Grant Geissman: "The History of EC Comics"

Copies of Taschen's The History of E.C. Comics will be available by PRE-ORDER ONLY with a deadline of 10/10. $219 including CA sales tax. Payment by Cash, Check, PayPal/Zelle kevinsegall@gmail.com, or Venmo @Kevin-Segall. 

ABOUT THE BOOK:  A history of the world’s most notorious comics. In 1947, Bill Gaines inherited EC Comics, a new venture founded by his legendary father M. C. Gaines, who was responsible for midwifing the birth of the comic book as we know it during his tenure at All-American Comics, bringing the likes of Wonder Woman and Green Lantern to the world. Over the next eight years, Bill Gaines and a “who’s who” of the era including Al Feldstein, Harvey Kurtzman, and Wally Wood would reinvent the very notion of the comic book with titles like Tales from the Crypt, Crime SuspenStories, Weird Science, and MAD.  EC delighted in publishing gory, morbid horror and crime comics that had snap, ironic endings—but they also pioneered the first true-to-life war comics, the first “real” science-fiction stories, and a series of tales about such then-taboo subjects as racism, bigotry, vigilantism, drug addiction, police corruption, and anti-Semitism. Too good to last, they were eventually caught up by various 1950s guardians of morality, who were convinced that EC’s often over-the-top content was causing juvenile delinquency. A year or so after a full inquiry investigating horror and crime comics, the incredible EC Comics were no more.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Grant Geissman is one of the world’s leading experts on EC Comics and Mad magazine, and the author and designer of four books on the subject, three of them nominated for an Eisner Award. He is also an Emmy-nominated guitarist and composer who co-wrote the music for the hit television series Two and a Half Men and Mike & Molly. He has fourteen albums released under his own name, including the jazz trilogy Say That!, Cool Man Cool, and BOP! BANG! BOOM!

ABOUT THE CLUB: Founded in 1925, the Los Angeles Breakfast Club still thrives with food, friendship, and fun. Our meetings are held in our clubhouse, Friendship Auditorium, located at 3201 Riverside Drive, near the corner of Los Feliz Boulevard, in Griffith Park. Best described as a variety show, attendees enjoy a catered breakfast, silly songs, club traditions, and an interesting presentation from a guest speaker.

TICKETS: Sales on LAbreakfastclub.com close 48 hours before breakfast. Non-members are $25 and Members receive a 25% discount when logged into their Membership Portal. 

Please arrive between 6:45 - 7:00 AM sharp! Doors close at 7:15 AM. Your admission includes a buffet breakfast, enjoyment of our 97-year-old club traditions, plus a special presentation from our Speaker of the Week!

COVID-19 SAFETY:

- Surgical disposable face masks or medical-grade masks (i.e., KN95, KF94, N95) must be worn at all times unless actively eating or drinking.

- Cloth masks may only be worn if they sit on top of surgical disposable masks.

- Masks must cover the nose and mouth completely, and must not have any exhalation valves, vents, or holes of any kind.

- Remain 6 feet physically distanced wherever possible.

- The Los Angeles Breakfast Club requires proof of full vaccination, along with a government or education issued photo ID, upon arrival. Per the guidelines set by the CDC, full vaccination means that at least 14 days have passed since receiving the final dose of an FDA-authorized or WHO-listed COVID-19 vaccine. For anyone who is eligible, the LABC also requires attendees to have received booster shots. A one-month (30 day) grace period is given to those eligible but have not yet received booster shots.

• People ages 12 years and older are recommended to receive one updated Pfizer or Moderna (bivalent) booster. This includes people who have received all primary series doses and people who have previously received one or more original (monovalent) boosters.

For more information, please see the CDC’s guidance on boosters: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html.