Whenever something comes back to life, there’s a bit of history that goes with it. It’s inevitable, especially when it comes to the return of something monumental. The new EC horror film falls into this category.
As an integral part of comics history as a whole, EC’s new life warrants some discussion of what it once meant and what it still means today. We’re talking about a series of books that were accused of inciting juvenile delinquency and sexual psychopathy in the 1940s and 1950s, all of which led to their censorship and subsequent establishment of the Comics Code Authority, a push for self-regulation association) content within the industry).
Well, it’s 2024 and many of the fears from last year are still there and are worse than they have been in a while. EC will make you feel right at home.
beat Chat with three creators helping shape a new era of EC horror: Matt Kindt, Corinna Bekoand Chris Condon. They discuss what the resulting classic horror games mean to them and how they hope to further promote the brand’s heritage, e.g. Epitaph of the Abyss and cruel universe.
Attendees San Diego Comic Con Oni Press has teamed up with the store to have a treat this year revenge Join us for a book signing, vegetarian and tattoo night on Tuesday, July 23rdRD 9 to 11 p.m. It will take place at the store’s Los Angeles location. Bechko will be present along with other creators J. Holsom and Ben Winters. The event is free, but RSVP is required.
Not much to say, let’s go straight to the interview.
RICARDO SERRANO: It’s difficult to go deep into comics without being exposed to EC horror. Whether it’s a shocking cover or a particularly scary story, what’s your experience with EC Horror Comics like?
Chris Condon: EC comics have been a part of my life since I was a kid. I’ve always been attracted to dark things and if my work is Texas blood is any instruction. I’ve always loved HBO’s adaptation of The Cryptkeepers, and this movie directly led me to discover the original comics from the 1950s. This all had a direct impact on how I approached the new EC stories, as I have such reverence for the originals. I wanted to pay homage to them rather than imitate them, bringing the EC style into the 21st century while still capturing the essence of what makes EC so unique.
Corinne Bekko: I’ve read a lot of EC Horror in the past, but always for enjoyment. I’m really glad to have an excuse to dive back into it and really savor the story and art while looking at it with a more critical eye. When approaching a new series, I try to start with how the original made you feel and then think about how that feeling translates to today’s world. It turns out that the world may not have changed that much after all.
Matt Kindt: I grew up reading it – in the 90s, Gemstone reprinted all the EC books as single issues – as if they were originally published, and released them monthly, so that’s how I started reading them . I just pick them up when they come out. The reprint is great – including the snippet of text in the middle – everything. I’m struck by how timeless they are. The art is stunning and the story holds up – better than many that were published in 1990, in fact. I love this form of storytelling. One of my early books – super spy 250 pages, 8 pages of spy story. There is a direct line from EC Comics super spy. I love trying to fit an entire story, characters, and ideas into such a small space. It’s truly a unique art form and I fell in love with it. So, in many ways, writing the EC 8-page story was like coming home. Full circle. EC had a huge ripple effect on comic book creators. We all carry around some of this work. We ended up bending and twisting it into our own thing, so now coming to EC – it’s been fun – seeing where I took it and then reverse engineering it to write something that felt like a “real” EC story thing. It’s a different, very unique style of storytelling, and it was fun trying to capture that.
SERRANO: When EC was launched, it attracted a lot of attention. What goals do you think must be promoted today to realize the legacy of the EC?
Condon: You are absolutely right. How about a past election commission that actually caused a scare and led to congressional hearings — pushing the button? I think we live in a polarized time, a post-pandemic world, where violence and real-life trauma plague our lives and every moment of the news cycle. In today’s culture, it’s EC Comics’ job to get deep into the reader’s psyche and find the right pressure point. We want people to squirm, flinch, and ultimately laugh.
Bechiko: If anything, today’s buttons may be easier to press than before. That said, I think the basic principles are still the same: punch rather than knock down, shock with violence or gore, but settle for nothing more than desert, and always remember, humans love drama, but in order for drama to work, we have to really Feel something about someone in the story. Hatred and disgust are emotions, but boredom is not.
child: EC books were very progressive for their time. They still are. These new books are no exception. I’ve read and written a few, and it’s interesting how much time has passed. But human nature is human nature after all. History repeats itself for a reason. We press the same buttons. Names, faces and circumstances may have undergone some changes. But human nature’s best and worst impulses never change. There’s a dark sense of justice running through EC’s books – those who deserve it usually get it in the end – and in a gruesome way. But this is a superficial understanding of books. I think most of the stories speak to a deeper desire for empathy. Especially mine. It’s a horrific cautionary tale with a plea for sympathy behind it.
Serrano: How much horror did you want your collaborators to achieve in your script?
Condon: I’m extremely lucky to work with amazing artists on all of my stories –Peter Krause, Javier Fernandez, Jonathan Caseand Charlie Adlard. We are all comics readers, collectors, and most importantly, comics fans. So we know what we expect from EC Comics and it’s our responsibility to deliver on that. I was certainly aware of this and injected a lot of angst, fear and gore into my script. My crafty collaborators took these scripts and brought them to horrific life.
Bechiko: When I write comics, I like to think of it as a true collaboration. So I typed in what was needed for the plot, but left it to my fellow creators on the project to interpret the look and feel as they saw fit. Of course, sometimes the plot requires a lot of gore, so I did point that out. But I’ve learned that the real magic of making comics comes from letting the process create something greater than the sum of its parts. This exceeded my wildest hopes when working with Jonathan Keys and I absolutely love the result.
child: The horror is psychological. Easily become rude, violent and obnoxious. Scary things can be funny. But the real horror lies in the thought. in concept. These ideas come easily to me because I think about them every day. I don’t worry too much, but I do imagine every worst-case scenario and run it through in my head. If I drive across a bridge, I think about the impact if I fall off the bridge and how I can escape if the car sinks into the river. I’m the sickest Walter Mitty. But I think it’s protective in a weird way. If you always imagine the worst case scenario, real life is usually not that bad. One of my stories was inspired by the cover art that had been completed – a man driving nails into a man’s ear/head. That cap made my whole body tingle so bad. It inspired a very interesting (dark) story. So in some ways, I think artists have been pushing me into places that I don’t necessarily like to go. But I’ll go there.
SERRANO: Did you encounter any surprises in helping EC regain its life? What ideas or developments were there that you didn’t think of when creating the story?
Condon: I never thought I would write some of the things I have written, especially trying to fit EC into our current cultural moment. I have Sierra Hahn and Hunter Greenson Thank you for this.
Bechiko: The biggest surprise is the flow of the story. It turns out that I have a lot of EC stories stored in my brain waiting to be released for a long time. I’m glad they finally see the light of day. Or a dark night, as the case may be.
child: Yes. Some of my first story ideas – most of them weren’t quite right. But some are. Talking to Hunter and Sierra was interesting to me because they’ve obviously been thinking about the “vibe/style” of EC and what makes it all happen. I’m just a fan, really. But when they picked out some ideas and told me why others weren’t quite right, it really showed me how far I’d come. I write certain types of stories in a certain way. But I was definitely shaped by EC storytelling. I’m so caught up in the wildness of my own “style” and ideas that it’s fun to get editorial help – to find a path back to my earliest inspirations. Working with them and their families is one of the greatest privileges. I’m happy to be a part of it.
Stay tuned for more coverage from SDCC ’24 beat.
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