Where to Start with EC Comics? A Beginner’s Guide to the Most Famous, Shocking, and Bizarre Tales
When it’s time to read some gruesome horror stories, exploring comic books from the Golden Age offers chilling tales and unforgettable illustrations. While individual horror stories appeared as early as 1940, horror comics flourished with EC Comics and its sardonic horror hosts – the Old Witch, the Vault Keeper, and the Crypt Keeper – introducing shocking tales of violence to readers. They inspired a host of imitators, but none occupy the same place as EC Comics in pop culture today.
In an era when superheroes were living simple (and sometimes wacky) adventures, EC Comics pushed the boundaries with their gruesome stories, bold visuals, sharp social commentary, and shocking twists. They revolutionized comic book art through legendary talents such as Harvey Kurtzman, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein, Bill Elder, and Jack Davis. While the Comics Code led to the cancellation of most of their titles, EC Comics continued to survive through reprints and left a lasting influence on creators across comics and Hollywood.
Today, we get more familiar with EC Comics, one of the most influential publishers of its time, which, like a sordid creature from its pages, has recently come back to life!