The Long, Gory Life of EC Comics  Why the Crypt-Keeper never
dies.  When William M. Gaines became publisher of EC Comics, he
inherited a company deep in debt and struggling to survive.
Within a few years, he transformed it into the most innovative
publisher of comic books in the 1950s. Although EC's brief reign
came to an end amid Senate hearings and industry self-
censorship, Gaines and his stable of artists and writers created
a legacy that continues to inspire American pop culture, in no
small part because of EC's notoriety.  EC's lasting appeal is
the subject of Chip Selby's slick and entertaining documentary
Tales From the Crypt: From Comic Books to Television (available
from and Grant Geissman's lavishly illustrated coffee table book
Foul Play!: The Art and Artists of the Notorious 1950s E.C.
Comics! (Harper Design). In the film, Selby talks to such
filmmakers as George A. Romero and Joel Silver, who credit EC's
pioneering blend of gory horror and black humor with jump-
starting their film careers.  At a