The Spawn of Venus and Other Stories (the Fantagraphics EC Comics Artists Library)

By: Wallace Wood, Al Feldstein, Ray Bradbury, Grant Geissman, Thommy Burns, Jon Gothold

Published by Fantagraphics Books, 2025-04-22

This mouth-watering collection features the finest (and rarest!) science fiction stories Wallace Wood ever drew -- more than two dozen! Wood's meticulously detailed, genre-defining brushwork introduces you to breathtaking planetary vistas, terrifying aliens, and sleek rocket ships surging with the power to conquer the stars.

Our title story is a rarity that never appeared in any EC comic. Written and drawn for a 3-D comic that was canceled before it could be printed, we present it here in easy-on-the-eyes 2-D. Then, Wood's most iconic story, "My World" is a stunning showcase of the preternatural talent and technique he brought to all his stories. Also included are his trilogy of Ray Bradbury adaptations -- "Home to Stay," "There Will Come Soft Rains..." and "Mars Is Heaven!" -- plus "He Walked Among Us," a "what if...?" variation on Bradbury's "The Man" from The Illustrated Man.

But that's not all! An incredible science fiction bonus: Al Feldstein wrote many stories of people reaching from the beyond to right a wrong, but with this volume, in a twist worthy of the best of EC, he does the same himself! In 1955, the Comics Code rejected the second page of "You, Rocket" and forced EC to completely rewrite and redraw it. When the original art for that rejected page was rediscovered, one panel was missing. But Feldstein, in a middle-finger gesture to the Code and its heavy-handed censorship, wrote a new panel, restoring "You, Rocket" to what it was always meant to be. Sadly, he passed away before his final EC writing assignment was published. But here it is now, for the first time anywhere. Justice from beyond the grave.

26 stories in all, most scripted by EC legend Al Feldstein, plus in-depth commentary by EC experts Thommy Burns, Grant Geissman, and Jon Gothold. The Spawn Of Venus And Other Stories is the ultimate EC Wallace Wood science fiction collection.