Weird Science (comics)
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''Weird Science'' was an American science fiction comic book magazine that was part of the
EC Comics 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-195 ...
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.


Publication history

Published by
Bill Gaines William Maxwell Gaines (; March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically import ...
and edited by Al Feldstein, the bi-monthly ''Weird Science'' replaced ''Saddle Romances'' with the May/June 1950 issue. Although the title and format change took effect with issue 12, Gaines and Feldstein decided not to restart the numbering in order to save money on second class postage. The Post Office took note and, starting with issue #5, all the issues were numbered correctly. Because of this, ''Weird Science'' #12 could refer to either the May/June 1950 issue, or the actual 12th issue published in 1952. The same confusion exists for issues #13-15, #15 being the last issue published before EC reset the numbering. Artist/Writer Harry Harrison claims credit for originally giving Gaines the notion of publishing science fiction. Harrison has stated that he and artist Wally Wood were interested in science fiction and gave Gaines science fiction stories to read. Harrison, however, had no editorial control over the contents of the comic aside from his own stories and left EC by the end of 1950.


Artists and writers

Early cover illustrations were by Feldstein. Wood, the title's leading artist, took over as the regular cover illustrator in 1952. For a period of time in 1952, Wood drew two stories per issue. The other ''Weird Science'' interior artists were Feldstein, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson,
Joe Orlando Joseph Orlando (April 4, 1927 – December 23, 1998) was an Italian American illustrator, writer, editor and cartoonist during a lengthy career spanning six decades. He was the associate publisher of '' Mad'' and the vice president of DC Comics, ...
,
George Evans George Evans may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George "Honey Boy" Evans (1870–1915), American songwriter and entertainer * George Evans (bandleader) (1915–1993), English jazz bandleader, arranger and tenor saxophonist * George Evans (si ...
, Harvey Kurtzman, George Roussos, Harrison,
Will Elder William Elder (born Wolf William Eisenberg; September 22, 1921 – May 15, 2008) was an American illustrator and comic book artist who worked in numerous areas of commercial art but is best known for a frantically funny cartoon style that helped ...
, Jack Kamen,
Sid Check Sidney Check, also known as Sid Check, (August 2, 1930 – June 19, 2002) was an American comic book artist best known for his stories in EC Comics. __NOTOC__ Sidney Charles Check was born on August 2, 1930, in Newark, New Jersey. His parents A ...
and Jack Olesen. Writers in the early issues included Feldstein, Gaines, Kurtzman, Harrison and Gardner Fox. Gaines and Feldstein wrote nearly all stories from 1951 to 1953.Von Bernewitz, Fred and Geissman, Grant ''Tales of Terror: The EC Companion'' (Gemstone Publishing and Fantagraphics Books, Timonium, MD & Seattle, WA, 2000) p. 130-5


Stories and themes

As with other EC Comics, Gaines and Feldstein used some ''Weird Science'' stories to teach moral lessons. "The Probers" (#8) features a space shuttle doctor who pays no mind to dissecting various animals, only to end up on an alien planet where aliens plan to dissect him. In "The Worm Turns" (#11) astronauts have fun with Mexican jumping beans but face a similar situation when they hide in a piece of fruit on an alien world and are found by a giant alien. "He Walked Among Us" (#13) was a take on organized religion in which a Christ-like astronaut helps the impoverished populace of an alien world but is killed by those in power, prompting the birth of a religion. Gaines and Feldstein made cameo appearances in "Chewed Out" (#12), and other EC staffers were drawn into "EC Confidential" (#21).


Influences and adaptations

As with the other EC comics edited by Feldstein, the stories in this comic were primarily based on Gaines reading a large number of science fiction stories and using them to develop "springboards" from which he and Feldstein could launch new stories. Specific story influences that have been identified include the following: * "Lost in the Microcosm" (issue 12 950 -
Henry Hasse Henry Louis Hasse (February 7, 1913 – May 20, 1977) was an American science fiction author and fan. He is probably known best for being the co-author of Ray Bradbury's first professionally published story, "Pendulum", which appeared in Novemb ...
's "He Who Shrank" * "The Micro Race" (issue 13 950 - Theodore Sturgeon's " Microcosmic God" * "The Sounds from Another World" (issue 14 950 -
Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...
's "The Sound Machine" * "Machine from Nowhere" (issue 14 950 - Maurice Hugi's "Mechanical Mouse" * "Divide and Conquer" (issue 6) -
Donald Wandrei Donald Albert Wandrei (20 April 1908 – 15 October 1987)Minnesota Death Certificates Index
. ...
's "A Scientist Divides" * "Monster from the Fourth Dimension" (issue 7) - Donald Wandrei's "The Monster from Nowhere" * "The Martian Monster" (issue 9) - Anthony Boucher's "Mr. Lupescu" * "Why Papa Left Home" (issue 11) -
Charles Harness Charles Leonard Harness (December 29, 1915 – September 20, 2005)Clute, John ''The Independent'', October 11, 2005. was an American science fiction writer. Biography He was born in Colorado City, Texas, and grew up just outside it, then lat ...
's "Child by Chronos" * "Chewed Out!" (issue 12) -
Katherine MacLean Katherine Anne MacLean (January 22, 1925 – September 1, 2019) was an American science fiction author best known for her short fiction of the 1950s which examined the impact of technological advances on individuals and society. Profile Damon Kn ...
's "Pictures Don't Lie!" * "Say Your Prayers" (issue 13) - Anthony Boucher's "Expedition" * "The Island Monster" (issue 17) -
Merian C. Cooper Merian Caldwell Cooper (October 24, 1893 – April 21, 1973) was an American filmmaker and Academy Award winner, as well as a former aviator who served as an officer in the United States Air Force and Polish Air Force. In film, he is credited a ...
and
Ernest B. Schoedsack Ernest Beaumont Schoedsack (June 8, 1893 – December 23, 1979) was an American motion picture cinematographer, producer, and director. Schoedsack worked as a cameraman in World War I, where he served in the Signal Corps. At the conclusion of ...
's '' King Kong'' * "Keyed Up!" (issue 19) - Duncan Munro's "U-Turn" After their unauthorized adaptation of one of
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
's stories in another magazine, Bradbury contacted EC about their
plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and thought ...
of his work. They reached an agreement for EC to do authorized versions of Bradbury's short fiction. These official adaptations include: * " The Long Years" (issue 17) * " Mars Is Heaven!" (issue 18) * "The One Who Waits" (issue 19) * "Surprise Package" (issue 20) * "Punishment Without Crime" (issue 21) * "
Outcast of the Stars "The Rocket" is a science fiction short story (initially published under the name "Outcast of the Stars") by American writer Ray Bradbury, published in 1950. It is also included in '' The Illustrated Man'', a collection of short stories by Ray Bra ...
" (issue 22)


Demise

EC's science fiction comics were never able to match the popularity of their horror comics like ''Tales from the Crypt'', but Gaines and Feldstein kept them alive using the profits from their more popular titles. In the EC Library reprints, comics historian Mark Evanier theorizes that the short story format, where no story was longer than eight pages helped contribute to poor sales because the horror comics were much better suited for very short stories with shock endings than the science fiction comics. Evanier also ponders whether the very similar logo style of ''Weird Science'' and its companion comic ''Weird Fantasy'' as well as similar cover subjects contributed to lower sales due to customers thinking they already owned the issues on sale. Historian Digby Diehl wondered whether having host characters like EC's horror comics would have helped the comics be more commercially successful. When the poor sales became too much to handle, ''Weird Science'' combined with companion comic ''Weird Fantasy'' in 1954 to become ''
Weird Science-Fantasy ''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 ...
''. As discussed in an "In Memoriam" feature in the final issue, it was stated that every issue for the previous year and a half lost money and they had no choice but to combine the two comics into one. ''Weird Science-Fantasy'' ran for seven issues before a title change to ''
Incredible Science Fiction ''Incredible Science Fiction'' was an American science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues. Creative team ''Incredible Science Fiction'' ran for four issues, boasting a number of skill ...
'' for four issues.


Reprints

As with many other EC titles, ''Weird Science'' has been reprinted numerous times over the years.
Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains ...
reprinted selected stories in a series of paperback EC anthologies in 1964-66. All 22 issues were published in black and white in four hardbound volumes in 1980 as part of publisher
Russ Cochran Russell Earl Cochran (born October 31, 1958) is an American professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour Champions, having previously been a member on the PGA Tour and the Nationwide Tour. He is one of the few natural left-handed players to wi ...
's '' The Complete EC Library''. This set was published in two versions, the original, with what Cochran later said were his own incomplete and occasionally erroneous analyses, and a revised version containing analysis from outside contributors. In addition, all 22 issues were reprinted in comic form in the mid-1990s by Cochran and Gemstone Publishing. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of five softcover '' EC Annuals''. In 2007, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of ''Weird Science'' as part of the ''
EC Archives 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 G ...
'' series. Three volumes (of a projected four) were published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. But the project may soon be revived under a new publisher. GC Press LLC, a boutique imprint established by Russ Cochran and Grant Geissman, announced in a press release dated September 1, 2011 that it is continuing the EC Archives series, with the first new releases scheduled for November 2011.Michael Kronenberg posting at MarvelMasterworksFansite.Yuku.com, September 1, 2011
Accessed September 2, 2011


Media adaptations

''
Weird Science Weird Science is the name of: * ''Weird Science'' (film), a 1985 film directed by John Hughes ** ''Weird Science'' (TV series), a television series based on the film ** "Weird Science" (song), the theme song to the film and the TV series by Oing ...
'' was a 1985 movie produced by Joel Silver, who acquired film rights to EC Comics in the early 1980s. HBO's '' Perversions of Science'' is a science fiction/horror television series based on ''Weird Science'' stories. It has been suggested on ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa, ...
'' season 3 DVD commentary for the episode "Treehouse of Horror II" that the appearance of
Kang and Kodos Kang and Kodos Johnson are a duo of fictional recurring characters in the animated television series ''The Simpsons''. Kang is voiced by Harry Shearer and Kodos by Dan Castellaneta. They are green, perpetually drooling, octopus-like aliens from ...
was based on cover art from EC Comics. No specific issue number is mentioned, but it may be a combination of different covers including possibly ''Weird Science'' #6 and #16


Issue guide


References

{{Weird Science Comics magazines published in the United States EC Comics publications Science fiction comics 1950 comics debuts 1953 comics endings Magazines established in 1950 Magazines disestablished in 1953 American comics adapted into films Defunct American comics