EC Archives

“Two-Fisted Tales was a bi-monthly, anthology war comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in November 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor of Two-Fisted Tales, and eventually narrowed the focus to war stories. The book often took an anti-war stance. The title hit newsstands with its November/December 1950 issue, and ceased publication February 1955, producing a total of 24 issues. Years after its demise, the title was reprinted in its entirety and was adapted to television.

As with most of the EC comics published at the time, Two-Fisted Tales did not start with issue number 1, since it was renamed from a previous title. Two-Fisted Tales was a renaming of The Haunt of Fear starting with issue 18. Wholesale problems had caused Gaines to consider dropping The Haunt of Fear, but he changed his mind without skipping an issue. Two-Fisted Tales took over the numbering, and The Haunt of Fear then reverted back to the correct numbering for the remainder of its run. Publishers would frequently change comic title names to save money on second class postage.”

“Frontline Combat was a bi-monthly, anthology war comic edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951. Over a three-year span, the title ran for 15 issues, ending with the January, 1954 issue. Publication was discontinued following a decline in sales attributed to the end of the Korean War.

The title was a companion comic to Kurtzman’s Two-Fisted Tales, and stories Kurtzman wrote for both books often displayed an anti-war attitude. Artists who contributed were Kurtzman, John Severin, Jack Davis, Wally Wood, Alex Toth, George Evans, Ric Estrada, Joe Kubert, Will Elder and Russ Heath.

Frontline Combat was completely reprinted in three black-and-white hardbacks by publisher Russ Cochran in 1982. Between August 1995 and February 1999, Cochran (in association with Gemstone Publishing) reprinted the full 15 individual issues.”

“Shock SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending with the December/January 1955 issue.

Front covers were by Feldstein, Wally Wood, Johnny Craig, George Evans and Jack Kamen. Kamen was the comic’s most prolific artist, usually doing the lead eight-page story in each issue. Other stories were illustrated by Craig, Evans, Wood, Graham Ingels, Jack Davis, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, Bernard Krigstein and Frank Frazetta.

Shock SuspenStories originated in early 1952 as a “sampler” featuring stories of various genres.”

“Weird Science was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly science-fiction comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, replaced Western/romance comic Saddle Romances with the May/June 1950 issue. Although the title and format change took effect with issue 12, Gaines and Feldstein decided not to restart the numbering in order to save money on second class postage. The Post Office took note and, starting with issue #5, all the issues were numbered correctly. Because of this, “Weird Science #12” could refer to either the May/June 1950 issue, or the actual twelfth issue of the title, published in 1952. The same confusion exists for issues #13-15, #15 being the last issue published before EC reset the numbering. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November-December, 1953 issue.

Early cover illustrations were by Feldstein. Wally Wood took over as the regular cover illustrator in 1952. Wood was also the most dominant artist in the title, and for a period of time in 1952 did two stories per issue. The stories were drawn by Feldstein, Frank Frazetta, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, George Evans, Harvey Kurtzman, George Roussos, Harry Harrison, Will Elder, Jack Kamen, Sid Check and Jack Olesen.

Weird Science featured a number of Ray Bradbury adaptations after he and EC came to an agreement in 1952. These stories included “The Long Years” (#17), “Mars is Heaven” (#18), “The One Who Waits” (#19), “Surprise Package” (#20), “Punishment Without Crime” (#21) and “Outcast of the Stars” (#22). Gaines and Feldstein made a cameo in “Chewed Out” (#12). Many EC staffers made cameos in “EC Confidential” (#21).”

“The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt, and The Haunt of Fear are three bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The Vault of Horror hit newstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a total of twenty-nine issues. The title was popular, but, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, comic books came under attack from moralizing parents, clergymen, schoolteachers, and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency.

In April and June 1954, highly publicized Congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the comics industry shaken. With the imposition of the highly restrictive Comics Code Authority, EC Comics publisher William Maxwell Gaines canceled The Vault of Horror and its two companion titles in September 1954. All three titles have been reprinted at various times since their demise and have been adapted for television and film.”

“The Haunt of Fear, Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror are three bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The Haunt of Fear hit newsstands with its May/June 1950 issue and ceased publication with its November/December 1954 issue, producing a total of 28 issues. The title was popular, but, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, teachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized Congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code, EC Comics publisher William Gaines canceled The Haunt of Fear and its two companion titles in September 1954. All three titles have been reprinted at various times since their demise and have been adapted for television and film.”

“Tales from the Crypt, The Haunt of Fear, and The Vault of Horror are three bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Tales from the Crypt hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of thirty issues. The title was popular, but, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, schoolteachers, and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized Congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code, EC Comics publisher William Maxwell Gaines canceled Tales from the Crypt and its two companion titles in September 1954. All three titles have been reprinted at various times since their demise and have been adapted for television and film.”

“Crime SuspenStories was a bi-monthly, anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title hit newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of 27 issues. Years after its demise, the title was reprinted in its entirety and four stories were adapted for television.

Each issue contained four stories centering around a wide variety of criminal activities and displayed a noir-styled approach that differed from other crime comic books of the period. James M. Cain, Cornell Woolrich, radio’s Suspense, Jim Thompson and similar fiction were obvious influences on the Crime SuspenStories scripts by Craig, Feldstein, Carl Wessler and others. Two stories were adaptations from Ray Bradbury “The Screaming Woman” (issue 15)and “Touch and Go” (issue 17) with Bradbury receiving a billboard blurb on the front covers. Issues 3 through 16 featured a guest appearance from The Haunt of Fear’s Old Witch.

Artists included Al Feldstein, Johnny Craig, George Evans and Jack Kamen,Wally Wood, Graham Ingels, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Davis, George Roussos, Sid Check, Al Williamson, Fred Peters, Joe Orlando, Will Elder, Reed Crandall, Bernard Krigstein and Frank Frazetta.

This was one of five titles voluntarily killed by publisher Bill Gaines in 1954 due to the increasing controversy surrounding horror and crime comics.”