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William M. Gaines

William M. Gaines

Born: 1922-03-01 • Brooklyn, New York, USA

William Maxwell Gaines (March 1, 1922 – June 3, 1992), was an American publisher and co-editor of EC Comics. Following a shift in EC's direction in 1950, Gaines presided over what became an artistically influential and historically important line of mature-audience comics. He published the satirical magazine Mad for over 40 years.

He was posthumously inducted into the comic book industry's Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame (1993) and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame (1997). In 2012, he was inducted into the Ghastly Awards' Hall of Fame.

Filmography
When We Went MAD! poster
When We Went MAD!
2025 • Self (archive footage)
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #3: Sequelitis poster
AGFA Mystery Mixtape #3: Sequelitis
2020 • Self
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault poster
The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
2020 • (archive footage)
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics poster
Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics
2010 • Self (archive footage)
Comic Book Confidential poster
Comic Book Confidential
1989 • Self