, language, and nudity...
, and Ritual
Ritual (film)
Tales From the Crypt Presents: Ritual is the third and final film spin-off from the HBO television series Tales from the Crypt, the first being Demon Knight and the second being Bordello of Blood. The film was released in 2002 and stars Tim Curry, Jennifer Grey, and Craig Sheffer with Avi Nesher...
. In 1997, HBO followed the TV series with the similar Perversions of Science
Perversions of Science
Perversions of Science is a science fiction/horror television series that ran on the cable channel HBO for one season in 1997.It is a spin-off of popular horror series Tales from the Crypt also shown on HBO, and its episodes are based on EC's Weird Science comic book series.The format of...
, the episodes of which were based on stories from EC's Weird Science. It ran 10 episodes.
As of 2011, EC Publications continues as a legal entity holding copyrights to Mad magazine, and is under the management of the DC Comics
DC Comics
DC 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...
unit of Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
.
Reprint history
Although the last non-Mad EC publication came out in 1956, EC Comics have remained popular for half a century, due to reprints that have kept them in the public eye. Some of the many EC reprints include the following:Ballantine Books
In 1964-66, Ballantine BooksBallantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's logo is a...
published five black-and-white paperbacks of EC stories: Tales of the Incredible
Tales of the Incredible
Tales of the Incredible is a mass-market paperback collection of eight science fiction comic stories gathered from the pages of the EC Comics comic books of the 1950s. It is one of five collections published by Ballantine Books between 1964 and 1966...
showcased EC science fiction, while the paperbacks Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt (book)
Tales from the Crypt is a mass-market paperback collection of eight horror comic stories gathered from the pages of the EC Comics comic books of the 1950s. It is one of five such collections published by Ballantine Books between 1964 and 1966...
and The Vault of Horror
The Vault of Horror (book)
The Vault of Horror is a mass-market paperback collection of eight horror comic stories gathered from the pages of the EC Comics comic books of the 1950s. It is one of five such collections published by Ballantine Books between 1964 and 1966...
reprinted EC horror tales. EC's Ray Bradbury adaptations were collected in The Autumn People
The Autumn People
The Autumn People is a mass-market paperback collection of comic adaptations of eight short horror and crime stories by Ray Bradbury, gathered from the pages of the EC Comics comic books of the 1950s...
(horror and crime) and Tomorrow Midnight
Tomorrow Midnight
Tomorrow Midnight is a mass-market paperback collection of comic adaptations of eight short science fiction stories by Ray Bradbury, gathered from the pages of the EC Comics comic books of the 1950s...
(science fiction).
The EC Horror Library
The EC Horror Library, published by Nostalgia Press in 1971, featured color reprints of approximately 20 EC stories, various artist biographies and an essay by Larry StarkLarry Stark
Larry Stark is an American journalist and reviewer best known for his in-depth coverage of the Boston theater scene at his website, Theater Mirror. In newspapers and online, Stark has written hundreds of reviews of local productions and Broadway tryouts from 1962 to the present...
. Despite its title, the book also included Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein
Bernard Krigstein , was an American illustrator and gallery artist who received acclaim for his innovative and influential approach to comic book art, notably in EC Comics. He was known as Bernie Krigstein, and his artwork usually displayed the signature B...
's famous "Master Race" story from Impact and other selections from non-horror EC titles. This book also featured the first publication of "An Eye for an Eye," originally slated for the final issue of Incredible Science Fiction
Incredible Science Fiction
Incredible Science Fiction was a science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues.- Origin :...
but rejected by the Comics Code.
East Coast Comix
East Coast Comix reprinted in comic form a number of EC's New Trend comics between 1973 and 1975. The first reprint was the final issue of Tales From the Crypt, with the title revised to state The Crypt of Terror. This issue was originally meant to be the first issue of a fourth horror comic which was changed to the final issue of Tales From the Crypt at the last minute when the horror comics were cancelled in 1954. A dozen issues ended up being reprinted.Russ Cochran Reprints
Russ Cochran reprints include EC Portfolios, The Complete EC Library, EC Classics, RCP Reprints (Russ Cochran Publisher), EC Annuals, and EC ArchivesEC 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....
(hardcover books).
EC publications
External links
- 1954 Senate Interim Report: Comic Books and Juvenile Delinquency via ReoCities. WebCitation archive.
- Harris, Franklin. "The Long, Gory Life of EC Comics", ReasonReason (magazine)Reason is a libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 60,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the Chicago Tribune.- History :...
, June 2005. WebCitation archive. - Weird Fantasy (fan site reprinting Russ Cochran Newsletter)