History Awesome / ECComics

* Judge Charles F. Murphy--then the acting head of the [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code Authority]] and widely considered a perfect example of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling--told Al Feldstein that the CCA wanted EC Comics to change the reveal in the story ''ComicBook/{{Judgment Day|ECComics}}''[[note]]the visiting ambassador from Earth was a black man[[/note]] before ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 ran. Feldstein said changing the astronaut's ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story, then pointed out how EC had run the same story before with no objections. When the CCA refused to budge despite having no authority to make such a request (nothing about the comic or its ending broke any rule listed in the Code), Feldstein went back to William Gaines and told him about the meeting. A furious Gaines called Murphy, who confirmed the request to alter the comic. Gaines subsequently brought up the idea of holding a press conference to tell the world about the Comics Code Authority refusing to allow the equal depiction of black characters. (While people could still get away with that in 1955, it could've put Murphy and the CCA in the crosshairs of political enemies they neither wanted nor needed.) Murphy asked Gaines and Feldstein for a minor "concession": remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before; in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at home plate striking a baseball.[[/note]] Gaines responded to the request with two well-chosen words--"[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]"--at which point Murphy hung up. In another account of the incident, Gaines and Feldstein glanced at each other incredulously, then dropped the F-bomb at him as one before Murphy hung up. EC Comics eventually published ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33--with the CCA stamp on the cover--and included "Judgment Day" in its original, unedited form. That issue would be [[DyingMomentOfAwesome the final comic book EC ever published]].

* Judge Charles F. Murphy--then the acting head of the [[UsefulNotes/TheComicsCode Comics Code Authority]] and widely considered a perfect example of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling--told Al Feldstein that the CCA wanted EC Comics to change the reveal in the story "Judgment Day"[[note]]the visiting ambassador from Earth was a black man[[/note]] before ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 ran. Feldstein said changing the astronaut's ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story, then pointed out how EC had run the same story before with no objections. When the CCA refused to budge despite having no authority to make such a request (nothing about the comic or its ending broke any rule listed in the Code), Feldstein went back to William Gaines and told him about the meeting. A furious Gaines called Murphy, who confirmed the request to alter the comic. Gaines subsequently brought up the idea of holding a press conference to tell the world about the Comics Code Authority refusing to allow the equal depiction of black characters. (While people could still get away with that in 1955, it could've put Murphy and the CCA in the crosshairs of political enemies they neither wanted nor needed.) Murphy asked Gaines and Feldstein for a minor "concession": remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before; in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at home plate striking a baseball.[[/note]] Gaines responded to the request with two well-chosen words--"[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]"--at which point Murphy hung up. In another account of the incident, Gaines and Feldstein glanced at each other incredulously, then dropped the F-bomb at him as one before Murphy hung up. EC Comics eventually published ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33--with the CCA stamp on the cover--and included "Judgment Day" in its original, unedited form. That issue would be [[DyingMomentOfAwesome the final comic book EC ever published]].

* Judge Charles F. Murphy--then the acting head of the Comics Code Authority and widely considered a perfect example of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling--told Al Feldstein that the CCA wanted EC Comics to change the reveal in the story "Judgment Day"[[note]]the visiting ambassador from Earth was a black man[[/note]] before ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 ran. Feldstein said changing the astronaut's ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story, then pointed out how EC had run the same story before with no objections. When the CCA refused to budge despite having no authority to make such a request (nothing about the comic or its ending broke any rule listed in the Code), Feldstein went back to William Gaines and told him about the meeting. A furious Gaines called Murphy, who confirmed the request to alter the comic. Gaines subsequently brought up the idea of holding a press conference to tell the world about the Comics Code Authority refusing to allow the equal depiction of black characters. (While people could still get away with that in 1955, it could've put Murphy and the CCA in the crosshairs of political enemies they neither wanted nor needed.) Murphy asked Gaines and Feldstein for a minor "concession": remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before; in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at home plate striking a baseball.[[/note]] Gaines responded to the request with two well-chosen words--"[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]"--at which point Murphy hung up. In another account of the incident, Gaines and Feldstein glanced at each other incredulously, then dropped the F-bomb at him as one before Murphy hung up. EC Comics eventually published ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33--with the CCA stamp on the cover--and included "Judgment Day" in its original, unedited form. That issue would be [[DyingMomentOfAwesome the final comic book EC ever published]].

* Judge Charles F. Murphy--then the acting head of the Comics Code Authority and widely considered a perfect example of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling--told Al Feldstein that the CCA wanted EC Comics to change the reveal in the story "Judgment Day"[[note]]the visiting ambassador from Earth was a black man[[/note]] before ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 ran. Feldstein said changing the astronaut's ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story, then pointed out how EC had run the same story before with no objections. When the CCA refused to budge despite having no authority to make such a request (nothing about the comic or its ending broke any rule listed in the Code), Feldstein went back to William Gaines and told him about the meeting.\\

A furious Gaines called Murphy, who confirmed the request to alter the comic. Gaines subsequently brought up the idea of holding a press conference to tell the world about the Comics Code Authority refusing to allow the equal depiction of black characters. (While people could still get away with that in 1955, it could've put Murphy and the CCA in the crosshairs of political enemies they neither wanted nor needed.) Murphy asked Gaines and Feldstein for a minor "concession": remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before; in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at home plate striking a baseball.[[/note]] Gaines responded to the request with two well-chosen words--"[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]"--at which point Murphy hung up. In another account of the incident, Gaines and Feldstein glanced at each other incredulously, then dropped the F-bomb at him as one before Murphy hung up.\\

EC Comics eventually published ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33--with the CCA stamp on the cover--and included "Judgment Day" in its original, unedited form. That issue would be [[DyingMomentOfAwesome the final comic book EC ever published]].

EC Comics eventually published ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33--with the CCA stamp on the cover--and included "Judgment Day" in its original, unedited form. That issue would be the final comic book EC ever published.

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* Judge Charles F. Murphy -- then the acting head of the Comics Code Authority and widely considered a perfect example of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling -- told Al Feldstein that the CCA wanted EC Comics to change the reveal in the story "Judgment Day"[[note]]the visiting ambassador from Earth was a black man[[/note]] before ''Incredible Science Fiction'' #33 ran. Feldstein noted that changing the astronaut's ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story (and that they had run the same story before with no objections). When the CCA refused to budge despite having no authority to make such a request (nothing about the comic broke any rule listed in the Code), Feldstein went back to William Gaines and told him about the meeting.\\
A furious Gaines called Murphy, who confirmed the request to alter the comic. Gaines subsequently brought up the idea of holding a press conference and telling everyone that the Comics Code Authority refused to allow the equal depiction of black characters. (While people could still get away with that in 1955, it could've earned Murphy and the CCA some political enemies it didn't need.) As a "concession", Murphy asked Gaines and Feldstein to make one minor change by removing the perspiration from the ambassador's brow.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before; in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at home plate striking a baseball.[[/note]]\\
Gaines responded with two well-chosen words -- "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]" -- at which point Murphy hung up. In another account of the incident, Gaines and Feldstein glanced at each other incredulously, then dropped the F-bomb at him as one before Murphy hung up. EC Comics eventually (re-)ran the story -- in its original, unedited form -- in what would be the final comic book it ever published.
* Even under all the restrictions of the Comics Code at the height of its power, EC Comics proved it could still make a great story with ''Impact'' #1's "Master Race". Given that it was providing a dramatized (if educational) account of the Holocaust, the group also got away with publishing some surprisingly dark subject matter.
* In "The Thing from the Grave", protagonist Jim comes back from the dead to save Laura from his murderer, all on the whim of a promise he made her. He then gives the murderer a fitting punishment: [[TakingYouWithMe Jim re-buries himself and makes sure the murderer's buried next to him]].

* The story behind the final issue ever ran. When Judge Charles F. Murphy - the acting head of the CCA and, by all counts, the absolute epitome of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling - objected to the reveal that the visiting ambassador from Earth in "Judgment Day" was a black man, Gaines replied that changing his ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story... ''and'' they had run the same story before with no objections. As Gaines casually mentioned holding a press conference to inform the industry that the Comics Code Authority was racist and against the equal depiction of black characters (which, while still half-way acceptable in 1955, could earn them some political enemies), Murphy panicked. Still grasping at straws, he then demanded that they at least remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow before it could go to print.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before - in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at the plate striking a ball.[[/note]] Gaines responded "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]" and ran the story exactly as it was illustrated; in another account of the incident, Feldstein and Gaines suddenly glanced at each other incredulously, and then yelled at him as one.
** Even under all the restrictions implemented by the Code at the height of its power, EC proved they could still make a great story with ''Impact'' #1's "Master Race" - and, given that they were providing a dramatized, if educational, account of the Holocaust, they also got away with some surprisingly dark subject matter.
* "The Thing from the Grave"; Jim coming back from the dead to save Laura from his murderer, all on the whim of a promise he made her, and then giving his murderer his just desserts [[TakingYouWithMe by burying him alongside himself.]]

** Even under all the restrictions implemented by the Code at the height of its power, EC proved they could still make a great story with ''Impact'' #1's "Master Race" - and, given that they were providing a dramatized, if educational, account of the Holocaust, they also got away with some surprisingly dark subject matter.

* The story behind the final issue ever ran. When Judge Charles F. Murphy - the acting head of the CCA and, by all counts, the absolute epitome of arbitrary ExecutiveMeddling - objected to the reveal that the visiting ambassador from Earth in "Judgment Day" was a black man, Gaines replied that changing his ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story... ''and'' they had run the same story before with no objections. When Gaines casually mentioned holding a press conference to inform the press that the Comics Code Authority was racist and against the equal depiction of black characters (which, while still half-way acceptable in 1955, could earn them some political enemies), Murphy panicked. Still grasping at straws, he then demanded that they at least remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow before it could go to print.[[note]]Murphy had actually demanded visible sweat be excised from a comic book once before - in that instance, it was Russ Heath's illustration of a batter at the plate striking a ball.[[/note]] Gaines responded "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]" and ran the story exactly as it was illustrated; in another account of the incident, Feldstein and Gaines suddenly glanced at each other incredulously, and then yelled at him as one.

** Even under the restrictions implemented by the Code, EC proved they could still make a great story with ''Impact'' #1's ''Master Race''.

* The story behind the final issue ever ran. When a [[ExecutiveMeddling meddling executive]] objected to the reveal that the Earth ambassador in "Judgment Day" was a black man, EC's editor replied that changing his ethnicity ruined the entire point of the story ''and'' they had run the same story before with no objections. Still grasping at straws, the executive then demanded that they remove the perspiration from the ambassador's brow before it could go to print, to which the editor responded "[[PrecisionFStrike Fuck you!]]" and ran the story exactly as it was illustrated.