Ghosts, Ghouls, and Maniacs: The Tale of EC Comics Horror Line

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This is a short documentary about EC COMICS. In the 1950s, they launched a horror line that every child wanted to read and every Mom wanted to burn. EC Comics was responsible for pop icons such as MAD MAGAZINE and HBO's TALES FROM THE CRYPT. #ECComics, #horrorstories

[@GleeChan]

Fredric Wertham: the true villain of the Comic Book industry.

[@rclark777]

To be entirely fair to Wertham, he was one of the first New York psychologists to admit black patients, and later came to enjoy fanzines and underground comics.

[@EllisR.]

True villain indeed! "To be entirely fair"? How does admitting particular ethnic or racial patients fairly balance out his efforts to not only lead a nationwide censorship campaign that heavily damaged a once very successful industry? How does that make his documented efforts to twist and misconstrue comic books as THE cause of various forms of juvenile delinquency and of sexual deviance. And while we are on the topic of the mistreatment of American social groups, how does that single act of supposed fairness make up for his both his misogyny and homophobia? His attacks upon both the Wonder Woman and the Phantom Lady characters reek of that misogyny. Gloria Steinem found Wonder Woman to be an empowering superhero character for girls and women; Wertham found her to be a cause of Lesbianism and sexual deviance that apparently children picked up on right away but adults, especially parents, did not. (I guess that WW stories had some kind of secret code children knew, and every issue sent thousands if not millions of girls to bed each night frantically masturbating. Not!) Imagine my shock and surprise to learn that "Bruce" is a homosexual name commonly understood by male homosexual deviants (those perverts!) everywhere. And those smoking jackets are really bathrobes that Bruce Wayne not only "lounges around" in all the time when he isn't Batman but also is ready to whip off in sexual excitement anytime he isn't in a comic book panel. And he has "groomed" his ward of the court Dick Grayson to do that with him. Of course, his butler Alfred ensures that that the Wayne Mansion household remains exclusively men so that no women interfere with their sexual activities. Wow! Wertham even cited a supposed patient who "suffered" from homosexuality and confessed that he found all of that erotic and sexually stimulating. Seriously? So, do those admittances of an ethnic or racial minority somehow erase his professional demonization and abuse of Gay and Lesbian people and other sexual minorities? He was the Anita Bryant of his day! And while 1940s and 1950s comic books sexualized women - just like all mass media did, by the way - he would sexualize women even further and reduce them to either sexual objects or childlike beings who needed to be sheltered from becoming wanton sluts or slut wannabes. The Phantom Lady's blackout beam lights are actually headlights, and the headlights are actually allusions to her sexual "headlights", her breasts. And that same depiction of her breaking free from being bound with ropes is really a bondage fantasy begging readers to dominate her with bondage until she and male readers shudder in orgasms. (Oh, did Wertham show any concern that he was disparaging artwork by a talented Black American comic book artist by focusing upon the Phantom Lady? No, hiding behind an otherwise totally unrelated issue allowed him to pick and choose when he would stand up for Black Americans and when he wouldn't. Consistency was uncalled for, and hypocrisy was what ruled his world! And of course, comic books inspired children (and sicko adults) to engage in crimes that no one would ever have thought of instead of reflecting actual societal behaviors and crimes! Any truly good child development expert today would acknowledge that instead of trying to "shelter" children from realities around them including mass media content, parents and other adult authorities should engage children in age-appropriate discussions about that content and related topics. To do otherwise is to cede child moral development to these other influences. At best, sheltering children from such influences leaves them unprepared for the real world. At worst, children will see sheltering as a challenge to overcome in their quests to become their own worldly persons, persons lacking socializing guidances. As for whether Wertham enjoyed underground comics or not, I highly doubt it! Underground comics existed as far back as the 1920s and 1930s (e.g., "Tijuana Bibles" or "eight-pagers"). And the contents of underground comics in the 1960s and 1970s included the very topics that he railed against in "Seduction of the Innocent"! If true, that proves only that he was truly a hypocrite. Though he appears in hindsight to really have come across comic book art that really was as pornographic as what he alleged in his book but falsely suggested was widely and easily distributed not just to adult "deviants" but also to children. In the end, Wertham helped shape a society that was both sterile yet at high risk for "infections" from seemingly new concepts that he simply had repressed, new concepts that led to widespread generation conflicts in the 1960s and 1970s because no one had taught the older generations how to address these issues fairly and responsibly. Instead, persons like Wertham taught older generations to repress issues totally to the point of even burning them! Now THAT is being fair to the legacy of Dr. Frederic Wertham!

[@timeliebe]

@@rclark777- got to say, whatever good Wertham did is more than destroyed by his censorious, self-righteous attitude towards comics. He goes down as one of popular culture's greatest villains, alongside Anthony Comstock and Tipper Gore.

[@FernandoGon814]

@@rclark777That makes him a POS in my book.

[@cannonlowe9068]

Wet than changed his tune and began to support comics. He also had his book pulled but sadly the damage was done 😢

[@cha5]

I used to work in a grocery store some decades ago, In our magazine section we had a small space for comics including the Gladstone EC comics reprints, the magazine distributor would always try to hide them at the very back of the comics section on the shelf behind Archie’s and other really bland toothless comics, I would always front the EC reprints on that shelf when nobody was looking, it drove the magazine distributor completely crazy.

[@kacamont6045]

I understand how adults would have been concerned about children reading these comics but they were truly amazing. The artwork alone 🤩.

[@lazer-ape]

Now that was an unexpected surprise, but a welcomed one. It's fascinating how we still talk about EC comics to this very day. It says alot about their impact on the medium. Most of my experiences with EC have come by way of Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt, and ofcourse the early MAD books. They really were a different beast when you compare them to their peers back in the day. That said I cant help but think about how much Stan Lee cribbed from EC once they began to stumble. Really when you get down to it, the birth of Marvel Comics can be attributed to Fawcett's Marvel Family and EC's books/goodwill towards fans. If not for those two companies crumbling in the first place I dont think Marvel would have become what it eventually did.

[@FizzFop1]

Hey Lazer Ape! Thanks for watching! Great analysis. Stan Lee at some point mentioned that EC's letter page was his model for handling Marvel's. If either of those two companies could have survived, the landscape of the comics industry would have been totally different.

[@maxmccullough8548]

@@FizzFop1 makes you really hate CCA censors.

[@janetbailey3804]

WERTHAM WAS NOTHING MORE THAN A NUT CASE, I READ HORROR AND SCI-FI COMICS AND COL LECTED THEM FOR YEARS, I NEVER HARMED A SOUL, THE ONLY FIGHTS I GOT IN WAS THE ONES I TRIED TO BREAK UP AS A KID. I ONLY HAD ONE FIGHT THAT I REMEMBER AND THE GUY RAN UP BEHIND ME HITTING ME IN THE JAW, THEN TAKING HIS BOOKBAG AND SMACKING ME IN THE HEAD I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I HAD DONE TO HIM BUT I HIT BACK, AND KNOCKED HIM DOWN FLAT. I WAS NEVER DELINQUENT WITH SCHOOL, I WAS ON THE HONOR AND HIGH HONOR ROLL, IN THE BOOK WHO'S WHO ETC. WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY WERTHAM SAW PHALLIC SYMBOLS IN THE BUILDINGS, BATMAN AND ROBIN WERE SEEN AS GAY, WONDER WOMAN WAS A LESBIAN. ETC

[@charlesden-baars6114]

Great video! E.C. fan for life! My 1st exposure to them was about 1967 as a kid when i read the Ballantine paperback Tales from the Crypt reprints. Then several years later i discovered Creepy, Eerie, & Vampirella, which i soon learned were sort of an homage to E.C. Then i bought my 1st real E.C. in early 1977 The Vault of Horror # 37 for around $12.00. I was hooked for good after then, sometimes coming up short on my rent money because i bought too many comics! After about 1981, they became very hard to find in any comic shops, with most owners claiming they wouldn't buy any or even carry them in their shops, cause few collectors would buy them? Oh boy, they were wrong! Disgusts me that today, most shops and comic cons only display brand new comics or only Anime' and Manga. I don't even have to stop and think about who made the best comics in history...it's obvious, E.C. comics set the standard!

[@maxmccullough8548]

I know I miss.the.old school comics shops with the tables of bank boxes of back issues.

[@The1066BMJ]

EC Comics had some of the best artwork & stories ever seen in comics. I discovered EC in the mid 1970s as a teenager. I still have my 1971 hardcover copy of Horror Comics of the 1950s by Nostalgia Press..which reprints classic EC horror stories.

[@lucascoval828]

"These books were upsetting, triggering, problematic, offensive, and something-something-phobic. Please feel sorry for me." - Derek Pena

[@StephenAnderson98403]

I'm sure the 90s TV show converted a lot of folks. I got some of the Cochrane reprints back then. Lately been picking up all the "new" Dark Horse soft covers, which are very affordable, look great, and make me grin like nothing else.

[@sneakyskunk1]

A sad fact often lost to comics historians is that Doctor Wertham was actually a fairly forward thinking individual in some respects. He criticized the racial caricatures that were unfortunately all too common at the time. He also had valid criticisms of the less favorable depictions of women in comics. While it is true he also had some frankly bizarre takes(teenage sidekicks as a covert endorsement for homosexuality, strong female characters are all lesbians), some of what he had to say did bear hearing out. It is also a sad fact that he was a key reason that the CCA came into existence. That organization was responsible for stifling creatives in the comic industry for decades. As always, FizzFop brings us a fantastic look at rise and fall of the comic books of Bill Gaines(who Stan Lee surely emulated to a certain extent). Thank you FizzFop😄!

[@FernandoGon814]

Diversity is code for white genocide! I bet you can’t grasp that!

[@JohnSmithAprilMay]

I discovered them when Gladstone reprinted them in the late 80s-early 90s, after the HBO show started, but before I had ever seen it. Tales from the Crypt no. 35 (no. 2 in the Gladstone series) was my entry point, and it is super cool that that one was part of your collection in this video .

[@madmartigan21]

A Tales from the Crypt movie was released in 1972. A Vault of Horror movie was released in 1974. Amicus Productions produced these movies. They also produced other horror Anthology movies during this time such as the House that Dripped Blood, Asylum, From Beyond the Grave and others. They all had an overarching story and a narrator that connected them together somehow. Kind of like the book ends in Creepshow and other later car anthology movies would use. Except these were connected more tightly to the stories. Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee were in a few of these.

[@maxmccullough8548]

I'm gonna have to find Vault of Horror '74

[@pulsarstargrave256]

This is the "classical" account of how EC started producing horror comics but more recent information came about after artist Sheldon Moldoff claimed he gave William Gaines the idea for a line of "horror and suspense" comics. This was confirmed by the discovery of Moldoff's original proposal in Gaines' files. This info can be found in a Moldoff interview by Alter Ego magazine and in the book "Foul Play: The Art And Artists Of The Notorious 1950s EC Comics" by Grant Geissman.

[@jeffersonhouse94]

I suppose I lucked out in that Russ Cochran was reprinting the old EC issues just when I was getting into comics in the early 90s. I remember these were "double features" with one of the horror titles in the lead, a d a science fiction or crime issue as a back up! As the Tales From the Crypt show was still running on HBO, it was a great time to get into EC comics, and when I discovered all the Ray Bradbury adaptations, I was over the moon! These days, I'm slowly working my way through Dark Horse's EC Library softcover edition, with six issues for $20 or less, beautifully remastered color, and an oversized format, these editions are a great deal IMO.

[@thegunslinger8806]

The death of tales from the crypt and other genres was the stagnation of the comic book Industry and I exclusively blame both the government and the scapegoating parents and politicians of the time. France has an industry now that eclipses both Manga and American comics and they had horror tittles with art just as prestine as Wally woods, some of it influenced by EC. I loved it growing up, I read them and watched the awesome tales from the crypt show along with the nightmare on elm street show hosted by Freddy and I was also a big fan of George A. Romero in part thanks to Tales from the Crypt so go figure. Thanks for this video Fizz your amazing as always, I'm glad this is up because the only other video was a dumb hours long essay by some youtube essay hack and his wikipedia/college liberal arts analysis.

[@offtherealm5438]

I freaking loved these as a kid.....although they were banned before I was born, I knew them only from in boxes in my neighbor's garage...and was really bummed when I got alittle older and wondered what happened to them.....not being in stores. I love the vibrant colors and imagery on the covers.

[@FizzFop1]

Thanks for sharing Off The Realm! Great story.

[@daviderwin4705]

I did not know that EC started with wholesome education and Bible stories. That's pretty ironic.

[@spews1973]

Vault of Horror #34 with "Star Light, Star Bright". One of the best short stories I've ever read.

[@crimesforkibble6912]

Is that the one where the astronaut turns out to be a black man?

[@spews1973]

@@crimesforkibble6912 No. That story's called "Judgment Day" and t's from Weird Fantasy #18.

[@michaeltuz608]

I was born in 1955, and as a kid reading comics ib the sixties I would occasionally come across vague references to EC Comics. It wasn't until I read Les Daniels' 1971 book Comix: A History of Comic Books in America that I began to get a sense of what the line had been all about. Shortly thereafter came The Big Book from Nostalgia Press and I was hooked, As fans, we all owe a huge debt of gratitude to Russ Cochran and his right-hand man Chris Rock for their tireless efforts to keep EC Comics in print for generations to come. The hardcover Complete EC Library is a treasured part of my collection! Yes, these are unquestionably some of the finest comic books ever produced! Thanks for this overview!

[@leonardohenriquez7814]

Grew up as a kid watching Tales from the Crypt and it wasn’t till I was much older that I discovered the old EC comic books. Those stories still hold up so well! My favorite one that creeped me out when I read it in college was Shoe-Button Eyes!

[@Vandeawesome]

I was gifted hundreds of horror comics mostly from the 60s to the 70s by my aunts and uncles who collected them as kids. I seemed to be the only one of 20 + grandchildren who read them when they were around. I’m reading a great one right now: ‘Black Magic’ no. 3 from 1974. Kick ass cover of an old guy strapped to a hospital gerni with devils at his feet with surgical tools while he screams “No! Mo! I’m here for an operation….not an execution!”

[@kmhob]

I used to read these comics as a child in scandinavia. We had translated reprints that started to come out in the 1980s. The first issue I bought I hid under the madrass of my bed. My sister snitched on me and it came to a family meeting, like s Great crime had been done. It turned out that my grandmother had read the doctor Werthams book back when my mother had been young, and banished all comics, from Donald Duck to Katzenjammer kids. So, she had been indoctrinated with this message from an early age. I was a comic nerd in the making, and all their antics against comics made me even more crazy about pursuing my interest.

[@Pat4HUMANITY]

Ah, sooo much charm to lesser known Silver Age and Golden Age comic books--nifty stuff! Your voice is a perfect one for narrating this material. I hope you never run out of ideas and keep it coming for a long time.😁

[@FizzFop1]

Thanks Pat4HUMANITY! I have a list of ideas I'm working on. Hope to have another video out soon.

[@astrozombiac3535]

I tend to forget I'm following this channel, just for a new video to pop up. It's like finding cash in an old coat. Never know what you're going to cover, but I always enjoy it. Entertaining, educational, and just plain fun.

[@FizzFop1]

Funny you mention that Astro Zombiac. Every Spring, I tuck a twenty dollar bill in my winter coat pockets for just that feeling when Fall comes around. Glad you enjoyed the video my friend!

[@astrozombiac3535]

@@FizzFop1 that's brilliant! I always do and I look forward to the next "fall season" shall we say.

[@ian_b]

"Taste And Decency" is the death of art.

[@exhaustguy]

So a bunch of bed wetters cost us 30 years of horror comics (except for the 1960s Warren and Skywald black and white revival). Until the EC reprints became available, my dad told me about reading EC as a kid and I was so envious. When we went to get his EC comics out of his parent's attic, of course they had been thrown out (such sadness). Still I did have Uncle Eerie (which I started reading before Creepy) which I started reading from the demonic chess piece issue 41 (still one of my all time favorite covers).

[@FizzFop1]

Great reads Michael! I recently purchased Creepy and Eerie on CD. Most of the books are there. The artwork is awesome! The stories are fun reads.

[@ELEKTROSKANSEN]

A very nice watch, thank you! I'm glad I live in the present times, but oh boy, I'd sure like to jump into a time machine and go back to the 1950s for a week and experience them. Reading these EC comics in a treehouse with friends was probably one of the best memories some Americans from that era had cherished later in life. I'm really glad we have the internet now and I can easily read some or even all of them - and I did! First I hunted down most of the chapters that were featured as episodes of Tales From The Crypt on HBO. Then I proceeded to read further. These comics are just... amazing!

[@FizzFop1]

I love them too. Great fun to read.

[@ericbreen4340]

I was reading an interview with William Gaines in a 1983 issue of Comics Journal when I got the Notification for this . Perfect Timing ..Great Video .

[@FizzFop1]

Coincidence? Perhaps the universe is telling you something Eric.

[@winstonblakely3846]

I really didn’t find out about these EC comics until the publication of Creepy, Eerie and Vampirella. It was Wally Wood’s artwork that intrigued me the most although I did not know that Frank Frazetta had worked for them as well until recently. This was a great history lesson, and these books were extremely creepy, but not as much as watching Harvey Weinstein, take a shower until next time Cryptkeeper fizz pop beware the comic code authority. 😊

[@MrTimelord77]

Nice to have you back and with a lovely treat for Halloween. I always love the history you include in your videos with a powerful voice like a time travelling superhero whose mission is to unite all comic book lovers.

[@joblotcomics7076]

This was brilliant, hello from Scotland, we never got EC comics over here till reprints, but I still love them. happy Halloween

[@FizzFop1]

Hey Job Lot Comics! Thanks for watching! When I was doing research for this video, I found out why EC Comics were not available in Scotland. After reading a non-EC horror comic, a group of kids thought that a vampire was living in a cemetery. A large number,like 40 of them, got together and wrecked the place vampire hunting. All of Great Britain banned American comics after that. I thought about working that story in, but since it didn't directly involve an EC book, I decided to leave it out.

[@jbbarnes1067]

I’ve never been a fan of horror. But this was a great video and the effect of EC horror has been monumental. Great job!

[@astrocitizen]

The father runs a comic book company, and the son wants to become a chemistry professor. Boy, that's changed since then!

[@stendec-dd3he]

Excellent narrative and commentary ! An informed and you can tell a beloved homage to EC. You did the line and Wm. Gaines proud. Thank you.

[@superby1]

Yes! So glad to see you put out another video, and one in the holiday season. Also, thank you for putting in clips of Witch’s Tales.

[@FizzFop1]

Hi Jose! Thanks for watching. There's about 25 episodes online. I listened to every episode. Fun stuff.

[@LoreLord-]

I just found out about EC yesterday believe it or not. I had herd of tales from the crypt and the show in the 80s but never saw a comic print. I didn’t get into comics until a phew years ago (shame on my family the time at home I would have spent enjoying these). I was recently looking to grow my horror collection and this was a must I’ve heard nothing but good things. Thank you for the video

[@FizzFop1]

Hey LoreLord! Thanks for watching. EC Comics are a pleasure to read regardless of the genre.

[@skeven0]

Also the Vault of Horror & Tales from the crypt had movies made for them in the 1970's

[@deathmetalbard]

Good to see you again fizz. Loved the video on EC comics. They were legit the definition of a cult classic! Also happy Halloween!!

[@HorrorCollector138]

I bought my 1st reprint when I was 9 or 10 at my local comic shop. I have 6 original books and the complete tales from the crypt library. They are my favoite comics ever even though I wasn't born until 84. Great video BTW. Very enjoyable watch. I can never get enough of EC.

[@FizzFop1]

Hey HorrorCollector138,Thank you. I love EC too...I've got a handful of original books...they're awesome. By the way, I'm working on an EC inspired horror anthology graphic novel. With luck, I hope to have it out by the end of next year.

[@josephel4292]

Sir I really enjoyed your presentation. As a youth I mostly read Superhero comics, but also read reprints of the classic horror books as well.

[@DoppelgangerShockwave]

So glad to see you back with another video. You always do such great work. I hope you do more videos on EC's various titles. They all deserve greater attention.

[@FizzFop1]

Thanks T.L. Please share this video with your friends. I have plans for a Panic video...and I should probably make a sci-fi episode. There's a clip I wanted to use for this video...but I left it out due to reasons. I might make a video around that clip.

[@DoppelgangerShockwave]

Oh, I definitely did. Look forward to more from you.

[@GartheKnightReturns]

Wow, all the while that I’ve been listening to this, I’ve been trying to remember what comic I had as a reprint when I was a kid that I picked up on a family road trip back in 90. Serendipitous enough your first EC comic was the one I was looking for. The Vault of Horror #34. That cover is burned into my twelve year old mind (I’d know it when I saw it moment) sitting in the back of my parent’s car while they played tapes of Suspense on the radio that summer. I wore that comic out, if memory serves, that the cover eventually began to fall off. Good thing it was a cheap reprint.

[@nighttigercomics7323]

Another great production. I finally purchased a few ECs for my collection last year and they live up to their name.

[@arthurtripp6922]

Love this History and all the real facts are true. Well.done Thank You.

[@jeffcarlson3269]

I first discovered E.C. comics in the mid 1960's.... at that time I was collecting Marvel and D.C. super hero comics.. around 1965 a friend from school showed me his collection of Spider-man comics.. and I knew from that point I needed to start buying them as well..I used to go to a lot of good will shops with the folks back in those days.. and one day I found a 25 page quiz book regarding comics... I knew quite a bit or so I thought.. but then I came to a page that showed the 3 ghoulunatics.. and asked who they were .. I had no clue..when I found out they met their demise about a year before I was born.. I purposed myself to find out more about them and so I pursued trying to find their comics any chance I got.. I did Not actually see an official E.C. comic however until around 1977.. and from that point on I endeavored to buy as many as I could find in my area.. after a few years I quit looking.. but I amassed about 40.. not counting my complete rin of MAD and Panic...which I still have..I only wish I would have had sense enough to buy them mail order in the early 70's when they were selling for between 6-10 dollars a piece...

[@Elch0l0duke]

Amazing video!! Thank you so much for talking about EC they’re some of my favorite comics of all time! Great editing and writing! Modern horror owes a lot to EC 🖤🖤🖤🖤 happy Halloween 🎃

[@VoidPlugger]

This video was fascinating! Great work, well researched, well presented Definitely keen for more c:

[@donthepainter480]

My first EC exposure came in the early 60s with the Ballantine Books reprints.

[@therussiancomicbookgeek]

Love your channel bro

[@morganhanam9522]

I have heard and read EC reprints for a long time; but surprisingly few choose it as a topic. Its nice to get what feels like a good low down on it. Continue to enjoy your subjects and reviews etc.

[@timmarshall2062]

oh man FizzFop 1 really did a great thing an EC halloween special awesome thanks buddy boy

[@malcolmhaldin717]

Excellent video. Great to see you back.

[@GeorgeDeep]

Loved this episode! Would love to see more based on the individual creators.

[@richmcgee434]

Dammit youtube, no notification on this one? Feh. Ah, the Witch's Tale. That's some vintage OTR. Not sure about naming your cat Satan, though. I mean yeah, it fits the personality of a lot of felines but sooner or later you're going to have to face the fact that you're buying kitty litter for the devil. Really takes all the mystique out of the lord of darkness when you're scooping his poop regularly. The Old Witch is my favorite of the three EC mascots. That pop-eye is just captivating.

[@FizzFop1]

Hey Rich! I think KZbin is messing with this video due to the gore in some of the panels. I expected it to get a lot more views on it.

[@richmcgee434]

@@FizzFop1 Well, doing my part to boost views. Stupid algorithm still doing Wertham's work for him.

[@chuckleezodiac24]

satan comes in many forms. but mostly cats. those mofos are pure evil...

[@claudiameier666]

i liked the crypt keeper!

[@timmarshall2062]

fizz i had known about the tv show and the crypt keeper but did not know anything about comics..and in the late 1990s i cleaned a old attic out it took three days when i got done work i would go work on the attic for a relative of mine...i told her i would clean the attic for nothen but if i find any old toys i would like to have them well i found a Dump truck set but i also found two giant boxes full of life magazines...and as i brought small boxes in to break down the boxes of life about every 8 or 10 life mags under them i would find a golden age stack so as i did this job i ended up with around 300 golden age comics but i only found one EC book vault of horror # 17 and that is when i learned about EC and golden age comic books and also how i really got into and started collecting a few

[@FizzFop1]

That's an awesome story Tim! Wished I got to clean up that attic!

[@CobCrawler]

Wow, that's the video I was waiting for and I'm so glad it came from you! Thanks a bunch and happy Halloween!🎃

[@dakotanorth1640]

EC fascinates me. I collected dozens of digital versions.

[@laplace5412]

Welcome back BROTHER, say your prayers, take your vitamins and you will never go wrong, LOL another great video and detailed examination of the medium of comics, keep them coming😃

[@sheldonwheaton881]

Wow. Only 5 years? True icon now.

[@anthonycarranza8313]

At last, the king has returned.

[@clivearno8522]

Great coveragae as always! I love your videos, and always check for the next new ones! Not much of the quiz vids, but your documentary videos are top notch! Keep up the great work!

[@brycemcgovern2278]

another good vid fizz! maybe next time you could do lost heroes of the 90s ultraforce!

[@radioclash8175]

I got most of the Gladstone/Russ Cochran reprint issues as they came out in the early ‘90s and I’m currently picking up the Dark Horse paperback volumes as they come out-the hardbacks that came out earlier were just too expensive.

[@chuckwhite3033]

I had about 2/3 of all EC's in my collection at one point. Most of them VG-F with a few being a little better than F condition. I sold them a few years ago. Should have kept them! My first EC was a coverless Vault of Horror #32.

[@claudiameier666]

i remember the guts on the baseball diamonds. that was awesome

[@luisreyes1963]

Who'd have thought the creative minds behind MAD Magazine were behind EC magazines.

[@ogarcia515]

I was a preteen in the late forties and I remember not visiting my friend who had those horror comics. I was too scared to visit.

[@ahstephens]

I love this video thanks Darrin!!

[@anthonyperdue3557]

😎As an OTR listener Witch's Tale and Inner Sanctum (parodied as Outer Sanctum by Bill Elder in an issue of the Mad comic book ) are familiar programs I recognized when Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein spoke of them. It was 1973 Fizz when I read my first EC reprint horror comic and then learned about EC history. My interest was more for the war , sci-fi and especially the shock Suspenstories. IMO it really.wasn't the horror books.that worried segments of parental and political society they were decoy target what really concerned the protesters were the social issue content of stories within the non horror EC titles specifically the racial factor. A story like Judgment Day from Weird Fantasy #18 (1953) featuring Tarleton , the first Black space explorer could lead to other such minority characters in comic books ; as other companies were taking note of ECs content. Racial integration in comic books could carry over into impressionable juvenile minds that's why the segregated Comics Code Authority came into existence. After the code you saw minorities whenever they occasionally appeared resuming their lower status positions.

[@ConTrollerNorth2]

Very cool! Thanks

[@petehill7280]

Happy Halloween, Fizz.

[@schristy3637]

Great vid Fizz. 👍🤘🖖

[@jeffcarlson3269]

I actually had a professional book finder.. locate me an original copy of Fredric Wertham's book around 1974 at a cost of 75.00 mine looks exactly like the one pictured...

[@scooterpinball]

I don’t remember reading them as much as trying to draw the covers.

[@coreymasoy7034]

Great video ❗💯👍

[@kolynturnbow5792]

Anybody here in 2024 happy October love that I have most of the ec comics

[@kahanitv19]

We love your work be consistent

[@deboralee1623]

whenever i hear the words "Tales From the Crypt" they're in the voice of Cryptkeeper John Kassir, with a little _TFtC_ theme music from Danny Elfman playing in the background.

[@dangerouslydazzling]

Great clip

[@Eliel7230]

I remember reading DC Comics in the late 1960's.

[@chairannmcqueen1620]

13:00 When The Comic Code Authority (CCA) Came in 1954 They Banned 🚫 Horror Like Vampires Ghouls and Zombies Because They Are Big No Nos but They Kept Superheroes And They Becoming Popular Today Like Superman Batman/Robin,Batgirl Spiderman Ironman Hulk Wonder Woman The Flash Aquaman Black Panther Wolverine and Captain America Also The Superteams Like Justice Society of America Justice League Teen Titans The Avengers Fantastic Four & X-Men. But Today They Made Vampires and Zombies in Comics Like DC & Marvel Did Theirs Like DCEASED DC vs Vampires and Marvel Zombies. Better Be Glad CCA Wasn't Here And Just Imagine If They Seen Horror Comics of Today Like DCEASED DC Vs. Vampires Marvel Zombies and Especially Batman Who's Laugh Comics & Justice League Dark Apokoplis War Animated Movie.??? Oh Also Just Imagine If They Heard They Making Darker Comics of Today Like They Turned Batman & Superman Wonder Woman Especially The Joker Into Serial killers and Become Evil.

[@walterreeves3679]

Okay I don't know where the story about EC giving kids nightmares comes from but I've never heard it referenced anywhere before this. Likewise, it's my understanding that Bill Gaines requested to appear before the Kefauver committee rather than being subpoenaed. You might want to recheck.

[@JurassicRod]

As much as I love the HBO series, I prefer the Amicus movie adaptations. So under rated.

[@23RedTechno]

Into the darkness we go !!! 💀👿

[@travishiltz4750]

Love EC, but I never read a ton of the horror titles. I'm too much of a wimp. Really got in to the their adventure and war titles and own a bunch of those reprints. Great stuff.

[@FizzFop1]

Two Fisted Tales is a great comic book. It's a shame that they took it down with the rest of their titles.

[@travishiltz4750]

@@FizzFop1 All of EC's stuff is pretty top notch. Even when they had to switch gears and move away from horror, even though stuff like Aces High and Valor, didn't sell as well, there was no dip in quality. You never felt they were coasting or just phoning it in.

[@sherlockdad]

I started my horror reading was with Creepy & Eerie, along with other ripoffs available at the time. (60s-70s)

[@studogable]

13:34 - now I need to hear this story

[@franklinstine4544]

When the rereleased the horror comics in the 90s i had vault of horror volume 6 i believe. (Cover has the bald guy with a cleaver in his head) I remember to this day, the first story is whirlpool. A story about a woman followed by 3 heads asking her questions while surreal things are happening. (Its actually her therapists) Then i dont remember the story order but the cover is a story, the guy tries cutting his eyes out to stop seeing his dead friend and ends up jumping out a window. The last story i remember called ample sample. Has A wife constantly stealing her husbands money to buy chocolate boxes, she gets fat he gets broke. At the end he cuts her into pieces and shes in a gigantic chocolate box with funny names for each piece. Now i miss being 5 lol.

[@themaninblack7503]

Some good science fiction tales got adapted by EC Comics

[@masterpainter72]

I feel that MAD(comic and magazine) deserves it's own video...! BTW-what's the name of that eerie sounding music used?

[@FizzFop1]

Hi masterpainter72! Thanks for watching. A few years back, I went to the Mad Magazine exhibit at a comic museum. Took lots of photos of original Mad Magazine art. I made a video about it. You should check it out.

[@Lightstrikers]

all their lines were great; sci-fi, war, crime...

[@Mark_Williams300]

It could be argued that the UK already had comic books in the 1890s

[@FizzFop1]

True that Mark! I think Famous Funnies gets credit as the first "modern" comic.

[@angusmacfrankenstein7227]

I debated against making this post, but I’m doing it anyway because it’s Halloween, and I’m a firm believer of the adage: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”* So I’m gonna make a confession. The face of EC Comics really to me weren’t the Old Witch and and her decomposing creepy colleagues; the face of EC was Adam Link, robot! Now, don’t worry, I’m not gonna look down at horror comic fans-there was plenty of crossover between the horror crew and the Sci-Fi crew. I seem to remember an EC story of a scientist, constantly hectored by his domineering wife; said wife either drinks and inhales the wrong formula in her husband’s lab, and after many Incredible Shrinking Degradations, ended up being poured down the drain unknowingly by her husband! Yup, I cheered! If I didn’t remember the story quite right, I’m not embarrassed to be corrected! It’s been a few years since I read the story after all! I probably first heard of EC Comics from a book I borrowed from one library or another. The book is called _A Smithsonian Book of Comic-Book Comics,_ and the copy I now own was published in 1981. And that book is a great sampler of comics: the book features the first appearances of Batman (then with hyphenated name), Superman, Plastic Man, and storylines from _Scribbly,_ and _Captain Marvel Adventures_ (the Fawcett version; accept no substitutes!). EC makes the cut with five stories, the two that hit me the hardest were _Superduperman,_ lovingly detailed by Wally Wood in an early _Mad_ issue, and a scary story called _Master Race,_ which yes, deals with a Nazi fugitive…and the horrifying fate he earned. A little later, I read Stephen King’s _Danse Macabre,_ where he almost swoons at one point about that grisly EC baseball story. And, along with many other things to follow up later, I added EC to the list. I’m sure I was pretty young-early teens-when I first read and reread that book. And at that time, comics in general, weren’t an easy get in my neighborhood: I lived in middle-of-nowhere Ohio, and the closest thing to a small city, where there was at least one comic shop, was nearly an hour’s drive away-and there was no financial justification to make that drive. But I always made a point of prowling every store I visited, simply because it was just good to get out of the house, and I found a drugstore selling reprints of _Weird Science!_ This would have been very late 80s or very early 90s. I probably still have the issues, but they’re not easy for me to get to at the moment. A bit of Googling yields conflicting information, with names like Russ Cochran, and Gemstone…but never mind how: I had a foot in the door! Even if the issue cost an unthinkable $2.99! Memory’s a tricky slippery thing, but I’m sure that first issue I bought was the issue where I met Adam Link, in a story called “I, Robot,” drawn by Joe Orlando, and written by Otto Binder. That “Eando Binder” thing I’d find out about later. Eventually, I’d find a paperback collection of all the Adam Link short stories, previously published in pulp magazines. I’d watch both the Classic and 90s _Outer Limits_ adaptations-Leonard Nimoy plays characters in both versions! None of these stories are bad, though some go in odd directions. And I found a kindle version of that aforementioned paperback. I was already in love with robots. Still am. (No fewer than five versions of Optimus Prime guard me in my bedroom/office. And there’s a couple of more patrolling elsewhere. I’m not going to say how many Skeletors the Primes are hunting down. It’s all my fault; I do this to myself!) And Orlando’s Adam Link is a beautiful design, a kind of mech insectoid alien form, but with enough recognizable “human” features to make Adam easy to empathize with-and the pathos of that story, with the natural human fear of the different-they hit young Angus! They hit me now! As far as I recall, there were only three Adam Link stories adapted in EC, but while I bided my time waiting for them, I read as much of _Weird Science_ as I could, until those who stocked the drug store comic racks stocked them no more! I don’t recall seeing any of the horror comics there. I have a sinking suspicion why. Science Fiction, while not a ticket to the popular parties in that neighborhood, was generally considered benign. The Satanic Panic was in full rage. I found, accidentally, on one of my teacher’s desks a mimeographed document. I imagine it was from some local church or similar organization. One paragraph jumped out at me: an assertion that the band AC/DC’s name really meant “All Children are the Devil’s Children.” I don’t think it hurt their album sales much, as the latest incarnation of the band released a new album in 2020. But another teacher, I think, tried to covert me by essentially saying, “Hey, you’re a bright kid. Try reading this book about Christianity.” I refused. She flew into a rage. Never came up again. I have other stories. Just not now. But, since I was already known for sketching monsters-inspired by comics and stories, not by a yearning for some evil force, I was suspect. And, I suspect, there was some quiet policing going on. To tie this missive up, don’t worry, I appreciate horror: the last couple of movies I revisited for the holiday was the uncut _Tombs of the Blind Dead,_ and the international cut of _Hunchback of the Morgue!_ And they’re wonderfully gruesome! Happy Halloween, everyone! *The adage is a lyric from a song called “Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen” by Baz Luhrman, that got a lot of airplay in my neighborhood in 1999. The song’s inspiration was an essay by Mary Schmich, wiritten in the form of a hypothetical commencement speech. I recommend the radio edit; the extended version turns a good concise little tune into three long parts. And yes, I really _do_ believe that adage! 🎃

[@FizzFop1]

A lot to cover there Angus. Thanks for watching. A lot of the EC sci-fi fans feel like you do. Adam Link is on my must read list. Maybe I will put it on next summer's reading list.

[@jamessimms3449]

I have some reprints of Two Fisted Tales. I also have a Wally Wood scifi book.

[@Loanwolf387]

My first introduction to ec comics was through the “tales from the cryptkeeper” cartoon on abc. That cartoon may have even been my gateway into all things horror, but I know from there I discovered the hbo show which eventually lead me to the comics. Now I have my own collection of hardcover reprints 💀👻🫶

[@tb1263]

Great video...Anybody knows who made DC Unexpected 1971: "The deadly widows web"

[@bizarrebraincomics7819]

Love the EC Comics. I have no original books bit several reprints. Always love the SF best but later came to appreciate the horror. I cover some of them occasionally on my channel. Boo.

[@FizzFop1]

I will check out your channel when I get the chance BBC!

[@jalenikezeue4114]

Blast The Comics code Authority Because Writers Were Forbidden from Using legendary Creatures Like Vampires Or Werewolves I may Not Be a Fan of horror But I Do Find It Fascinating

[@deboralee1623]

"!sonuvagun, KHJ! and the time _The Witch's Tale_ aired was 9:30, the frequency of KHJ." typed someone who used to work at... 📻 (2:44-3:19)

[@FizzFop1]

I work at a TV/Radio station too. I love the history of broadcasting as well as comics. It's very interesting. I'm currently working on a video about another radio character.

[@vincentfranklin17]

I'm not a horror fan, but I enjoyed this!

[@FizzFop1]

Hi Vincent! I'm working on two sci-fi hero videos. I hope to have them done by Thanksgiving. After that, I don't have anything in development. I have a list of characters/publishers to pick from. Now is the time to make a request. Since you're one of the old timers to the channel, is there anything you want to see in particular?

[@vincentfranklin17]

@@FizzFop1 You've covered a lot of subjects I was curious about already. I really have to think about it. Once I do, I'll definitely let you know!

[@vincentfranklin17]

@@FizzFop1 I don't know if you're into funny animals, but how about covering Hoppy, the Marvel Bunny? I'm a huge fan of Captain Carrot And His Amazing Zoo Crew, and ever since Marvel Bunny appeared in one issue of the Oz- Wonderland War, I've watched to know more about the character.

[@FizzFop1]

@@vincentfranklin17 After doing the Gold Key video, I started reading some funny animal books. I didn't like them as a kid, but I enjoy them now. I will look into them and see what I can come up with.

[@gdostockley]

No mention of Shelly Moldoff pitching the idea of horror comics to EC before EC come up with Tales from the Crypt.

[@FizzFop1]

That was a mistake on my part. I had that in my notes, but forgot to mention it in the first draft of the script. Once I had the first draft done, I didn't go back to my notes.