This Day in Comic Book History: July 11
This Day in Comic Book History: July 11
July 11 is a day to honor EC Comics — the publisher whose horror, science fiction, and war comics in the early 1950s were so influential, so morally serious, and so artistically accomplished that the US government felt compelled to try to destroy them.
EC Comics: The Most Important Publisher You Never Heard Of
EC Comics' Golden Age
Bill Gaines · Al Feldstein · Harvey Kurtzman · Tales from the Crypt · Weird Science · Two-Fisted Tales · Mad
EC Comics — Entertaining Comics, run by publisher Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein — published some of the most remarkable comic books in the medium's history between 1950 and 1955. Their horror titles (Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, The Haunt of Fear), science fiction titles (Weird Science, Weird Fantasy), war comics (Two-Fisted Tales, Frontline Combat), and crime comics were distinguished by high-quality art, sophisticated writing, moral seriousness, and a willingness to use genre conventions to critique racism, McCarthyism, and American hypocrisies. They were unique in American publishing.
The Senate Hearings of 1954: Comics on Trial
The Comic Book Senate Hearings
Senator Estes Kefauver · Dr. Fredric Wertham's Seduction of the Innocent · Bill Gaines testifies · The Comics Code Authority is born
In April 1954, the US Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency held hearings on the influence of comic books on American youth, largely driven by Dr. Fredric Wertham's sensationalist book Seduction of the Innocent. Bill Gaines testified in defense of his comics and their artistic merit, but the political pressure was overwhelming. The result was the Comics Code Authority — an industry self-censorship board whose restrictions effectively destroyed EC's horror and crime titles. Bill Gaines converted Mad from a comic book to a magazine specifically to escape the Code.
EC Comics' Lasting Legacy
What EC Left Behind
Tales from the Crypt HBO series · Stephen King · George Romero · Steven Spielberg · Every horror anthology since
EC Comics' legacy is staggering. Stephen King, George Romero, Steven Spielberg, and virtually every significant horror creator of the 20th century cited EC as a formative influence. The 1989–2007 HBO Tales from the Crypt television series brought EC's Crypt Keeper to mainstream audiences. The Comics Code Authority they were instrumental in creating has since been entirely abandoned, and EC's moral seriousness about social issues has been vindicated by history. Their Ray Bradbury adaptations alone would secure their place in American literary history.
🏆 Top 10 Essential EC Comics
- Tales from the Crypt #20 (August 1950) — The first issue under the Tales from the Crypt title; one of horror comics' most influential series, launching EC's golden era.
- Weird Science #12 (May 1950) — EC's landmark sci-fi title; Wally Wood's art here represents the finest science fiction illustration in American comics history.
- Two-Fisted Tales #18 (November 1950) — Harvey Kurtzman's war comics masterpiece; anti-war storytelling of extraordinary moral seriousness.
- Vault of Horror #12 (April 1950) — EC's signature horror anthology; Johnny Craig's art set the standard for atmospheric horror comics.
- Weird Fantasy #13 (May 1952) — Features Bradbury adaptations; EC's authorized Ray Bradbury stories represent some of the finest literary comics ever made.
- Mad #1 (October 1952) — Harvey Kurtzman's satirical masterpiece that survived the Comics Code by becoming a magazine; still publishing today.
- Frontline Combat #1 (July 1951) — Harvey Kurtzman's second war anthology; anti-war storytelling that made senators nervous.
- Haunt of Fear #15 (May 1952) — Graham Ingels' "Ghastly" artwork; one of the most technically accomplished horror comics of the 1950s.
- Crime SuspenStories #22 (May 1954) — The infamous cover Senator Kefauver held up at the 1954 hearings; a key artifact of comics history.
- Weird Science-Fantasy #23 (March 1954) — The final EC sci-fi title before the Code; a landmark closing chapter in one of comics' greatest creative eras.
Find EC Comics reprints and collections at Epic Panels Comics!