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!
A Short History of EC Comics
While EC Comics is famous for publishing shocking stories, the American comic book publisher, founded 80 years ago in 1944 by Maxwell Gaines, didn’t start out by giving readers the creeps. During its early years, EC Comics stood for Educational Comics and focused on marketing comics about science, history, and the Bible, before expanding to children’s comics.
When Gaines tragically died in a boating accident in 1947, his son William inherited the business and renamed it Entertaining Comics. The shift from educational content to darker, more shocking stories was helped by the arrival of Al Feldstein at the company, first as an artist, then as an editor and writer.
Between 1950 and 1955, EC Comics delivered some of its most iconic and shocking stories, blending creativity with gore. These years gave readers mature content, progressive views, and unforgettable, violent endings. Their most notorious titles—Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror, and The Haunt of Fear—formed a legendary trio of horror anthologies that inspired industry giants like Steven Spielberg and Stephen King. They didn’t stop there, expanding into science fiction and fantasy (with titles like Weird Science and Weird Fantasy), war stories (in Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat), and crime fiction (Crime SuspenStories). However, EC Comics’ most improbable and enduring success was MAD, the satirical and influential magazine that lasted 67 years.
Sordid murders, unexpected twists, and celebrated art defined EC Comics, which found massive success among readers through its pioneering approach to building relationships via letters to the editor and fan organizations.
But all good things must come to an end. The comic book industry became the center of attention in the mid-1950s when outrage and moral panic—partly fueled by psychologist Fredric Wertham and his book Seduction of the Innocent—led to a Congressional investigation into possible links between comic books and juvenile delinquency. To avoid government censorship, comic book publishers created the Comics Code in 1954, which banned sexual content, racial themes, drugs and alcohol (except for educational purposes), and graphic violence. This forced EC to shift its focus, ultimately leading to the cancellation of all titles except MAD.
EC Comics in Collected Editions
Trying to find which collections of EC Comics reprints you want to invest in, but not sure about the differences? Here’s a simple breakdown of notable EC Comics reprints:
The Complete EC Library (Russ Cochran)
- Publisher: Russ Cochran
- Publication Date: 1978-1996
- Format: Black-and-white reproductions; Deluxe, oversized hardcovers, later some box sets.
The most celebrated collection in this list, but not the most available as this collection was published by Russ Cochran between 1978 and 1996, The Complete EC Library reprinted almost every EC comic in 66 hardbound volumes contained in 17 slipcases. These volumes are organized by series (e.g., Tales from the Crypt, The Vault of Horror).
EC Archives
- Publisher: Various. Originally started by Gemstone Publishing, now published by Dark Horse Comics.
- Publication Date: 2006-2008 (Gemstone), with Dark Horse continuing from 2013 onward.
- Format: Full-color hardcovers (with recolored art)
Similar to Marvel Masterworks, The EC Archives collection reprints sequential compilations of EC titles in full-color, hardcover archival format with new annotations. While these editions made classic stories more accessible, they have been heavily criticized for the recoloring process initiated by Gemstone Publishing. Using Marie Severin’s original coloring as a guide, the stories were recolored with modern digital techniques, but many fans felt the new colors were too bright, lacked authenticity, and didn’t match the original mood and tone of the books. When Dark Horse took over, they chose to continue the recoloring process for consistency across the series while offering higher-quality production overall.
To make the collection more accessible, Dark Horse introduced softcover editions of EC Archives in 2020.
The EC Artists’ Library
- Publisher: Fantagraphics Books.
- Publication Date: 2012-ongoing
- Format: Black-and-white hardcovers, focused on the work of individual EC artists.
The most recent collection on this list comes from Fantagraphics, which obtained the rights to publish the EC Comics Library (excluding MAD). This collection differs from The EC Archives in that the stories are organized into artist and theme-based volumes, complete with commentary and analysis by notable comic historians.
Other Collections
What is listed prior can be considered the most notable collections of EC Comics reprints, but those are not the only ones. In the 1970s, Nostalgia Press released The EC Horror Library, focusing on selected stories from Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror. At the same time, East Coast Comix published several EC stories in black-and-white magazine format.
In addition to The Complete EC Library, Russ Cochran released other collections like EC Portfolio, EC Classics, RCP Reprints, and EC Annuals.
Let’s not forget IDW Publishing’s EC Artist’s Editions, showcasing original cover art in full size, capturing all the details of EC’s iconic artwork.
Getting into EC Comics: A Recommendation Reading List
It’s now time to read some EC Comics but which ones? Let’s start with:
- Choke Gasp! A Selection of Handpicked EC Comic Stories – There is no better way to discover some EC Classics stories than with this 528-page hardcover book coming from Dark Horse, released in 2019 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the publisher, and contains more than 50 stories such as Voodoo Vengeance, Fall Guy for Murder, Judgement Day, Bomb Run, Master Race, Daddy Lost His Head, Doctor of Horror, Corpse of the Imjin
To explore EC Comics, you can dive into a specific genre:
- Death Stand And Other Stories (war stories) ― Collects all the combat tales Davis and Kurtzman did together for EC’s Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat. It also includes Davis’s adaptation of an excerpt from James Fenimore Cooper’s Last of the Mohicans.
- Sucker Bait And Other Stories (horror) ― A collection of gruesome short comic stories with twist endings from “Ghastly” Graham. It features 25 classic stories from Tales From the Crypt, Shock Suspen-Stories, Vault of Horror.
- Fall Guy For Murder (crime stories/horror) ― Johnny Craig was one of the few who wrote and drew all his EC Stories and you can find here 23 stories Featuring murderous husbands and wives, executioners, thieving surgeons, vengeful sword-swallowers, time bombs, private dicks, vampires, werewolves, and ghouls.
- Spawn Of Mars and Other Stories ― The ultimate collection of Wallace Wood’s finest science fiction stories, including his trilogy of Ray Bradbury adaptations. And while we’re talking about of him…
- Home to Stay!: The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories ― Between 1951 and 1954, EC Comics adapted 28 classic Ray Bradbury stories into comic form, scripted by Al Feldstein and interpreted and illustrated by all of EC’s top artists. And you can have them all in this collection!
EC Comics Now! The Revival by Oni Press
In EC Comics, the dead couldn’t stay dead! And the same can be said of EC Comics which returned from the dead in Summer ’24 following a partnership deal with Oni Press. It all started with the two following titles:
- Epitaphs From The Abyss – a 12-issue maxi-series anthology in the horror genre.
- Cruel Universe – 5-issue science fiction anthology.
And will continue with..
- Cruel Kingdom – A dark fantasy series coming in January 2025
- Shiver Suspenstories #1 – holiday-themed anthology special (December 2024)
EC Comics’ horror stories are part of our selection of Horror Comic Books for a Chilling October!