The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #34
"A Mistake In Multiplication" is a standout entry in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library #34, presenting a chillingly precise tale from the legendary creative team of Bill Gaines, Al Feldstein, and Joe Orlando. Set in a future where marriage licenses require renewal every three years, it follows a man who hires a woman for a three-year union—strictly platonic—only to reveal a startling truth that upends everything. With sharp, eerie storytelling and haunting art by Orlando, this story stands as a rare and potent example of EC's signature blend of social satire and psychological tension.
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In the 21st Century, marriage licenses must be renewed every three years, so a man pays a woman thirty thousand dollars to be his wife for three years, but both agree on no sex. She agrees, and over time, falls in love with him. At the end of the three years she tells him that she'll claim she's expecting a child and the license will automatically renew. But he tells her that she could not be expecting a child and reveals he is a robot, and that he only wanted a wife during the past three years for crucial business negotiation appearances.
Plot details indexed by the Grand Comics Database (CC BY-SA).