Dissertations and Theses @ UNI
Availability
Open Access Thesis
Keywords
EC Comics; Mad; Comic books, strips, etc--Social aspects--History--United States--20th century; Caricatures and cartoons--Social aspects--History--United States--20th century; American wit and humor, Pictorial--Social aspects--History--United States--20th century; Academic theses;
Abstract
In 1944 Max Gaines, a pioneering figure in the development of comic books, decided to start his own publishing company, Educational Comics (EC), that focused on wholesome story lines and historical events in Biblical and American History. After his death in 1947, his son William took over the business, changed the company's name to Entertaining Comics (EC), and focused on crime and horror stories. William began publishing comics books such as Shock SuspenStories, and Weird Fantasy that alarmed parents, and political leaders due to depictions of violence and criticisms of America's lack of social justice. By the early 1950s, public outrage over indecency it felt was rampant throughout the entire comic book industry, and the perceived threat it posed to American Democracy forced Gaines to end his involvement, and switch to publishing the humor magazine Mad. During the latter part of the 1950s Gaines and his staff used Mad Magazine to shape the political and social views of young Americans, prompting many of them to join and in some cases lead the counterculture movement of the 1960s . The history of EC Comics, the comic book controversy, and subsequent fight over their suitability for children that occurred in the early years of the Cold War has been the subject of several books and articles. The effects of these two publications, specifically Mad, on the counterculture have also been addressed. There is, however more that can be added to this story that will enable a better understanding of Cold War Political Ideology and the rise of the counterculture. The goal of this thesis is to explore the relationship between EC crime and horror comics, Mad Magazine and the changing political landscape in the American Left from the late 1940s through the late 1950s. Another aim of this thesis is to add to the prevailing knowledge of the relationship these two publications had on the style, ideology, and tactics of the counterculture.
Year of Submission
2011
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Department of History
First Advisor
Brian Roberts
Second Advisor
Barbara Cutter
Third Advisor
Pablo Ben
Date Original
2011
Object Description
1 PDF file (199 leaves)
Copyright
©2011 Matthew D. Cossolotto
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Cossolotto, Matthew D., "Shockingly Absurd!: How EC Comics and Mad Magazine Contributed to the Counterculture, 1952-1960" (2011). Dissertations and Theses @ UNI. 2405.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/etd/2405
Comments
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