EC Comics Library. Weird Science. Vol. 1 wer. angielska

Sci-Fi’s Golden Age Returns

The definitive collection of EC’s seminal science fiction magazine

When Bill Gaines inherited EC Comics from his father, the legendary publisher  M. C. Gaines, at just 25 years old, no one could predict the impact he would have—not only on comics, but on global pop culture at large.

Inspired by the pulp sci-fi stories and weird fiction of their youth, Bill Gaines and artist  Al Feldstein  drafted the initial issues of what would become the first true serialized science fiction magazine, delivering stories, creatures, and worlds unlike anything readers had ever seen.
Far from the simplistic space adventures of  Flash Gordon  and  Buck Rogers, the high-concept, morally ambiguous, and often-chilling tales of  Weird Science  resonated deeply with readers growing up in the Atomic Age under the shadow of the mushroom cloud. Nuclear threats, the ravages of science unshackled from ethics, and the creeping authority of world governments locked in a Cold War had begun seeping into the fabric of American life.

The first issue of  Weird Science  appeared on newsstands in the spring of 1950, its cover boldly daring readers to pick it up. Subsequent bimonthly releases pulled audiences into an ever-changing kaleidoscope of “Scientific SuspenStories,” featuring Martian invasions, murderous androids, time travel gone awry, planets inhabited entirely by women, and more.

Bolstered by a growing stable of soon-to-be comic art legends like  Harvey Kurtzman,  Wally Wood, and  Joe Orlando,  Weird Science  shaped the collective imagination of a generation. Gaines and Feldstein boldly tackled themes that were rarely addressed in serialized comics, while visionary artists like Wood went on to define the aesthetic and societal impact of the genre, depicting futuristic vistas and impossible technology with a level of detail as if not merely imagining them, but glimpsing into the very future itself.

In Volume 1, TASCHEN presents the first eleven issues of  Weird Science, meticulously recreating the comics in their original glory. Rather than recolor the artwork, this edition works with super-high-resolution photographs of each page as it was printed more than half a century ago, using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing. The result is a pristine product, keeping the character and feel of the classic pulp comic magazines, but freshly printed by a world-class press, produced without the economic or time constraints of the past.