The EC Archives: Incredible Science Fiction Paperback – December 27, 2022

...and it's great to see them again. This is what American graphic story-telling was like before superheroes overwhelmed the culture.

The late great planet E.C. Collected here on archival paper and a stupendous binding is the very last of the E.C. science fiction comics. The last three issues bear the Comics Code Seal. Because of a misguided witch hunt (are there any other kinds?), the comics industry created a self-policing arm to "clean up" comics which were somehow being blamed for juvenile delinquency! It soon became clear that the main goal of the Comics Code was to punish E.C. for daring to have the best writers and illustrators working in the industry. Bill Gaines, president of E.C. tried working with the code but found their interference and petty objections far too much of a pain to bother with. "Mad" had recently graduated from comic book to magazine and was, therefore, free of the strictures of the code. Bill Gaines killed all of his comics and placed all of his eggs in the Mad basket. The rest is, as they say, history.This collection aptly demonstrates why E.C was the top of the heap. Everything, save the back covers is as it was. We get the letters columns and the short stories. What masterpieces these stories are. I was particularly fond of the "Adam Link" tales and loved the work of artists like Wallace Wood and Jack Davis, whom I had grown up with while reading Mad. Seeing them in full color is a wonderful experience not to be missed.Once the code comes in for the final three issues, you get a sense of what Bill Gaines was up against. There is not a huge drop off in quality in the final issues but the artists are beginning to be hemmed in. The cave women wear a lot more clothes in the final issues.The comic did go out with a bang, however, the final tale "An Eye For An Eye" by Angelo Torres is brilliantly sardonic. An excellent coda to one of the finest comic books ever produced.If you grew up reading Mad, you will want to buy this collection. If you have ever wondered if the hype about E.C. comics was accurate, you need to buy this collection. If you are a fan of great craftsmanship and masterful writing, you need to purchase this collection. In short, it is excellent!

The latest EC archive is the longest one yet, collecting 7 issues. Finally, after some 5 issue archives, Dark Horse gives us an archive with more than the standard 6 issues. This archive also straddles the New Trend/New Direction line. The first three issues collected, Weird Science-Fantasy #27-29, fall in the former group. The last four, Incredible Science Fiction #30-33, with the comics code stamp prominently on the cover, are in the short lived New Direction group.The effects of the comics code are subtle but present. Even though EC's science fiction books lacked much of the shock effects of the horror books or the subtext of sexuality of the crime books that the code was supposed to stamp out, they did have a lot of subtle digs at modern society and its values. Thus the "Adam Link" adaptations in Weird Science-Fantasy, with their commentary on the human condition, do not continue into Incredible Science Fiction.The biggest change is the previously unknown Jack Oleck becomes the writer. He does try to pack some punch into his stories within the constrains of the code but his success is limited. The stories by Al Feldstein and Otto Binder in Weird Science-Fantasy are generally better.The art is stellar. Wally Wood looks outstanding and that is no easy feat with features by Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, Jack Kamen, and others.One frustration that is not really the fault of EC is that two issues of Weird Science-Fantasy, #25 and #26, have not yet been collected. They will appear in Weird Fantasy Archives Volume 4 in due course. One of them is the famous "Flying Saucer Special Report" which is referenced in the letters pages of the issues collected here and made a huge impression on the EC readership of the time. I hope we see this collection next year at some point.Highly recommended. The comics code takes some of the heart out of the stories in the later issues but they are still very entertaining.

If you like science fiction, if you like surprise endings, if you like beautifully detailed color, if you like great story-telling, if you like delving into a past that delves into the future, then buy EC Archives Incredible Science Fiction! 200 rich lush detailed gorgeous pages which will occupy your mind for days! And if you like this one, buy all the EC Archives series!!!! Worth every penny!!!

Wallace Wood's sci-fi art is incredible and even more amazing was created in the 1950's. His work was a huge influence on Star Wars design and every other Sci-fi/horror movie that came after it. The level of detail in his work is insane! The cover alone is worth the price of this book. Get it and enjoy.

Takes me back to the previous century when all was speculation and compared to what we know now.

Great story,great art

great art work

Anyone who remembers every comic's will love this volume, it features great artwork and some superb scripted stories. Highly recommended.

These Dark Horse reprints are superb value, with excellent printing on fine stock and sympathetic re-colouring - an absolute must-buy for EC fans.

Me agrada que rescaten estas joyas en este formato , se pueden disfrutar mucho mejor que con las versiones anteriores, si eres fan de este genero debes de tenerlo.