294 HORROR COMICS
the American Comics Group) and achieved a run of 167 issues. Th e title focused on
more literary horror and ghost stories, and was tame in comparison to the more shock-
ing material that would appear in other comics in the next few years. Th is enabled it
to survive the widespread condemnation of horror comics in the 1950s and the comic
survived until it was cancelled in 1967.
EC produced the most signifi cant horror titles during the 1950s. Th e company
was founded by Max Gaines and produced educational and biblical comics. Follow-
ing Gaines’s death, his son William Gaines took over the company, re-branding it as
Entertaining Comics and changing the subject matter and tone of the titles that were
being produced, with horror proving to be the most successful.
Gaines was a shrewd businessman, and he took advantage of any ambiguity in law
to further his company’s success. For a period of time he would introduce a new title
but retain the numbering of a title he had secretly cancelled, to make savings on second-
class postage permits, which he had to stop doing once he was discovered. Th is led to
confusion for fans decades later, as titles began with an issue number inherited from
an unrelated title. EC’s Crime Patrol ran for 15 issues, was replaced by Th e Crypt of
Te r r o r (issues #17–19) before the title was fi nalized as Tales from the Crypt (issue #20);
War Against Crime became Th e Vault of Horror with issue #12; Gunfi ghter became Th e
Haunt of Fear with issue #15. Th ese were later replaced by its truer issue numbers once
the ruse was discovered by the U.S. Post Offi ce.
In partnership with Al Feldstein , a multi-talented editor, artist and writer, EC
established horror comics which were visceral, darkly humorous and edgy. Gaines and
Feldstein developed a system which enabled them to maintain a steady rate of story
production. Gaines was an insomniac and a voracious reader, and he often spent many
evening hours devouring books. He would use this time to develop story concepts,
or “springboards” to discuss and develop with Feldstein the following morning. Once
the story had been fully developed it would be assigned to an artist whose style would
complement the narrative.
Th e stories in each of the EC horror comics would be introduced by a fi ctional
host. For Tales from the Crypt , the Crypt Keeper performed this role, while the Vault
Keeper presided over Th e Vault of Horror , and the Old Witch took charge of Th e Haunt
of Fear. Th ese stories would often end with an ironic, horrifi c twist, often involving
horrifi c imagery and brutal poetic justice. Th is would lead to the company encountering
problems with sections of the American public and the government.
In Seduction of the Innocent (1954), psychiatrist Fredric Wertham set out to establish
links between juvenile delinquency and comic books. EC comics were one of Wertham’s
main targets, particularly their violence. He discussed the “injury to the eye” motif he
saw as being common to the horror comics. He also focused on what he perceived to
be sexual subtexts in superhero comics, such as homosexuality in relation to Batman
and Robin, and a lesbian and bondage subtext in Wonder Woman. Wertham felt that
comics fostered reader imitation and that they would lead young readers to enact crimes
and questionable acts.
