EC
- Country:
- United States
- Indicia / Colophon Publishers:
- 14
- Brand Groups:
- 2
- Brand Emblems in Use:
- 8
- Total Number of Series:
- 108
- Total Number of Issues:
- 1328
- Number of Current Series:
- 2
- Show Covers by Month:
- using on-sale date or using publication date
- Show Issues by Month:
- using on-sale date or using publication date
- Creator Checklist:
- via linked story records
- Notes:
- EC specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series. Initially, EC was owned by Maxwell Gaines and specialized in educational and child-oriented stories. After Max Gaines' death in a boating accident in 1947, his son William Gaines took over the company and began to print more mature stories, delving into genres of horror, war, fantasy, science-fiction, adventure, and others. Noted for their high quality and shock endings, these stories were also unique in their socially conscious, progressive themes (including racial equality, anti-war advocacy, nuclear disarmament, and environmentalism) that anticipated the Civil Rights Movement and dawn of 1960s counterculture. In 1954–55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine Mad, leading to the company's greatest and most enduring success. Consequently, by 1956, the company ceased publishing all of its comic lines except Mad.
- Keywords
- anti-war; civil rights; environmentalism; mature stories; racial equality; satire; shock endings; social consciousness; twist endings
Editing
| Series | Year | Issues | Covers | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aces High [m] | 1955 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | March-April 1955 - November-December 1955 |
| Across the Seas in a War Torn World [m] | 1948 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | [circa 1948] |
| Animal Fables [m] | 1946 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | July-August 1946 - November-December 1947 |
| Animated Comics [m] | 1946 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | [1946] |
| Blackstone [m] | 1947 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Fall 1947 |
| The Church That Was Built With Bread [m] | 1948 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1948 |
| Confessions Illustrated | 1956 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | January-February 1956 - May 1956 |
| Crime Illustrated | 1955 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | November-December 1955 - April 1956 |
| Crime Patrol [m] | 1948 | 10 issues (10 indexed) | Gallery | Summer 1948 - February-March 1950 |
| Crime SuspenStories [m] | 1950 | 27 issues (27 indexed) | Gallery | October-November 1950 - February-March 1955 |
| The Crypt of Terror [m] | 1950 | 3 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | April-May 1950 - August-September 1950 |
| Dandy Comics [m] | 1947 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1947 - Spring 1948 |
| Dave Berg's Mad Trash [b] | 1981 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1981 |
| Desert Dawn [m] | 1945 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | circa 1945 |
| Don't Let the Penguin Drive the Batmobile [m] | 2018 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2018 |
| Epic Mad [b] | 2012 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Have 1 (Need 1) | 2012 |
| Extra! [m] | 1955 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | March-April 1955 - November-December 1955 |
| Fat and Slat [m] | 1947 | 4 issues (4 indexed) | Gallery | Summer 1947 - Spring 1948 |
| Frontline Combat [m] | 1951 | 15 issues (15 indexed) | Gallery | July-August 1951 - January 1954 |
| Goodnight Batcave [b] | 2016 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2016 |
| Gunfighter [m] | 1948 | 10 issues (10 indexed) | Gallery | Summer 1948 - March-April 1950 |
| The Happy Houlihans [m] | 1947 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | Fall 1947 - Winter 1947-48 |
| Haunt of Fear [m] | 1950 | 28 issues (28 indexed) | Gallery | May-June 1950 - November-December 1954 |
| Impact [m] | 1955 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | March-April 1955 - November-December 1955 |
| Incredible Science Fiction [m] | 1955 | 4 issues (4 indexed) | Gallery | July-August 1955 - January-February 1956 |
| Inside Mad [b] | 2013 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2013 |
| International Comics [m] | 1947 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1947 - November-December 1947 |
| International Crime Patrol [m] | 1948 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1948 |
| Land of the Lost Comics [m] | 1946 | 9 issues (9 indexed) | Gallery | July-August 1946 - Spring 1948 |
| Lucky Fights It Through [m] | 1949 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1949 |
| M.D. [m] | 1955 | 5 issues (5 indexed) | Gallery | April-May 1955 - December-January 1956; (January 1956) |
| Mad [m] | 1952 | 550 issues (484 indexed) | Have 621 (Need 6) | October-November 1952 - April 2018 |
| Mad [m] | 2018 | 39 issues (39 indexed) | Have 39 (Need 1) | June 2018 - present |
| Mad 84 [m] | 1984 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1984 |
| Mad about Comic Strips | 2003 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2003 |
| Mad About Super Heroes [b] | 2002 | 2 issues (1 indexed) | Have 2 (Need 1) | April 2002 - January 2010 |
| Mad About the '90s [b] | 2005 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Add | 2005 |
| Mad about the Mob [b] | 2002 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2002 |
| Mad about the Trump Era [m] | 2019 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2019 |
| Mad About Trump [b] | 2017 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2017 |
| Mad Batman Spectacular [m] | 1997 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | July 1997 |
| A Mad Big Book [Mad Zaps The Human Race!] [b] | 1984 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | March 1984 |
| A Mad Big Book [Mort Drucker's Mad Show-Stoppers] [b] | 1985 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1985 |
| Mad Classics [m] | 2005 | 25 issues (0 indexed) | Have 12 (Need 13) | 2005 - 2009 |
| Mad Color Classics [m] | 2000 | 11 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | April 2000 - 2005 |
| Mad Disco [m] | 1980 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1980 |
| Mad Follies | 1963 | 7 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | 1963 - 1969 |
| Mad Kids [m] | 2005 | 14 issues (1 indexed) | Have 5 (Need 9) | December 2005 - 2009 |
| Mad Magazine's Sunday Comic Section [m] | 1961 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1961 |
| Mad Pop Off Video | 1998 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Have 2 (Need 1) | May 1998 |
| Mad Presents Batman [m] | 2012 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | September 2012 |
| Mad Presents Harry Potter [m] | 2011 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2011 |
| Mad Presents Spy vs. Spy [m] | 2011 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | January 2011 |
| Mad Special [Mad Super Special] [m] | 1970 | 141 issues (79 indexed) | Have 150 (Need 2) | Fall 1970 - November 1999 |
| Mad Star Trek Spectacular [m] | 1994 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Holiday 1994 |
| Mad Star Wars Spectacular [m] | 1996 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | 1996 - 1999 |
| Mad Super Spectacular: Superman Man of Steel [m] | 2013 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | Summer 2013 |
| Mad Treasure-Trove of Trash [m] | 2022 | 8 issues (0 indexed) | Have 5 (Need 3) | May-June 2022 - present |
| MAD TV [m] | 1995 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1995 |
| The Mad War on Bush | 2007 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2007 |
| Mad XL [b] | 2000 | 34 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | January 2000 - 2005 |
| Mad's Greatest Artists Mort Drucker Five Decades of His Finest Works [b] | 2012 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Add | 2012 |
| Mad's Original Idiots Complete Collection [b] | 2015 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2015 |
| Mad's Original Idiots Jack Davis [b] | 2015 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2015 |
| Mad's Original Idiots Wally Wood [b] | 2015 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2015 |
| Mad's Original Idiots Will Elder [b] | 2015 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 2015 |
| Modern Love [m] | 1949 | 8 issues (8 indexed) | Gallery | June-July 1949 - August-September 1950 |
| Moon Girl [m] | 1947 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | Winter 1947-1948 - Summer 1949 |
| Moon Girl and the Prince [m] | 1947 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Fall 1947 |
| A Moon, a Girl...Romance [m] | 1949 | 4 issues (4 indexed) | Gallery | September-October 1949 - March-April 1950 |
| More Trash from Mad [m] | 1958 | 12 issues (6 indexed) | Gallery | 1958 - 1969 |
| Out of the Past a Clue to the Future [m] | 1946 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1946 |
| Panic [m] | 1954 | 12 issues (12 indexed) | Gallery | February-March 1954 - December 1955-January 1956 |
| Picture Stories from American History [m] | 1945 | 4 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | 1945 - Summer 1947 |
| Picture Stories from Science [m] | 1947 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1947 - Summer 1947 |
| Picture Stories from the Bible (Complete "Life of Christ" Edition) | 1945 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1945 |
| Picture Stories from the Bible (Complete New Testament Edition) | 1946 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | 1946 |
| Picture Stories from the Bible Complete Old Testament Edition [b] | 1945 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Have 3 (Need 1) | [1945] |
| Picture Stories from the Bible New Testament [m] | 1946 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | [March] 1946 - 1946 |
| Picture Stories from the Bible [Old Testament] [m] | 1946 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | [1946] - 1943 |
| Picture Stories from World History [m] | 1947 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1947 - Summer 1947 |
| Piracy [m] | 1954 | 7 issues (7 indexed) | Gallery | October-November 1954 - October-November 1955 |
| Psychoanalysis [m] | 1955 | 4 issues (4 indexed) | Gallery | March-April 1955 - September-October 1955 |
| Reddy Kilowatt [m] | 1946 | 11 issues (5 indexed) | Have 9 (Need 2) | 1946 - 1965 |
| Saddle Justice [m] | 1948 | 6 issues (6 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1948 - September-October 1949 |
| Saddle Romances [m] | 1949 | 3 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | November-December 1949 - March-April 1950 |
| Sergio Aragonés on Parade [b] | 1979 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | April 1979 |
| Shock Illustrated | 1955 | 3 issues (3 indexed) | Gallery | September-October 1955 - May 1956 |
| Shock SuspenStories [m] | 1952 | 18 issues (18 indexed) | Gallery | February-March 1952 - December 1954 - January 1955 |
| Spy vs. Spy by Prohias Omnibus [b] | 2011 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 2011 |
| Spy vs. Spy Omnibus [b] | 2023 | 1 issues (0 indexed) | Add | 2023 |
| Tales Calculated to Drive You Mad | 1997 | 8 issues (8 indexed) | Gallery | Summer 1997 - Winter 1999 |
| Tales from the Crypt [m] | 1950 | 27 issues (27 indexed) | Gallery | October-November 1950 - February-March 1955 |
| Tales of Terror Annual | 1951 | 3 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1951 - 1953 |
| Terror Illustrated | 1955 | 2 issues (2 indexed) | Gallery | November-December 1955 - April 1956 |
| Three Dimensional EC Classics [m] | 1954 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1954 |
| Three Dimensional Tales from the Crypt of Terror [m] | 1954 | 1 issues (1 indexed) | Gallery | Spring 1954 |
| Tiny Tot Comics [m] | 1946 | 10 issues (10 indexed) | Gallery | [March] 1946 - November-December 1947 |
| Two-Fisted Tales [m] | 1950 | 24 issues (24 indexed) | Gallery | November-December 1950 - February-March 1955 |
| Two-Fisted Tales Annual | 1952 | 2 issues (0 indexed) | Gallery | 1952 - 1953 |
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