William M. Gaines
Writer · Born March 1, 1922 (104) · New York, USA
Willim Gaines became one of the most important figures in comic book and humor history by accident. Gaines' father, M.C. (Max) Gaines, was the publisher of Educational Comics (EC). When the elder Gaines died in 1947 as a result of freak boating accident, the younger Gaines found himself publisher. At the time, EC put out a wide variety of titles. Gaines noticed that the most popular sellers were the horror and SF titles. He canceled all the educational comics, changed the E in EC to Entertaining, and focused his efforts on developing the remaining lines. By the early 1950s, EC was a top performer, featuring such titles as "Vault of Horror", "Tales from the Crypt", "Crime Does Not Pay", and "Weird Science". By 1955, however, a backlash against these types of comics developed, spearheaded by Dr. Frderic Wertham who, in his book "Seduction of the Innocent", argued that comic book violence led to juvenile delinquency. This was followed by a Senate investigation, and the founding of the Comic Code Authority, which made publication of the old style EC comics all but impossible. Luckily for Gaines, EC had one other comic that was untouched by the CCA; a little humor comic called "MAD". Gaines changed the format of MAD from full-color comic to B&W magazine in order to be completely free from the suppression of the CCA. Along with editor Al Feldstein and "the usual gang of idiots", publisher Gaines made MAD a touchstone of satire and humor for young people throughout the 60s, 70s and 80s. Gaines was still publishing MAD Magazine when he died in his sleep on June 3rd, 1992.
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Biography from IMDb.
- March 1, 1922 (104)
- New York, USA
- Writer
- 5 on MovieCove
What are William M. Gaines' films like?
Across their 5 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Self.
What they feel like to watch
A split, not a type: Ironic 2 · Wry 1 · Earnest 2
Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 1
Grounded 0 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 1
Steady 2 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 2
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 3 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 1
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch William M. Gaines' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
Subscription and free streaming for William M. Gaines' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
5 credits, 5 with a MovieCove page.
Bordello of Blood(1996)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
W.E.I.R.D. World(1995)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Weird Science(1985)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
The Vault of Horror(1973)
Midcredits score: 65th percentile of all films
Tales from the Crypt(1972)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
Career shape
Across their 5 MovieCove titles from 1972 to 1996.
How do William M. Gaines' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 65th percentile, the median of all 5; across their 5 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 5 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 48/100 and the plot and story 47/100 in their films, across 5 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is William M. Gaines' work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 4 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does William M. Gaines work with?
People who share at least 2 of William M. Gaines' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Al Feldstein shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Al FeldsteinShared titles: Weird Science (1985), The Vault of Horror (1973), Tales from the Crypt (1972)See all 3 shared titles with Al Feldstein
- A L KatzShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995)See all 2 shared titles with A L Katz
- Gilbert AdlerShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Gilbert Adler
- George EvansShared titles: The Vault of Horror (1973), Tales from the Crypt (1972)See all 2 shared titles with George Evans
Composers
- Douglas GamleyShared titles: The Vault of Horror (1973), Tales from the Crypt (1972)See all 2 shared titles with Douglas Gamley
Producers
- Joel SilverShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995), Weird Science (1985)See all 3 shared titles with Joel Silver
- David GilerShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995)See all 2 shared titles with David Giler
- Richard DonnerShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Richard Donner
- Robert ZemeckisShared titles: Bordello of Blood (1996), W.E.I.R.D. World (1995)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Zemeckis
