This Day in Comic Book History: July 7
This Day in Comic Book History: July 7
July 7 brings us to the middle of summer, a time when the comic book rack traditionally overflowed with annuals, summer specials, and new launches designed to capture readers with time on their hands.
July 7: The Science Fiction Comics Tradition
Science Fiction Comics
From EC's Weird Science to Akira · The genre that pushed comics beyond superheroes · Science fiction as a vehicle for social commentary
Science fiction has been one of the most fertile genres in comics history, from EC Comics' groundbreaking Weird Science and Weird Fantasy in the 1950s to Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and Moebius's The Incal in the 1980s. The genre allowed creators to explore social anxieties, technological fears, and philosophical questions that couldn't be addressed directly in the censorship environment of postwar American comics. Today we celebrate the science fiction comics tradition — the stories that imagined tomorrow while illuminating today.
July 7: The Legacy of EC Comics Science Fiction
EC Comics' Sci-Fi Revolution
Weird Science · Weird Fantasy · Wally Wood · Harvey Kurtzman · Ray Bradbury adaptations · Social commentary through outer space
EC Comics' science fiction titles of the early 1950s were so literate, so visually ambitious, and so willing to tackle adult themes that they remain among the finest comics ever published. Wally Wood's meticulously detailed spaceships, Harvey Kurtzman's satirical wit, and Al Feldstein's adaptation of Ray Bradbury stories created a body of work that influenced generations of creators. The tradition EC established — using science fiction as a vehicle for serious social commentary — runs through everything from Heavy Metal to Saga.
July 7: From EC to the Present: Sci-Fi Comics Today
Modern Science Fiction Comics
Saga · The Prophet · East of West · Black Science · The genre thrives in the creator-owned era
The creator-owned revolution of the 2000s and 2010s unleashed a wave of science fiction comics that rivaled and in some ways surpassed anything that came before. Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' Saga became one of the best-selling Image Comics series in history while pushing the boundaries of what science fiction comics could address in terms of family, war, and the refugee experience. Jonathan Hickman's East of West, Brandon Graham's Prophet, and Rick Remender's Black Science demonstrated that the genre was thriving in the creator-owned space. Science fiction has never been more vibrant in comics.
🏆 Top 10 Essential Science Fiction Comics of All Time
- Saga #1 (March 2012) — Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples' genre-defying sci-fi epic; became one of the best-selling Image Comics series in history.
- Akira #1 (Epic Comics, 1988) — Katsuhiro Otomo's cyberpunk masterpiece; sparked the Western manga boom and raised the bar for comics storytelling globally.
- Weird Science #12 (EC Comics, 1950) — The flagship EC sci-fi title; Wally Wood and Harvey Kurtzman's work here is among the finest in comics history.
- The Incal #1 (1981) — Alejandro Jodorowsky and Moebius' cosmic masterpiece; influenced virtually every science fiction film of the subsequent three decades.
- East of West #1 (March 2013) — Jonathan Hickman and Nick Dragotta's alternate-history American apocalypse; dense, ambitious, and visually stunning.
- Prophet #21 (January 2012) — Brandon Graham's reinvention of Rob Liefeld's character into a genuine sci-fi masterpiece; one of Image's most acclaimed modern series.
- Black Science #1 (November 2013) — Rick Remender and Matteo Scalera's interdimensional sci-fi adventure; emotionally driven and visually spectacular.
- Transmetropolitan #1 (September 1997) — Warren Ellis and Darick Robertson's gonzo science fiction journalism; Spider Jerusalem remains one of comics' greatest anti-heroes.
- Heavy Metal #1 (April 1977) — The American adaptation of Metal Hurlant; introduced European adult sci-fi comics to US audiences and influenced generations of American creators.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey #1 (December 1976) — Jack Kirby's comics adaptation of Kubrick's film; an example of comics science fiction at its most visually cosmic.
Explore science fiction comics at Epic Panels Comics — from EC classics to modern masterworks!