| Incredible Science Fiction | |
|---|---|
 Cover art for issue #33 by Wally Wood. | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | EC Comics |
| Schedule | Bimonthly |
| Format | Anthology |
| Publication date | July/August 1955 – January/February 1956 |
| No. of issues | 4 |
| Creative team | |
| Created by | William Gaines Al Feldstein |
Incredible Science Fiction was an American science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues.
Incredible Science Fiction ran for four issues, boasting a number of skilled artists including Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Bernard Krigstein, Joe Orlando and Roy Krenkel. Three of its covers were done by Davis, with the final issue's cover by Wood. This comic is notable for having Jack Davis' only science fiction work for EC. [1] Roy Krenkel also provided his only solo story for EC with issue 31's "Time to Leave".
The story "Food For Thought" from issue 32 (which featured art predominantly from Al Williamson but also Roy Krenkel as well) was awarded best artwork for an individual science fiction story at the 1972 EC Fan-Addict Convention. [1]
Incredible Science Fiction was a retitled version of the comic Weird Science-Fantasy , which changed its title in 1955. The comic changed its title with issue 30, but due to attempts to save money on postage, the numbering did not restart (and hence, issue 30 is actually the first issue of this title).
Aside from the title change, Incredible Science Fiction was also different from its predecessor because it now had to follow the tight standards of the Comics Code, which was created in 1954 to censor the controversial comics of that time. Eventually the Comics Code would spell the end of not only this comic, but all comics produced by EC. When a story in issue 33 did not meet the standards of the Code, publisher Bill Gaines and editor Al Feldstein decided to reprint the story "Judgment Day!" (originally in Weird Fantasy #18). A powerful anti-racism story, "Judgment Day!" was also rejected because Judge Charles Murphy, the Comics Code Administrator, demanded that an illustration of a black astronaut be altered. Gaines refused and threatened to take the matter to the Supreme Court. The Comics Code backed down, and Gaines then printed the story without any changes. [2] But Gaines had seen the writing on the wall, and he left the comic book industry soon after. Incredible Science Fiction #33 was the last comic book he would publish.
Incredible Science Fiction has been reprinted by EC-fan and publisher Russ Cochran on a couple of occasions. It formed part of his Complete EC Library (in 1982 [3] ), published (in black and white) as a slipcased hardcover two-volume set alongside Weird Science-Fantasy . It was also reprinted issue-by-issue between August 1994 and May 1995 by Cochran (in association with Gemstone Publishing). This complete run was later rebound, again alongside Weird Science-Fantasy, with covers included, in a pair of softcover EC Annuals . Dark Horse reprinted Incredible Science Fiction as part of the EC Archives series in 2017.
The title resurfaced in a 1974 fantasy story, "Present Perfect", by Thomas F. Monteleone. The story focuses on William Rutherford, who is the editor of a speculative fiction magazine titled Incredible Science Fiction. After rejecting one story after another, he picks up a manuscript which is Monteleone's "Present Perfect". This tale was published in Fantastic (September 1974). [4] Such recursive plotting was employed several times by EC, including "The Aliens", illustrated by Al Williamson for Weird Fantasy #17 (January–February 1953).
| # | Date | Cover Artist | Story | Story Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | July/Aug 1955 | Jack Davis | Clean Start | Wally Wood |
| Marbles | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| Conditioned Reflex | Joe Orlando | |||
| Barrier | Jack Davis | |||
| 31 | Sept/Oct 1955 | Jack Davis | You, Rocket | Wally Wood |
| Fulfillment | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| Time to Leave | Roy Krenkel | |||
| Has-Been | Wally Wood | |||
| 32 | Nov/Dec 1955 | Jack Davis | Fallen Idol | Joe Orlando |
| Food For Thought | Al Williamson | |||
| The Ultimate Weapon | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| Marked Man | Jack Davis | |||
| 33 | Jan/Feb 1956 | Wally Wood | Big Moment | Wally Wood |
| Kaleidoscope | Jack Davis | |||
| One Way Hero | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| Judgment Day! | Joe Orlando | |||
Gladstone Publishing was an American company that published Disney comics from 1986 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1998. The company had its origins as a subsidiary of Another Rainbow Publishing, a company formed by Bruce Hamilton and Russ Cochran to publish the Carl Barks Library and produce limited edition lithographs of Carl Barks oil paintings of the Disney ducks. The name references Gladstone Gander.
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series. Initially, EC was owned by Maxwell Gaines and specialized in educational and child-oriented stories. After Max Gaines' death in a boating accident in 1947, his son William Gaines took over the company and began to print more mature stories, delving into the genres of horror, war, fantasy, science-fiction, adventure, and others. Noted for their high quality and shock endings, these stories were also unique in their socially conscious, progressive themes that anticipated the Civil Rights Movement and the dawn of the 1960s counterculture. In 1954–55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine Mad, leading to the company's greatest and most enduring success. Consequently, by 1956, the company ceased publishing all of its comic lines except Mad.
Gemstone Publishing is an American company that publishes comic book price guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Geppi in 1994 when he bought Overstreet.
Alfonso Williamson was an American cartoonist, comic book artist and illustrator specializing in adventure, Western, science fiction and fantasy.
Roy Gerald Krenkel, who often signed his work RGK, was an American illustrator who specialized in fantasy and historical drawings and paintings for books, magazines and comic books.
The Vault of Horror was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Vault of Horror hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a total of 40 issues.
Crime SuspenStories was a bi-monthly anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title first arrived on newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of 27 issues. Years after its demise, the title was reprinted in its entirety, and four stories were adapted for television in the HBO's Tales From The Crypt.
Tales from the Crypt was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1955, producing 27 issues. Along with its sister titles, The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt was popular, but in the late 1940s and early 1950s comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, schoolteachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code, EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines cancelled Tales from the Crypt and its two companion horror titles, along with the company's remaining crime and science fiction series in September 1954.
Shock SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending with the December/January 1955 issue.
Weird Fantasy is an American dark fantasy and science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The companion comic for Weird Fantasy was Weird Science. Over a four-year span, Weird Fantasy ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December 1953 issue.
Weird Science was an American science fiction comic book magazine that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December, 1953 issue. Weird Fantasy was a sister title published during the same time frame.
Weird Science-Fantasy was an American science fiction-fantasy anthology comic, that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955.
Piracy is an EC Comics title published in the mid 1950s. The bi-monthly comic book, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with an issue cover-dated October–November 1954. It ran for seven issues, ending with the October–November 1955 issue.
Impact was a short-lived comic book series published by EC Comics in 1955 as the first title in its New Direction line.
Valor was a comic book published by EC Comics in 1955 as the second title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein. It lasted a total of five issues before being cancelled, along with EC's other New Direction comics.
Shock Illustrated was an American black and white magazine published by EC Comics from late 1955 to early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The artists drew one to four panels per page with the text overlaid onto the artwork. The first issue appeared with a cover date of September–October 1955 and featured three psychology-themed stories, similar in theme to the comic Psychoanalysis published by EC in 1955. Starting with the second issue this type of story was generally reduced to one per issue, with the remaining stories being similar in theme to those that appeared in EC's comic Shock SuspenStories.
Terror Illustrated was a black-and-white magazine published by EC Comics in late 1955 and early 1956. Part of EC's Picto-Fiction line, each magazine featured three to five stories. The format alternated blocks of text with several illustrations per page.
The EC Archives are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochran and Grant Geissman's GC imprint (2011–2012), and finally taken over by Dark Horse in 2013.
Russ Cochran was a publisher of EC Comics reprints, Disney comics, and books on Hopalong Cassidy, Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and vacuum tubes. He was a publisher for over 30 years, after quitting his job as a physics professor.