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36-462: The bi-monthly science-fiction comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein , replaced romance comic A Moon, A Girl... Romance with the May/June 1950 issue. Although the title and format change took effect with issue 13, Gaines and Feldstein decided not to restart the numbering in order to save money on second class postage. The Post Office took note, and starting with issue #6, all

72-687: A biopic called Ghoulishly Yours, William M. Gaines , with Al Feldstein serving as a creative consultant. The film, however, did not get past pre-production . On June 3, 1992, Gaines died in his sleep at his home in New York at the age of 70. He had been in ill health in recent years and used a pacemaker. Gaines's first marriage was arranged by his mother. He was married to his second cousin Hazel Grieb. They announced their plans to divorce in August 1947. According to Completely Mad: A History of

108-492: A comic book with a picture of themselves looking at... ad infinitum . Quite possibly the comic's most controversial story was published in issue 18 in 1953. "Judgment Day" featured an astronaut who comes to a planet populated by orange and blue robots who hope to join the Galactic Republic. As he tours the planet, the astronaut, named Tarlton, realizes that blue robots are treated horribly and given fewer rights than

144-451: A comic book". Issue 26 was a special issue about real reported encounters with flying saucers. Feldstein worked with Major Donald Keyhoe , a former marine pilot who was considered the leading popular writer on the subject at the time. With an emphasis on moral messages and retributive justice when dealing with both current social issues and science-fantasy, some comics were called 'preachies'. Themes of mechanical metaphors, to defamiliarize

180-437: A cover by Frank Frazetta originally intended for a Famous Funnies cover illustrating Buck Rogers, but it was considered too violent for that comic book. Gaines bought the rights to use the cover (the only instance at EC where Gaines bought only the rights to the art, and not the art itself), and it was used with some minor revisions. The cover was later described by publisher Russ Cochran as "the most outstanding cover ever put on

216-492: A division of National Periodical Publications, the publisher of DC Comics . In 1967, Kinney National Company purchased National Periodical, and then in 1969, they bought Warner Brothers . In 1972, Kinney became Warner Communications . One of Gaines' last televised interviews was as a guest on the December 7, 1991, episode of Beyond Vaudeville . Circa 2008, director John Landis and screenwriter Joel Eisenberg planned

252-626: A lot of science fiction material to read. Harrison had no editorial control over the contents of the comic aside from his own stories, and he left EC by the end of 1950. Cover illustrations were by Feldstein with the exception of two by Joe Orlando , one collaboration by Feldstein and Al Williamson , plus another collaboration by Williamson with Frank Frazetta . Artists who drew stories for this EC title were Feldstein, Frazetta, Williamson, Orlando, Wally Wood, Harvey Kurtzman , George Roussos , Harrison, Reed Crandall , Will Elder , Bernard Krigstein , Jack Kamen , John Severin and Mac Elkin. Writers in

288-464: A magazine because you thought a child should not see or read about it? Gaines : No, I wouldn't say that there is any limit for the reason you outlined. My only limits are the bounds of good taste, what I consider good taste. Beaser : Then you think a child cannot in any way, in any way, shape, or manner, be hurt by anything that a child reads or sees? Gaines : I don't believe so. Beaser : There would be no limit actually to what you put in

324-528: A magazine in 1955, partly to retain the services of its talented editor Harvey Kurtzman , who had received offers from elsewhere. The change enabled Mad to escape the strictures of the Comics Code Authority. Kurtzman left Gaines's employ a year later anyway and was replaced by Al Feldstein , who had been Gaines's most prolific editor during the EC Comics run. (For details of this event and

360-426: A maker of venetian blinds, but remained publisher until the day he died, and served as a buffer between the magazine and its corporate interests. He largely stayed out of the magazine's production, often viewing content just before the issue was shipped to the printer. "My staff and contributors create the magazine," declared Gaines. "What I create is the atmosphere." Around 1964, Premier sold Mad to Independent News ,

396-544: A penny-pinching side. He would frequently stop meetings to find out who had called a particular long-distance phone number. Longtime Mad editor Nick Meglin called Gaines a "living contradiction" in 2011, saying, "He was singularly the cheapest man in the world, and the most generous." Meglin described his experience of asking Gaines for a raise of $ 3 a week; after rejecting the request, the publisher then treated Meglin to an expensive dinner at one of New York's best restaurants. Recalled Meglin: "The check came, and I said, 'That's

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432-842: A series of five softcover EC Annuals . Cochran and Gemstone planned to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of Weird Fantasy as part of the EC Archives series, but Gemstone's financial troubles left this project in limbo. Dark Horse Comics ultimately published the series, comprising four volumes, from 2014 to 2019. HBO's Perversions of Science was a science fiction/horror anthology series with episodes adapted from stories found in Weird Fantasy as well as Weird Science and Incredible Science Fiction . The following Weird Fantasy stories were adapted into episodes: William Gaines William Maxwell " Bill " Gaines ( / ɡ eɪ n z / ; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992)

468-754: The Comic Book and Magazine by Maria Reidelbach , Gaines married Nancy Siegel in 1955. They had three children, Cathy (1958), Wendy (1959), and Christopher (1961). They divorced in 1971. In 1987 he married Anne Griffiths. They remained married until his death in 1992. Gaines was an atheist since the age of 12; he once told a reporter that his was probably the only home in America in which the children were brought up to believe in Santa Claus , but not in God . Weird Science-Fantasy Weird Science-Fantasy

504-462: The cover of a horror comic. A cover in bad taste, for example, might be defined as holding the head a little higher so that the neck could be seen dripping blood from it, and moving the body over a little further so that the neck of the body could be seen to be bloody. Kefauver : You have blood coming out of her mouth. Gaines : A little. Kefauver : Here is blood on the axe. I think most adults are shocked by that. Gaines converted Mad to

540-442: The early issues included Feldstein, Gaines, Kurtzman, Harrison and Gardner Fox . Gaines and Feldstein wrote nearly all stories from 1951–53. Creators Gaines and Feldstein made cameos in the stories "Cosmic Ray Bomb Explosion" (14, July–August 1950), "7 Year Old Genius" (7) and "The Expert" (14) and "The Ad" (14). Issues 14 and 15 in 1952 ran EC Quickies , a format featuring two similarly themed stories, each three or four pages, in

576-481: The final four issues. Cover illustrations were by Feldstein, Wally Wood , Al Williamson and Frank Frazetta . Artists who drew stories for this EC title were Feldstein, Wood, Williamson, Frazetta, Joe Orlando , Bernard Krigstein , Angelo Torres , George Evans , Reed Crandall and Jack Kamen . Writers included Feldstein, Gaines, Harlan Ellison (who contributed a single story in issue 24), Otto Binder , Jack Oleck , and Carl Wessler . The final issue featured

612-595: The first successful female superhero, Wonder Woman . As World War II began, Gaines was rejected by the U.S. Army , the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy , so he went to his local draft board and requested to be drafted. He trained as an U.S. Army Air Corps photographer at Lowry Field in Denver. However, when he was assigned to an Oklahoma City field without a photographic facility, he wound up on permanent KP duty . As he explained in 1976 to Bill Craig of Stars and Stripes , "Being an eater, this assignment

648-531: The issues were numbered correctly. Because of this, " Weird Fantasy #13" could refer to either the May/June 1950 issue or the actual 13th issue of the title, published in 1952. The same confusion exists for issues #14–17, #17 being the last issue published before EC reset the numbering. Artist/writer Harry Harrison claims credit for originally turning Gaines on to the idea of publishing science fiction. Harrison has stated that he and fellow artist Wally Wood were interested in science fiction and supplied Gaines with

684-501: The losses suffered from those two comics, Gaines and Feldstein combined the two into a single comic, published quarterly and priced at 15 cents. The price would be lowered back down to 10 cents after the first two issues. The comic reverted to a bi-monthly schedule with issue #27 in January/February 1955. In the summer of 1955, there was yet another title change as Weird Science-Fantasy became Incredible Science Fiction for

720-404: The magazines? Gaines : Only within the bounds of good taste. Beaser : Your own good taste and saleability? Gaines : Yes. Kefauver : Here is your May 22 issue [ Crime SuspenStories No. 22, cover date May]. This seems to be a man with a bloody axe holding a woman's head up which has been severed from her body. Do you think that is in good taste? Gaines : Yes sir, I do, for

756-537: The orange robots, despite the fact that they are identical except for the color of their exterior. Tarlton decides that because of this, the planet will not be allowed in the Galactic Republic. In the final panel Tarlton removes his helmet, revealing that he is black. This story was chosen for reprinting approximately three years later in Incredible Science Fiction , which resulted in an argument that caused Gaines to quit comics altogether. As with

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792-606: The other EC comics edited by Feldstein, the stories in this comic were primarily based on Gaines reading a large number of science fiction stories and using them to develop "springboards" from which he and Feldstein could launch new stories. Specific story influences that have been identified include the following: After their publication of "Home to Stay", Ray Bradbury contacted EC about their plagiarism of his work. They reached an agreement for EC to do authorized versions of Bradbury's short fiction. These official adaptations include: EC's science fiction comics were never able to match

828-536: The poor sales became too much to handle, Weird Fantasy combined with companion comic Weird Science in 1954 to become Weird Science-Fantasy . As discussed in an "In Memoriam" feature in the final issue, every issue for the previous year and a half had lost money, and EC had no choice but to combine the two comics into one. Weird Science-Fantasy ran for seven issues before a title change to Incredible Science Fiction for four issues. As with many other EC titles, Weird Fantasy has been reprinted numerous times over

864-537: The popularity of their horror comics like Tales from the Crypt , but Gaines and Feldstein kept them alive using the profits from their more popular titles. In the EC Library reprints, comics historian Mark Evanier theorizes that the short story format, where no story was longer than eight pages helped contribute to poor sales because the horror comics were much better suited for very short stories with shock endings than

900-648: The publication of Dr. Fredric Wertham 's Seduction of the Innocent , comic books like those that Gaines published attracted the attention of the U.S. Congress. In 1954, Gaines testified before the Senate Subcommittee on Juvenile Delinquency . In the following exchanges, he is addressed first by Chief Counsel Herbert Beaser, and then by Senator Estes Kefauver : Beaser : Is the sole test of what you would put into your magazine whether it sells? Is there any limit you can think of that you would not put in

936-465: The reader with concepts of work, ownership, and generation of wealth were used to talk about race through the genera conventions of robots and aliens. As with the other EC comics edited by Feldstein, the stories in this comic were primarily based on Gaines reading a large number of science fiction stories and using them to develop "springboards" from which he and Feldstein could launch new stories. Specific story influences that have been identified include

972-425: The science fiction comics. Evanier also ponders whether the very similar logo style of Weird Science and its companion comic Weird Fantasy , as well as similar cover subjects contributed to lower sales due to customers thinking they already owned the issues on sale. Historian Digby Diehl wondered whether having host characters like EC's horror comics would have helped the comics be more commercially successful. When

1008-400: The service in 1946, he returned home to complete his chemistry studies at Brooklyn Polytechnic , but soon transferred to New York University , intent on obtaining a teaching certificate . In 1947, he was in his senior year at NYU when his father was killed in a motorboat accident on Lake Placid . Instead of becoming a chemistry teacher, he took over the family business, EC Comics . With

1044-406: The space usually devoted to a seven or eight-page story. In Weird Fantasy 17 (1953), Al Williamson illustrated "The Aliens". Three aliens head for Earth to prevent a nuclear war, but they arrive too late. Amid the devastation they find a copy of Weird Fantasy 17. When they read "The Aliens", they see that it had predicted their arrival. On the last page they see a picture of themselves looking at

1080-459: The subsequent debates about it, see Harvey Kurtzman's editorship of Mad .) Feldstein oversaw Mad from 1955 through 1986, as Gaines went on to a long and profitable career as a publisher of satire and enemy of bombast. To celebrate a circulation milestone of 1 million magazines, Gaines took his staff to Haiti. In Haiti the magazine had a single subscriber. Gaines personally delivered his subscription renewal card. Despite his largesse, Gaines had

1116-518: The whole raise!' "And Bill said, 'I like good conversation and good food. I don't enjoy giving raises.'" (According to veteran Golden Age comics artist Sheldon Moldoff , Gaines was not too fond of paying percentages, either.) In his memoir Good Days and Mad (1994), Mad writer Dick DeBartolo recalls several anecdotes that characterize Gaines as a generous gourmand who liked practical jokes, and who enjoyed good-natured verbal abuse from his staffers. In 1961, Gaines sold Mad to Premier Industries,

Weird Fantasy - Misplaced Pages Continue

1152-432: The years. Ballantine Books reprinted selected stories in a series of paperback EC anthologies in 1964–66. All 22 issues were published in black and white in four hardbound volumes in 1980 as part of publisher Russ Cochran 's The Complete EC Library . In addition, all 22 issues were reprinted in comic form in the mid-1990s by Cochran and Gemstone Publishing . This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in

1188-514: Was a real pleasure for me. There were four of us, and we always found all the choice bits the cooks had hidden away. We'd be frying up filet mignon and ham steaks every night. The hours were great, too. I think it was eight hours on and 40 off." Stationed at DeRidder Army Airfield in Louisiana, he was reassigned to Marshall Airfield in Kansas and then to Governors Island , New York. Leaving

1224-556: 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. He published the satirical magazine Mad for over 40 years. He was posthumously inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1993) and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1997). In 2012, he

1260-527: Was an American science fiction-fantasy anthology comic, that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955. The comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein , was a merger of two previous bi-monthly titles, Weird Science and Weird Fantasy , which ran from 1950 to 1953, both ending at issue #22. Because of

1296-623: Was inducted into the Ghastly Awards' Hall of Fame. Gaines was born in Brooklyn , New York , to a Jewish household. His father was Max Gaines , who as publisher of the All-American Comics division of DC Comics was also an influential figure in the history of comics. The elder Gaines tested the idea of packaging and selling comics on newsstands in 1933, and Gaines accepted William Moulton Marston 's proposal in 1941 for

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