Home to Stay!: The Complete Ray Bradbury EC Stories

by Ray Bradbury, Wallace Wood, Will Elder

A special companion to our New York Times best-selling classic reprint series, this collection features all the Ray Bradbury stories adapted by EC Comics (including the unauthorized ones!) for the first time in one volume. During a golden moment in the early 1950s, EC Comics lovingly adapted 25 classic Ray Bradbury stories into comics form, scripted by Al Feldstein and brilliantly interpreted and illuminated by all of EC's top artists: Johnny Craig, Reed Crandall, Jack Davis, Will Elder, George Evans, Frank Frazetta, Graham Ingels, Jack Kamen, Roy Krenkel, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando, John Severin, Angelo Torres, Al Williamson, and Wallace Wood. This special companion collection to our EC Comics Library series features all 25 official adaptations plus an additional ten related stories with stunning art reproduced in generously oversized coffee table dimensions! Highlights in this singular volume include: "Home to Stay"― a clever combination of two Bradbury science fiction stories that Bradbury himself proclaimed topped his originals (available in no other form or medium), masterfully woven together by Al Feldstein and Wallace Wood. "A Sound of Thunder" ― the classic time-travel-gone-wrong story brilliantly illustrated by Al Williamson and Angelo Torres. "Touch and Go" ― an obsessive psychological thriller tautly executed by Johnny Craig. And many more, including "The Million Year Picnic" (Elder), "I, Rocket" (Williamson and Frazetta), "Zero Hour" (Kamen), "Mars Is Heaven" (Wood), and "There Will Come Soft Rains…" (Wood). Plus a cornucopia of bonus features, including introductions and commentary by Greg Bear, Ted White, Dr. Benjamin Saunders, Bill Mason, and Thommy Burns; a wry reminiscence by Ray himself; and two full-color paintings by Frank Frazetta. A superb, sumptuous showcase for these classic comic book masterpieces that have never before been collected together in one volume. Black-and-white and full-color illustrations

Genres: Comics, Horror, Science Fiction, Short Stories, Graphic Novels, Fantasy

232 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2022

About the author

Ray Douglas Bradbury was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is best known for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950), The Illustrated Man (1951), and The October Country (1955). Other notable works include the coming of age novel Dandelion Wine (1957), the dark fantasy Something Wicked This Way Comes (1962) and the fictionalized memoir Green Shadows, White Whale (1992). He also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books. Bradbury also wrote poetry which has been published in several collections, such as They Have Not Seen the Stars (2001).

The New York Times called Bradbury "An author whose fanciful imagination, poetic prose, and mature understanding of human character have won him an international reputation" and "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream".

Reviews

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This tome collects all of the official EC Ray Bradbury adaptations and some of the stuff they stole from him before he caught on and wrote them a letter. There's an all-star team of EC artists on this. Al Williamson and Wallace Wood get their share, as well as Jack Davis, John Severin and Will Elder, Joe Orlando, Johnny Craig, and George Evans. It's a little heavy on Jack Kamen toward the end but it's like being the worst player on a team that has won three or four World Series.

Most, if not all, of these stories are in the other EC Library books Fantagraphics has put out but I tend to forget things these days so it was like 88% new material to me. The oversized size really makes the pages pop. I don't tend to get rid of EC books anyway but I think this is the one I'd run into a burning building to retrieve. 5 out of 5.

[Artur Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ray Bradbury não era nenhum estranho ao que hoje chamamos de cultura pop. Muitas das suas inspirações vieram do cinema e literatura da sua juventude, e boa parte da sua obra literária foi revista para televisão, cinema e banda desenhada. Com tanta propensão para os tipos de cultura considerados menores pelo establishment e a sua ligação à ficção científica, é surpreendente que Bradbury tenha ascendido ao panteão dos grandes escritores americanos do século XX.

A história da sua relação com a EC Comics começa por um equívoco, com os editores a publicarem uma adaptação não autorizada de um dos seus contos. Bradbury poderia ter ido pelo caminho legal, processando-os, mas preferiu abrir a comunicação. Recebeu o dinheiro do conto, e iniciou uma colaboração com a editora, que adaptou para comics alguns dos seus contos. A ganhar, saímos todos. As histórias de Bradbury revistas sob o estilo de ilustradores clássicos como Wally Wood, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, John Severin e Joe Orlando, entre tantos outros, são pérolas dos comics. Al Feldstein é o argumentista que adapta a literatura de Bradbury para os caminhos da BD, sempre com um enorme cuidado e respeito ao tom original.

É sempre bom rever Bradbury, uma das leituras que me formou o gosto literário. A sua capacidade para encantar, mesmo nas histórias mais tétricas, e indiscutível domínio do conto com final inesperado, são o melhor que a literatura saída da Golden Age dos pulps e FC nos legou.

[EC Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

A stunning book, bigger and more beautiful than I was expecting! The glossy pages make this black and white art look absolutely gorgeous.
Bradbury's stories were inspiring for the artists and authors of EC alike. While only a few of these would make my EC shortlist, all of these benefit from this presentation, with wonderful additional commentary. Ever wonder what those paintings on the wall in Wally Wood's masterful rendering of "There Will Come Soft Rains" are? Sure you have! It's more profound than you think.
Except maybe that one, "October Game" is my favorite story here, by Jack Kamen, and it's never looked better. His most atmospheric story, these rich blacks are to die for! Kamen is well represented throughout this book, and his takes on the work are uniformly strong.
"Sound of Thunder" also benefits from the size blow up in particular, being as crammed as it is with text, maybe more so than any other they did. That story, "I Rocket" and "He Who Waits", all by Al Williamson, all look amazing here, with notably more detail than the smaller "50 Girls 50" collection (also from Fantagraphics).
All told, this sits proudly next to my "EC Library of the 1950's" - which is the highest praise you can give to something like this (about the same size, about 1 inch shorter. And none of the same stories!). Super cool.

[Gary Sassaman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sumptuously designed, large format, hardcover book from Fantagraphics is the ultimate version of their EC Artists Library. It collects all 35 of the EC stories adapted by writer/editor Al Feldstein and illustrated by quite possibly the finest group of artists ever assembled by one comics company. Originally published in the tumultuous 1950s, these stories are—to me at least—a bit of a difficult read in the present day, but I still appreciate how beautifully illustrated they are, even if Feldstein was—to put it mildly—a bit verbose. In addition to the 35 stories reprinted here in glorious, large-size, black and white (one of which, The Long Years, is presented twice, including a version with scans of the original art for the complete story illustrated by Joe Orlando), there’s numerous essays and historical info (which is always the best part for me), plus a cover gallery that includes both the EC covers that featured Bradbury stories and the original Frank Frazetta paintings for the two 1960s Ballantine Books paperback collections, The Autumn People and Tomorrow Midnight. If you care about EC Comics and are a fan of Ray Bradbury, this is the ultimate book for you, an absolutely beautifully designed and printed art book.

[Joanna Hazelden · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating look into the early world of comics-looking back now, it's hard to imagine a time it was considered a lower literary class. Bradbury's stories of the "future" (some of them only a few years away!) have that classic fifties/sixties style where there is a sense of optimism that's hard to imagine today. The full color covers are beautiful and it's wonderful they were able to preserve them. It's very nostalgic, it reminds me of the illustrated Hitchcock collections for children that I read in the 80s. I enjoyed revisiting his stories with the additional info about the illustrators and the comic world.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

My immersion into the world of EC comics continues with this massive volume by Fantagraphics.
Not only does it include the official adaptations, but many stories that were "inspired" by the worlds of Ray Bradbury.
In actuality, these latter stories were stolen or adapted without Mr. Bradbury's consent. After contacting EC and asking to be paid, Ray Bradbury officially signed on as a contributor.
In addition to the comics, this book includes biographies of Bradbury and the many artists that brought these tales to life, as well as lots of other bonus material.

[David O · Rating 5 out of 5]

So now I've seen three ways of republishing the old EC art this century-- garishly digitally recolored on glossy paper a la Dark Horse's current run; uncolored line work only as with the Fantagraphics artist series up to this point...and now uncolored line work on large glossy paper as in this edition. This is easily the best option outside of straight-up reprints like they did in the 1990s (though those can still be found in the wild, sometimes at cover price...still my favorite option!). The supplemental material here is also amazing. Get it while it's still in print!

[Alfred Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book while looking for other Bradbury books at my local library. Bradbury is one of my favorite writers and this collection of his EC comic stories is fantastic. The artwork, especially by Wood and Williamson is spectacular!

If you’re a fan of Bradbury and/or classic comics I would highly recommend this.

[Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful package of Bradbury’s comics adaptations, both official and “inspired by,” with a ton of supplemental material and historical content. This is the best version of some of the best stories EC ever published.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just killed a spider in my bathroom. I'm sitting on the toilet and it was just hanging off a towel. I'm sorry for killing the spider. It caught me at a bad moment, trying to think of something to say about this book so that strangers on Goodreads would know I enjoyed it.

[Jenny Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do I already own all of Ray Bradbury's stories? Yes. Do I already own all the EC comic collections that are in this book? Yes. Did I buy this anyway because I am a Bradbury completionist who has impulse control problems? Also yes.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although there is some terrific art, the quality of the adaptations is wildly inconsistent. In some cases, the comic writers completely missed the point of the stories they adopted, losing the thread.

[Ralph Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent stories and excellent art. Well worth buying and reading. Awesome book.

[Frank · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great storIes, great art. Welcome to Ray Bradbury and EC Comics. A collection not to miss.

[Sarahbrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, but tedious sometimes. I'd personally rather read the original stories.

[Adam Sequoyah · Rating 3 out of 5]

MPA ratings:
R for violence
PG-13 for terror, suicide, and gruesome images
PG for language and brief nudity

[David Tice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. Never realized Bradbury had so many period tales that were more Twilight Zone than sci-fi.

[Egghead · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bradbury stories-
E.C. can't use standard plots:
Becomes finest work.

[Conor Mcvarnock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic collection, essential for fans of old sci-fi, classic EC and the author Ray Bradbury. Those unacquainted can also look on this as a little window or introduction into those worlds.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

it's all quite good - I'll be reviewing it in full later, since FG sent me a review copy - but the Jack Davis and Wally Wood stories are unforgettable and worth the price of admission (nobody did faces like Davis, and Wood's rendition of "There Will Come Soft Rains" outstrips Bradbury's original by an order of magnitude. highly recommended.

[Bob Fish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous Fantagraphics collection of Ray Bradbury EC stories !
Probably my favorite EC book in my library !
EC Comics are my third favorite comics of all time btw:
https://youtu.be/SY_IIk--Blg

[Adrienne Kern McClintock · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS is a coffee table book. It's oversized, and impressive, with a nice ribbon to bookmark the pages. Big pages make it easy to read. Never before published comics, old collections, rare stuff, finally collected into a very shiny volume. My only complaints are that I eventually need to return it to the Waukegan Library, and that I would need a bigger coffee table!