Some of the most famous series that emerged from this kind of weird numbering and title changes were the EC titles:
WEIRD FANTASY emerged from a series titled
A MOON, A GIRL, ROMANCE (issues 9-12) and before that
MOON GIRL AND THE PRINCE (issues 1-8).
WEIRD SCIENCE emerged from
SADDLE ROMANCES (issues 9-11), before that
SADDLE JUSTICE (issues 3-8), and before that
HAPPY HOULIHANS (issues 1-2).
Both series (WEIRD SCIENCE and WEIRD FANTASY series both ending with issue 22) were merged into a short-lived
WEIRD SCIENCE-FANTASY (issues 23-29) and then again retitled as
INCREDIBLE SCIENCE FICTION (issues 30-33), around the time the comics code began.
It's kind of hilarious, how these titles flailed all over the place, retitled back and forth from romance to western to science fiction, in various reincarnations. Bill Gaines was most proud of his science fiction titles, and struggled to keep them on the stands despite the fact they weren't selling. They had some of the best storytelling (see "Judgement Day" in WEIRD FANTASY 18, that I posted in the Pre-Code stories topic), in stories by Wood and Williamson, and adaptations of Ray Bradbury stories, even one by Harlan Ellison ("Upheaval" in WEIRD SCIENCE-FANTASY 24, June 1954).
In their desperate reach for improved sales based on popular trends and splicing together of genres, they came up with some pretty goofy book titles.
