Oni Press Reviving EC Comics For New Horror & Sci-Fi Comics Lines

EC Comics is back from the grave, with Oni Press set to publish new books under the iconic horror comics company’s name. THR reports that Oni, the Portland-based publisher best known for the Scott Pilgrim line, has teamed up with William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. to launch a new set of stories under the name of the famous horror publisher that became infamous after being targeted by Congress during the anti-comics hysteria of the 1950s.

EC was launched by Max Games as Educational Comics in 1944. After Max died in a boating accident in 1947, his son William took over and transformed the publisher into one that published genre comics such as horror, sci-fi, and Westerns that often progressive themes. After the infamous book Seduction of the Innocent by Fredric Wertham turned blamed comics for juvenile delinquency, the Senate got involved and the Comics Code Authority was established which neutered comics content. EC functionally shut down in 1956 and was eventually sold off.

Oni Press will be publishing new books under the EC label with big name talent in the old EC anthology format. The first book will be Epitaphs From the Abyss, a horror title debuting in July, while sci-fi comic Cruel Universe arrives in August. The revolving format of creative teams will includ the likes of Jason Aaron (Thor), Brian Azzarello (100 Bullets), Christopher Cantwell (Briar), Kano (Immortal Iron Fist), Peter Krause (Irredeemable), and more.

“EC Comics is one of the most artistically important and culturally significant publishers of all time,” Oni publisher Hunter Gorinson told the site. “In ways both artful and shocking, EC confronted the darkness lurking behind the thin facade of American society — a throughline of radically confrontational storytelling that we intend to both uphold and escalate with the first new EC tales in decades.”

Corey Mifsud, executive director of William M. Gaines Agent, added, “This is not an exercise in nostalgia. These are comics meant to get people talking and to keep them up at night.”