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The EC Archives
The EC Archives: Incredible Science Fiction
Incredible Science Fiction arrives in a strange new the Twenty-First Century! Fully remastered in magnificent digital color, this far-out volume includes twenty unbelievable tales from a stellar collection of writers and Jack Oleck, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, Roy G. Krenkel, and Al Williamson. Featuring a foreword by Mark Evanier!
• Incredible Science Fiction issues #30-#33 in full color!
• Featuring a foreword from Mark Evanier!
• Features stories written and drawn by all-star comic artists Jack Oleck, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, Roy G. Krenkel, and Al Williamson!
• Incredible Science Fiction issues #30-#33 in full color!
• Featuring a foreword from Mark Evanier!
• Features stories written and drawn by all-star comic artists Jack Oleck, Al Feldstein, Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, Roy G. Krenkel, and Al Williamson!
232 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2017
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80 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 9, 2017
The EC comic Titles were, to me, the beginning of the transition from the non comic code approved books of the Golden Age of comics to the beginning of the Silver Age comics of the 1960s. Tons of artists and writers got their start or the jump off for their careers in the industry at EC studios. The stories still have much of the feel of Golden Age comics but cleaner and better defined in their creation. Nice reads and great art. If you are a comic fan and want to see some of the history of the industry then these are must reads. Recommended
August 26, 2022
Beware of the Future! Shocked to see this rated so low. This is the zenith of Sci Fi comics, since like, forever. Thanks to censorship, the writers can't blow up the world every issue, but having done that already, these stories of the post-apocalypse and our last hopes for transformation or escape have never been more timely or classic. "Lost In Space" and "Food For Thought" are the most magnificent things Al Williamson, or maybe anyone else, ever drew for EC. "Star Wars" fans will find some pretty familiar looking stuff, especially the story "Has Been" by George Lucas' hero Wally Wood. This is Sci Fi of the most romantic, fantastical, fatalistic kind. ECs Sci Fi begins and ends on sustained peaks of greatness. This is a shimmering jewel. It's also longer than most archives, too, with seven full issues. Love it!
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December 28, 2022One must give EC a lot of gratitude for managing to persevere in the face of so much controversy. Thanks to an overzealous psychologist who thought EC comics among other companies were the ruination of youth, with the likelihood they would turn into juvenile delinquents, the backlash was overwhelming. The Senate subcommittee turned their attention to comics as well, pretty well forcing the comics to clean up their act or go out of business.
Companies like EC could have thrown in the proverbial towel, but they decided they had to change with the times, whether they liked it or not. EC had an impressive stable of artists and writers who would no doubt be able to adjust and adapt to a new wave of titles. EC countered with “New Direction” titles that included Pirates, War stories, Medieval themes, and their Science Fiction line. It seems the Science Fiction titles got the greatest response with artists including Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, John Severin, Bernie Krigstein and many others.
The issues became must-reads, and as we see in INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION, worked so well. The 7 comics reproduced in this edition are from Weird Science Fantasy issues 27 to 29, and Incredible Science Fiction from issues 30-33. What one notices first is the great artwork that truly enhances the stories. It springs from the pages, bringing even more urgency to the stories. We find stories of futuristic worlds, out-of-this-world ideas, and even the notion that Earth has been destroyed and we must start over. You could say these writers seemed way ahead of their time in their ideas and execution of plot.
One interesting story found in three of the issues, was about Adam Link and the I Robot series. There is much humanity found here, and while some saw the robot as a menace, others saw him as different and with a good heart. A woman even looks past his metallic image to find someone she could care about.
Other stories of note in the book include: Lost in Space, Barrier, Round Trip, Big Moment, Conditioned Reflex, and Time To Leave. Lovers of great science-fiction and great storytelling in general, will once more applaud Dark Horse Books for once more bringing so many comic classics to life.
Companies like EC could have thrown in the proverbial towel, but they decided they had to change with the times, whether they liked it or not. EC had an impressive stable of artists and writers who would no doubt be able to adjust and adapt to a new wave of titles. EC countered with “New Direction” titles that included Pirates, War stories, Medieval themes, and their Science Fiction line. It seems the Science Fiction titles got the greatest response with artists including Wally Wood, Joe Orlando, Jack Davis, John Severin, Bernie Krigstein and many others.
The issues became must-reads, and as we see in INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION, worked so well. The 7 comics reproduced in this edition are from Weird Science Fantasy issues 27 to 29, and Incredible Science Fiction from issues 30-33. What one notices first is the great artwork that truly enhances the stories. It springs from the pages, bringing even more urgency to the stories. We find stories of futuristic worlds, out-of-this-world ideas, and even the notion that Earth has been destroyed and we must start over. You could say these writers seemed way ahead of their time in their ideas and execution of plot.
One interesting story found in three of the issues, was about Adam Link and the I Robot series. There is much humanity found here, and while some saw the robot as a menace, others saw him as different and with a good heart. A woman even looks past his metallic image to find someone she could care about.
Other stories of note in the book include: Lost in Space, Barrier, Round Trip, Big Moment, Conditioned Reflex, and Time To Leave. Lovers of great science-fiction and great storytelling in general, will once more applaud Dark Horse Books for once more bringing so many comic classics to life.
February 15, 2023
Ohh wicked and depraved comics, save the children!
The final run of ECs Weird/Incredible Science Fiction comics before the comic code forced them to shut down. Lurid colors, dark and cynical humor, misogyny and other pulp tropes. On the plus side, several serious attacks on racism and of course all endings have a twist. The reason I became a juvenile delinquent.
The final run of ECs Weird/Incredible Science Fiction comics before the comic code forced them to shut down. Lurid colors, dark and cynical humor, misogyny and other pulp tropes. On the plus side, several serious attacks on racism and of course all endings have a twist. The reason I became a juvenile delinquent.
December 31, 2017
É intrigante que ironia e um saudável cepticismo em relação aos futuros estejam de mãos dadas nas histórias publicadas na clássica Incredible Science Fiction. Os heróis militaristas de queixo quadrado encontram sempre destinos inesperados, há uma fortíssima preocupação pacifista que se traduz em histórias pós-apocalípticas, claramente passando uma mensagem de temor com as consequências da guerra em geral, e em especial da ameaça terminal da guerra nuclear. Não há medo aqui de temas como xenofobia, desconstrução da superioridade cultural do mundo ocidental, anti-militarismo, igualdade, liberdade ou progresso. A temperar esta filosofia, algo contrária à FC popular da época, estão ilustrações fantásticas criadas por ilustradores que se tornaram lendas dos comics. Wallace Wood e Jack Williamson são os nomes mais sonantes, e as iconografias que criaram nas páginas desta revista tornaram-se marcas de estilo da ficção científica em banda desenhada.
August 22, 2019
Lurid, sensational, and often featuring a surprise ending (of the “it was Earth all along” sort), with prescient social commentary.
If you’re confused by the Hercules in “Fallen Idol”, as I was, I believe it’s .
If you’re confused by the Hercules in “Fallen Idol”, as I was, I believe it’s .
June 4, 2022
Neat little collection of stories. Some of them pretty fun, most of them kind of forgettable, some of them laughably silly with concepts like "what if... women wore men's clothing??? What if... a world where... technology was shunned?" Pretty cool art throughout, I'm a sucker for cool spaceships.
December 20, 2021
Marvellous
Anyone who remembers every comic's will love this volume, it features great artwork and some superb scripted stories. Highly recommended.
Anyone who remembers every comic's will love this volume, it features great artwork and some superb scripted stories. Highly recommended.
February 4, 2022
Terrific art, as always. The stories were mostly good, though maybe not up to the standard of the earlier EC scifi books.
December 17, 2022
This was my favorite volume of these wonderful collections to date. Great stories and great art.
February 21, 2024
(3.5 as the stories are uneven and not everything has aged well, rounding up for the high points and the historical value)
May 25, 2024
much better The usual fare …
These stories were of a much higher quality, more imaginative & drawn ( usually ) much better than this genre of republished anthologies ( ! )
These stories were of a much higher quality, more imaginative & drawn ( usually ) much better than this genre of republished anthologies ( ! )
November 17, 2023
Nice collection of mid-1950s science fiction comic book stories, most with a twist ending. On the good side, there are some fun stories with ironic elements and art from that wonderful mid-century futuristic aesthetic. The highpoint of the book are the three Adam Link stories, based on "I, Robot," by Eando Binder (brothers Earl and Otto Binder). Otto Binder and Al Feldstein do the adaptations, which explore the life of a benevolent but much put-upon robot.
"Close Shave" (Otto Binder) is a weird but effective condemnation of racism. Other noteworthy stories are "Lost in Space" (Otto Binder), "Vicious Circle" (Carl Wessler), "The Chosen One" and "Genesis" (Al Feldstein), "4th Degree" and "Round Trip" (Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein), and "You Rocket," "Kaleidoscope," and "One Way Hero" (Jack Oleck). Modern readers will see the most of twist endings coming well in advance, which perhaps is a kind of tribute to the influence of this kind of story telling.
On the negative side, there are a few templates that the authors kept coming back to: hostile aliens randomly attacking, the inherent violence of Humanity, the genius thwarted by fate or their own ego, madness fueled by the stress of spaceflight, and the ever-present threat of mutation and nuclear annihilation. Most of the female characters, with exceptions, are passively supportive, decorative, or absent entirely. In the last couple issues, the stories tend to get a little silly, but overall this is worth reading. This collection might best be read slowly, one issue a month as they were originally intended; the repetition may be less obvious that way.
"Close Shave" (Otto Binder) is a weird but effective condemnation of racism. Other noteworthy stories are "Lost in Space" (Otto Binder), "Vicious Circle" (Carl Wessler), "The Chosen One" and "Genesis" (Al Feldstein), "4th Degree" and "Round Trip" (Bill Gaines and Al Feldstein), and "You Rocket," "Kaleidoscope," and "One Way Hero" (Jack Oleck). Modern readers will see the most of twist endings coming well in advance, which perhaps is a kind of tribute to the influence of this kind of story telling.
On the negative side, there are a few templates that the authors kept coming back to: hostile aliens randomly attacking, the inherent violence of Humanity, the genius thwarted by fate or their own ego, madness fueled by the stress of spaceflight, and the ever-present threat of mutation and nuclear annihilation. Most of the female characters, with exceptions, are passively supportive, decorative, or absent entirely. In the last couple issues, the stories tend to get a little silly, but overall this is worth reading. This collection might best be read slowly, one issue a month as they were originally intended; the repetition may be less obvious that way.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews