cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/26735575
As I noted a few months back, 1950 was a major turning point in the history of EC Comics. Max Gaines had been one of the premier figures in the history of comic books in the United States, along with the development of the modern comic book format at nearly every step of the way, from the first hit comic books (which were collections of newspaper comic strips) to the launch of Superman in Action Comics #1 (HOW much Gaines was involved in that monumental point in comic book history has long been up for debate, but what isn't is that he was at least SOMEwhat involved in it), then to the launch of All-American Publications, a partner company to DC Comics, where Gaines' company introduced some of the most famous superheroes of all-time, like Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and Ma Hunkel. Okay, maybe not all of the heroes are world-famous...I guess not everyone knows Green Lantern the way they do Wonder Woman and Ma Hunkel.
Gaines then sold All-American to DC, and launched EC Comics, primarily focusing on Bible stories and other "educational" comics (hence the E in EC), but then he tragically died in a boating accident (he saved the life of a young boy by throwing him out of the way of the boat, but he was struck in the process. It's eerily similar to how the iconic singer, Kirsty McCall, died. In her case, she was saving her own son). With Gaines dead, his son took over the company, which was struggling at the time. Gaines wasn't exactly a comic book lover at the time, but he was a very open guy, and he became a bit of a sponge for the enthusiasm of the guys working for him. Al Feldstein got him to launch the first EC horror comic book, as I noted a few months ago, and then, in March 1950, they launched their first science fiction comic book, turning A Moon, A Girl... Romance into Weird Fantasy with its 13th issue!
As noted, Gaines was a very open-minded guy, and so Harry Harrison, who was working in an art partnership with Wallace Wood (Harrison would pencil the comics, and Wood would ink them, although sometimes the lines blurred between who was penciling and who was inking. The two had first met while both were studying with artist Burne Hogarth, but they didn't start working together until Wood had already started working at EC on his own), approached Gaines about EC doing science fiction comics. He gave Gaines some science fiction books to read, and Gaines was quickly hooked, and so he approved the new series.
The series was edited by Al Feldstein, though, who was becoming Gaines' top editor/creative partner at the company. Harrison had no control over the idea he inspired, so he and Wood would actually split up their partnership by the end of 1950, and Harrison would go off to become a popular science fiction author.