John Landis is preparing to direct a biography of comic book titan William M. Gaines, the man who pioneered the golden age of horror comics with his line of titles for E.C. that included Tales from the Crypt. When politicians sought to grandstand in the 1950s by blaming the influence of comic books as a reason for juvenile delinquency, the E.C. line was forced out of business. However, Gaines got even by venturing into satire with the establishment of Mad magazine which employed many of the artists and writers from the horror line. The rest is history as Mad has become a "must read" for successive generations of young cynics. Gaines was a larger-than-life figure both literally and figuritively and he established bonds with his readers through self-deprecating humor about the staff at Mad, which he routinely called "the usual gang of idiots." Gaines once infamously convinced a naive new employee that the company was run by himself and his brother, who was an exact twin - and had many a laugh the poor man's expense as he tried to fulfill contradictory orders from both brothers. Landis film will be titled, Ghoulishly Yours, William M. Gaines We're already getting on line!