Joel Eisenberg and Timothy Owens’ EMO Films has formed a specialty division, EC Film, Radio and Television, Ltd., in association with rights-holder William M. Gaines Agent, Inc., to exclusively exploit the notorious EC comics library in all related media platforms. Titles included in the deal are TALES FROM THE CRYPT (based on the original stories and artwork, and not the HBO intellectual property version), VAULT OF HORROR, HAUNT OF FEAR, WEIRD FANTASY, SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES, TWO-FISTED TALES and the remaining horror, science fiction, crime, humor and dramatic library, with the exception of MAD MAGAZINE presently owned by Time-Warner.

“We are thrilled to represent the legendary EC line,” says Eisenberg. “The breadth of stories available to license for features, radio plays and television represents the epitome of graphic literature.”

EMO Films will both develop material in-house and set up projects with outside entities.

Deal was brokered by occasional iF Magazine contributor Eisenberg, and Cathy Gaines-Mifsud, the daughter of EC publisher William M. Gaines, representing William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. Corey Mifsud, Cathy’s son, has been assigned VP of Development for the new company.

William Maxwell Gaines is wildly considered one of the most influential figures in comic book history. Gaines’ father, M.C. (Max) Gaines, was the publisher of Educational Comics (EC), offering such parent-friendly fare as PICTURE STORIES FROM THE BIBLE. When the elder Gaines died in 1947 as a result of a freak boating accident, the younger Gaines, who was studying to become a chemistry teacher, unwillingly took over the family business.

Losing most of the old guard and hiring an anti-establishment band of writers and artists, Bill canned the educational titles, changed the E in EC to Entertaining, and focused his efforts on maintaining a primary line of horror, crime and science fiction books. The new EC was an immediate, though short-lived smash.

By 1955, a festering backlash against comics, spearheaded by psychiatrist Fredric Wertham, had picked up steam. Though Wertham argued that comic book violence led to juvenile delinquency, the EC brand was not all blood and guts. Stories about racism, substance abuse and war crimes were glossed over, however, by the lurid imagery of the line’s most successful titles. A Senate investigation followed, which led to the end of the classic EC era.

EMO Films’ recent release, the Columbine-themed APRIL SHOWERS, has set records for home video sales, becoming the all-time best seller for IndieFlix and a consistent top-performer on its various digital platforms. Film was released theatrically in an eighteen-city limited run on April 23. Upcoming projects include the biopic, GHOULISHLY YOURS, WILLIAM M, GAINES, written by Eisenberg, to be directed by John Landis, ROAD TO PURGATORY, the authorized sequel to ROAD TO PERDITION, and an untitled follow-up to DRUGSTORE COWBOY.