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The EC Archives
The EC Archives: Weird Fantasy Volume 1
Weird Fantasy Volume 1 touches down at Dark Horse Comics! Fully remastered in magnificent digital color, this otherwordly volume includes twenty-four extraterrestrial tales from a stellar collection of writers and artist - Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, Harry Harrison, Gardner Fox, Jack Kamen, Harvey Kurtzman, and Wally Wood!
216 pages, Hardcover
First published May 13, 2014
33 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Al Feldstein
368 books48 followersAlbert Bernard Feldstein was an American writer, editor, and artist, best known for his work at EC Comics and, from 1956 to 1985, as the editor of the satirical magazine Mad. After retiring from Mad, Feldstein concentrated on American paintings of Western wildlife.
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 15, 2015
***Dark Horse reprinting of EC Comics, so very Indy!***
This is a gorgeous collection of EC Comics from the early 1950s, published and written by one Bill Gaines...aka Mr. MAD Magazine!
Along with some great other writers, Weird Fantasy is actually a Science Fiction book. 1950s Science Ficton from before the Witch hunt against comics leading to juvenile delinquency...a golden age in many ways.
There's a number of issues collected here (even though their numbering is off, they are chronologically the first 6 issues) with a great range of stories.
Time Travel, Space Exploration, Atomic War, Aliens, Life and Death, lots of great stuff that's been made into movies, some of the coolest ideas that sustained SciFi for the next 65 years.
Discussions of String Theory, 4th Dimensions, Gamma, Infrared, Atomic Energy, this isn't just dumb pulp, it's a blast.
From the man who builds a time machine (only with the help of his younger self, and the paradox loop that leads to), to the team that flies through space to a different solar system, only to loop back on themselves, a la Planet of the Apes (but this was written long before the Damn Dirty Apes), to the fears of Atomic Nuclear War and the aftermath: mutants, robots, uninhabitable wastelands.
This is such fun. This book is the kind of thing you used to love to find, just a bit older than you were supposed to be reading, it felt like some kind of secret they let you in on, and you always wanted more, reading it under the blankets at night by flashlight. (Or at least, I did...)
The art is colourful in this reproduction, bright, enjoyable, yet the subject matter is still the kind of questions we wrestle with today...
Thank you to Dark Horse for publishing the reprints of this great company, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on more of this. Without this, we wouldn't have the dreamers of comics like Morrison, Hickman, Ellis, others. Heck we might not even have the normal comics we do today. I love the intelligence that goes into something that was throw-away for so many, yet over half a century later, look how relevant the subject matter is. Great writing never ages.
I strongly recommend this to all the Shallows Gang, and anyone else looking for a fun read, that you could also share with kids worry free (Anne!)
This is a gorgeous collection of EC Comics from the early 1950s, published and written by one Bill Gaines...aka Mr. MAD Magazine!
Along with some great other writers, Weird Fantasy is actually a Science Fiction book. 1950s Science Ficton from before the Witch hunt against comics leading to juvenile delinquency...a golden age in many ways.
There's a number of issues collected here (even though their numbering is off, they are chronologically the first 6 issues) with a great range of stories.
Time Travel, Space Exploration, Atomic War, Aliens, Life and Death, lots of great stuff that's been made into movies, some of the coolest ideas that sustained SciFi for the next 65 years.
Discussions of String Theory, 4th Dimensions, Gamma, Infrared, Atomic Energy, this isn't just dumb pulp, it's a blast.
From the man who builds a time machine (only with the help of his younger self, and the paradox loop that leads to), to the team that flies through space to a different solar system, only to loop back on themselves, a la Planet of the Apes (but this was written long before the Damn Dirty Apes), to the fears of Atomic Nuclear War and the aftermath: mutants, robots, uninhabitable wastelands.
This is such fun. This book is the kind of thing you used to love to find, just a bit older than you were supposed to be reading, it felt like some kind of secret they let you in on, and you always wanted more, reading it under the blankets at night by flashlight. (Or at least, I did...)
The art is colourful in this reproduction, bright, enjoyable, yet the subject matter is still the kind of questions we wrestle with today...
Thank you to Dark Horse for publishing the reprints of this great company, I cannot WAIT to get my hands on more of this. Without this, we wouldn't have the dreamers of comics like Morrison, Hickman, Ellis, others. Heck we might not even have the normal comics we do today. I love the intelligence that goes into something that was throw-away for so many, yet over half a century later, look how relevant the subject matter is. Great writing never ages.
I strongly recommend this to all the Shallows Gang, and anyone else looking for a fun read, that you could also share with kids worry free (Anne!)
May 11, 2018
Man I just love reading an EC collection. Getting to see the great artists and writers at the beginnings of their careers is awesome. These collections are always a great read to me. Recommended
October 18, 2020
Every issue has a specific range of subjects that are the same as a concept and they reflect the troubles of the times they were released (1950-1955) and yes, some of them seem dated by today's standards but overall, the material is quite good. There are stories like "Deadlock" (which is actually the Prisoner's Dilemma IN SPACE), which are really clever and influencial.
May 5, 2024
I stumbled upon this compendium of vintage sci-fi comics in a used bookstore and I just had to grab it. It's a neat little time capsule of the mid-century cocktail of optimism and anxiety towards technology in the midst of the Cold War. Way wordier than the comics and graphic novels we see today. It's truly interesting how far we've come. The artwork and printing is absolutely gorgeous.
October 26, 2023
Science Fiction meets Cold War paranoia. Predating The Twilight Zone while feasting on the remains of the pulps, Weird Fantasy was one of the early 'New Trend' titles. The early New Trend titles were heavy on the Feldstein, with plenty of his artwork. Later on he did more writing and editing and less artwork. He writes complete stories which happen to have pictures, meaning that they are text heavy. So many modern writers could not write this way. They prefer to “let the pictures do the heavy lifting”, which is a nice way of saying that they are lazy and can't write a coherent story.
Al Feldstein passed away this year. I met him at the Motor City Comic Con several years ago. He had no line and so I strolled on up and started chatting with him, professing my love for his work and for EC Comics as a whole. I told him how much I enjoyed The EC Archives and he interrupted me, barking I don't make any money off of those. Buy a print!, motioning to his recreations of classic EC covers.
Harvey Kurtzman's stories deviated from standard EC fare in two regards: First, it was dialogue driven and largely third party narrative free. Second, they were hand lettered, rather than done using a Leroy lettering stencil set found in all other EC stories. The Leroy set gave EC Comics a distinctive, clean look to them which has helped them age well.
While I am not a fan of using modern computer coloring on these classics there are spots where it is tastefully done. By the time that you read this I will have already dumped this and the rest of my EC Archives on eBay. The EC Annuals are the way to go as far as I am concerned, as they boast the original four color palette which makes my purist OCD happy. Most folks love these Archives. Others hunt down the old black and white slipcase EC Library sets, while others love the artist-centric Fantagraphics collections being pumped out at an alarming rate. There is no right or wrong in the world of EC. It all boils down to your preference, comfort zone, and how much discretionary income you have to devote to the various format or formats of your choice.
Al Feldstein passed away this year. I met him at the Motor City Comic Con several years ago. He had no line and so I strolled on up and started chatting with him, professing my love for his work and for EC Comics as a whole. I told him how much I enjoyed The EC Archives and he interrupted me, barking I don't make any money off of those. Buy a print!, motioning to his recreations of classic EC covers.
Harvey Kurtzman's stories deviated from standard EC fare in two regards: First, it was dialogue driven and largely third party narrative free. Second, they were hand lettered, rather than done using a Leroy lettering stencil set found in all other EC stories. The Leroy set gave EC Comics a distinctive, clean look to them which has helped them age well.
While I am not a fan of using modern computer coloring on these classics there are spots where it is tastefully done. By the time that you read this I will have already dumped this and the rest of my EC Archives on eBay. The EC Annuals are the way to go as far as I am concerned, as they boast the original four color palette which makes my purist OCD happy. Most folks love these Archives. Others hunt down the old black and white slipcase EC Library sets, while others love the artist-centric Fantagraphics collections being pumped out at an alarming rate. There is no right or wrong in the world of EC. It all boils down to your preference, comfort zone, and how much discretionary income you have to devote to the various format or formats of your choice.
January 1, 2020
Weird Fantasy was E.C. Comics companion to Weird Science. This book collects the first six issues. There are the expected tales of space exploration, time travel and nuclear war, and then some which go off on other intriguing tangents. There is one story called The Black Arts, written by Harry Harrison and drawn by Harrison and Wally Wood, which seems like it would have fit better in one of E.C. horror titles, dealing as it does with black magic rather than science.
Child of Tomorrow, written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by Feldstein stands out as a story which must have been particularly shocking at the time.
The contents page credits classic science fiction short stories as the inspiration for some of the stories, including Murray Leinster’s First Contact which inspired Deadlock!, written and drawn by Wally Wood.
Five stories by Harvey Kurtzman provide a change of pace as they take a more ironic or satirical approach.
I like that the letters pages from each issue are included. It’s interesting to see how readers at the time rated the stories of the previous issue.
Child of Tomorrow, written by Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein and drawn by Feldstein stands out as a story which must have been particularly shocking at the time.
The contents page credits classic science fiction short stories as the inspiration for some of the stories, including Murray Leinster’s First Contact which inspired Deadlock!, written and drawn by Wally Wood.
Five stories by Harvey Kurtzman provide a change of pace as they take a more ironic or satirical approach.
I like that the letters pages from each issue are included. It’s interesting to see how readers at the time rated the stories of the previous issue.
January 11, 2024
I’ve been meaning to check out EC stuff for a while now and I’m super happy to dive in with this very nice reprint from Dark Horse. I love how they reproduce the full content of the magazines - ads, letter pages and all!
The stories themselves are pretty compelling, though they fall into a pattern: humankind dooms itself through exploitation of technology! This magazine established some of the tropes that are commonplace in sci-fi today, and the influence is clear. Despite some predictability, there are some truly strange and inventive stories here. It’s fascinating to read this book as a time capsule of the fears and anxieties of Cold War America. I guess they were pretty worried about nukes - fortunately we don’t have that problem anymore!
Of course, the star of the show is the art. This is a true classic of cartooning. I appreciate the range in styles, too, from Wally Wood to Al Feldstein, and it’s all amazing.
The stories themselves are pretty compelling, though they fall into a pattern: humankind dooms itself through exploitation of technology! This magazine established some of the tropes that are commonplace in sci-fi today, and the influence is clear. Despite some predictability, there are some truly strange and inventive stories here. It’s fascinating to read this book as a time capsule of the fears and anxieties of Cold War America. I guess they were pretty worried about nukes - fortunately we don’t have that problem anymore!
Of course, the star of the show is the art. This is a true classic of cartooning. I appreciate the range in styles, too, from Wally Wood to Al Feldstein, and it’s all amazing.
September 25, 2022
Este tomo es el primero de la recopilación de la revista Weird Fantasy que corresponde principalmente a historias fantásticas con un toque de ciencia ficción, o un trasfondo algo científico. Yo destacaría Trip to the Unknown con dibujos de Harvey Kurtzman que toca un tema recurrente el viaje al espacio en el que al retorno encuentran la Tierra cambiada. The Black Arts de Wally Woood y Harry Harrison, es la historia de una persona que encuentra el mítico libro del Necronomicon y utiliza sus conjuros. Para mí, la historia mas interesante es The Mysterious Ray From Another Dimension! con guion y dibujo de Harvey Kurtzman, una historia de anticipación, se desarrolla después del año 1970 y la narración y el dibujo recuerda mucho a las historias del gran Will Eisner, dinámicas e innovadoras.
July 31, 2018
Another entry from the world of EC Comics, this time in the Sci-Fi genre.
Once again brilliant artwork, especially that of Wally Wood. The stories use many of the same plot devices found in 1950's films; time travel, spaceships, aliens, etc... But they are quite creative for comic books, though often with predictable outcomes. Always fun though to see how the future, often the 1970's and '80's was imagined from a 1950's perspective.
Once again brilliant artwork, especially that of Wally Wood. The stories use many of the same plot devices found in 1950's films; time travel, spaceships, aliens, etc... But they are quite creative for comic books, though often with predictable outcomes. Always fun though to see how the future, often the 1970's and '80's was imagined from a 1950's perspective.
May 31, 2020
Very good reading if you like TV series such as "The outer limits" and the like. Maybe you'll find these stories somewhat naïve or stereotypical, but you must remember that this kind of works were the basis for today's scifi, not the contrary.
May 18, 2017
Excellent!!
A real treat for those of us too young to have ever seen the print version. Thanks Dark horse comics.
A real treat for those of us too young to have ever seen the print version. Thanks Dark horse comics.
January 8, 2022
An EC publication is always worth reading.
June 1, 2024
I love these old school comics!
November 1, 2024
Some really good stories here.
November 28, 2025
Strong proto Twilight Zone vibes from the stories. The themes really highlight what people were afraid of during the beginning of the cold war.
August 11, 2016
A fun read. I really enjoy reading good comics from the 50s.
I tried the recent reprints of ACG's "Adventures of the Unknown" (e.g. Adventures Into the Unknown Archives Volume 1) but I didn't find the stories very interesting and the art wasn't to my liking.
I've really enjoyed The Atlas Era volumes in the Marvel Masterworks series; but I think I've read all that have been published and new ones seem to be coming out less and less frequently. Marvel published 3 in 2012 (including the last of both Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish; 2 in 2013 (and one of those was a Jungle Adventures volume (not my favorites); and I don't thing they've published any yet this year (but there's still over six month's to go so I'm hopeful).
Fortunately Dark Horse is picking up the slack, with their excellent reprints of the pre-code EC titles. I used to favor Marvel's post-code books, but I think EC's pre-code books have taken over the top slot.
The twisty endings aren't usually a surprise and there are a lot of similar plot lines, but the story telling is solid and enjoyable and the art is very nice. I've heard that some fans don't like the recoloring, but it doesn't bother me (although it would be interesting to compare it with the coloring in original issues). I've enjoyed the previous volumes (published by Gemstone Publishing), but this may be one of my favorites. The stories are more SF the Fantasy oriented but that's fine with me.
I tried the recent reprints of ACG's "Adventures of the Unknown" (e.g. Adventures Into the Unknown Archives Volume 1) but I didn't find the stories very interesting and the art wasn't to my liking.
I've really enjoyed The Atlas Era volumes in the Marvel Masterworks series; but I think I've read all that have been published and new ones seem to be coming out less and less frequently. Marvel published 3 in 2012 (including the last of both Tales of Suspense and Tales to Astonish; 2 in 2013 (and one of those was a Jungle Adventures volume (not my favorites); and I don't thing they've published any yet this year (but there's still over six month's to go so I'm hopeful).
Fortunately Dark Horse is picking up the slack, with their excellent reprints of the pre-code EC titles. I used to favor Marvel's post-code books, but I think EC's pre-code books have taken over the top slot.
The twisty endings aren't usually a surprise and there are a lot of similar plot lines, but the story telling is solid and enjoyable and the art is very nice. I've heard that some fans don't like the recoloring, but it doesn't bother me (although it would be interesting to compare it with the coloring in original issues). I've enjoyed the previous volumes (published by Gemstone Publishing), but this may be one of my favorites. The stories are more SF the Fantasy oriented but that's fine with me.
August 8, 2014
Having been reading some of the later EC titles and the later Warren horror magazines, coming back to this point in the art is a bit weird [not a pun!] because it is initially a fair step back in graphic quality and a slight step back in story quality; but once I got in the groove and started seeing how the form was growing at the time then it was informative and entertaining.
These are stories about space travel and time travel and weird science that pre-date Sputnik, so some of the science cues and some of the plot set-ups miss their beat, but these stories are ultimately about the characters learning moral lessons so it rarely detracts. In some ways, not caring about a few pesky physical laws helps to structure the very short stories as modern morality plays about the dangers of...well...sometimes science and sometimes ignoring science. The specter of a nuclear war combined with optimistic advances in technology made then-current feelings about men-in-white-coats go a little mixed [see our current take on health science, now, for a similar mix of fear and ecstasy].
For fans of old school SF, proto-Twilight Zone style "gotcha" moments, mildly moralistic humor and heavily moralistic parables, and of comic book art at a time period where it was undergoing much in the way of improvement.
Bonus: One story makes use of the Necronomicon, albeit very wrongly, making it possibly the earliest comic reference to it.
These are stories about space travel and time travel and weird science that pre-date Sputnik, so some of the science cues and some of the plot set-ups miss their beat, but these stories are ultimately about the characters learning moral lessons so it rarely detracts. In some ways, not caring about a few pesky physical laws helps to structure the very short stories as modern morality plays about the dangers of...well...sometimes science and sometimes ignoring science. The specter of a nuclear war combined with optimistic advances in technology made then-current feelings about men-in-white-coats go a little mixed [see our current take on health science, now, for a similar mix of fear and ecstasy].
For fans of old school SF, proto-Twilight Zone style "gotcha" moments, mildly moralistic humor and heavily moralistic parables, and of comic book art at a time period where it was undergoing much in the way of improvement.
Bonus: One story makes use of the Necronomicon, albeit very wrongly, making it possibly the earliest comic reference to it.
February 6, 2023
Wallace Wood becomes a star! Weird Science has the better Feldstein and Kurtzman stories, but this one delivers the biggest quantum leap in sci-fi comic art ever, step by step, over the course of a single year, between the covers of one book. The growth from "Dark Side of the Moon" (his first without Harrison) to "Rescued" (written by Wood himself) is one of the greatest revelations in comicdom (WF vol. 3 comes close with Williamson). It's also the most 'action' we get from Wood, as after volume 2, his work becomes more cluttered and beautiful, but also more deadly serious, to the degree of being preachy and bland. "Deadlock" is still another classic, and after that Weird Fantasy becomes the edgier and better of the two mags, up until vol. 4 evens them out again (unless you love the issue-long flying saucer report). This is all gold, though, just a question of karats. If you like the films "Short Circut" or "Wall-E", then Harvey Kurtzman's "Harry and his Goon-Child" will look very familiar. Love it.
January 18, 2015
Compared to other EC collections, this one is not the best. The 4 stories in each issue all revolve around the same three themes: time travel, atomic bombs, and being the last human survivor on Earth. A common third theme was time travelling to the future where atomic bombs had wiped out all of civilization on Earth. The twist ending's were there, but all-in-all the stories seemed more bland than in other EC collections.
The art in this volume is also mediocre compared to what EC would publish later during it's legendary period. Every issue collected in this Archive features Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen and Harvey Kurtzman each doing art chores one story. Incidentally, those are probably 3 of my least liked EC artists. They are all good artists, I just prefer Al Williamson (who makes no appearance in this book). Wally Wood began drawing one story each issue starting with the 4th issue, but this is pretty early in his career and he hadn't quite found his masterful skill yet.
The art in this volume is also mediocre compared to what EC would publish later during it's legendary period. Every issue collected in this Archive features Al Feldstein, Jack Kamen and Harvey Kurtzman each doing art chores one story. Incidentally, those are probably 3 of my least liked EC artists. They are all good artists, I just prefer Al Williamson (who makes no appearance in this book). Wally Wood began drawing one story each issue starting with the 4th issue, but this is pretty early in his career and he hadn't quite found his masterful skill yet.
July 15, 2025
This is the stuff i have a real soft spot for, pure vintage 1950 Sci/Fi and Horror comics in only a way EC could do. I'm so happy we have these volumes to take a look back at what was considered scary and shocking for the american public in the 1950s and i say that without Irony. These comics are special for sure, Cliché stories by todays standards but so fun to see how we got to where we are today. Also the Ads are a happy inclusion, X-Ray specs, fake bugs, Ponsy schemes and mail away army soldiers.
June 21, 2014
The EC crew hadn't hit their stride, creatively, at this point, but there are still a couple standouts - the talking heads in Feldstein/Gaines/Kamen's "...And Then There Were Two!" could've been lifted from nearly any of today's 24-hour news networks. Talk about prescience. The art is solid, but each of these young artists would reach greater heights in the next few years on this and other EC titles.
Dark Horse did a fine job with the reproduction. I'm very happy to see the EC Archives line continuing with them.
Dark Horse did a fine job with the reproduction. I'm very happy to see the EC Archives line continuing with them.
October 23, 2015
Tales From The Crypt is what brought me to EC Comics but I can't help but feel that the Sci-Fi mags are the best thing they did. This one is from the beginning so there are a lot of "end of the earth" style action pieces, but they are still really clever. You also get a good dose of satire from Harvey Kurtzman in this collection.
So yeah, if you like EC comics, this is a must. Dark Horse taking over the reigns is a boon too as the presentation continues to be really nice and there's actually a chance we will see a complete set.
So yeah, if you like EC comics, this is a must. Dark Horse taking over the reigns is a boon too as the presentation continues to be really nice and there's actually a chance we will see a complete set.
April 29, 2014
Excellent collection of the first six issues of Weird Fantasy, which is actually pulp science fiction. Really cool to see the roots of the genre!
September 24, 2015
I liked how there was a lot of input into creating these stories to make them as probable as possible. Weird Fantasy Volume 1 is really just another Weird Science.
April 12, 2016
Read a couple of stories; in full color
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews