EC Comics was the go-to source of sci-fi, horror, and fantasy comic books in the ’40s and ’50s, inspiring countless imitators and creating a legacy that exists to this day. To honor those roots, the publishing company is partnering with Hivemind to develop a Weird Fantasy TV series inspired by the comic of the same name.
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“The EC library is a timeless literary achievement that deserves to stand alongside the works of Stephen King, Philip K. Dick, and H.P. Lovecraft,” producer and Hivemind Co-President Dinesh Shamdasani shared in a statement. “Weird Fantasy is a truly historic property that shattered many barriers, and our goal is to make the television series just as fearless and forward-thinking as the stories that inspired it.”
As tales of superheroes began to rise, EC Comics stuck to their successful formula of delivering readers bizarre and unsettling tales, which often included lessons of morality. The disturbing subject matter contained within the pages of their various series made them the center of controversy, as comics were being blamed for the corruption of the country’s youth as horror comics grew more popular. Sadly, in 1954, the Comics Code Authority prevented many of EC’s titles from being released by major retailers, forcing the company to pivot their titles to appeal to wider audiences.
While many of their comics concluded, their legacy lived on. Various horror films in the ’70s and ’80s drew direct inspiration from the pages of various EC Comics titles, with HBO’s Tales from the Crypt series becoming a massive hit, inspired by an EC Comics title of the same name.
This isn’t the only project on the way from Hivemind, as they have also confirmed a new feature film chronicling the life of MAD Magazine creator and comics icon William M. Gaines.
The production company detailed in a press release “the film will follow Gaines’ transformation from a staid, New York publishing impresario into a counterculture hero, guardian of artistic freedom, and champion of the First Amendment as his darkly humorous journey through the troubled birth of the comic book industry reveals the Red Scare-era witch hunt that nearly doomed an American art form, through the subsequent founding of MAD Magazine and eventual rise of Marvel Comics in EC’s wake.”
Both projects will be produced by Gaines’ daughter and grandson Cathy & Corey Mifsud for EC, as well as Dinesh Shamdasani, Sean Daniel, Jason F. Brown, and Hunter Gorinson for Hivemind.
“The story of William Gaines is the secret history of American pop culture,” Gorinson shared in a statement. “The ideas he presented in the pages of MAD, Tales from the Crypt, Weird Fantasy, and so many more would inspire and incite revolutionary countercultures – from comics to comedy to film and music – around the globe for decades to come. As a veteran of the comics industry myself and a lifelong fan of EC, it’s a tremendous honor to be working alongside the Gaines family to help bring his story – which has an immense amount to tell us about our own modern moment – to a new generation on the big screen.”
Stay tuned for details on both the Weird Fantasy TV series and the William M. Gaines biopic.
Via Deadline
