FRONTLINE COMBAT...nostalgia from EC Comics

[Hauksbee]

For those of us who were kids reading comics in the 1950's...good news! Some of the finest stories published by Bill Gaines's E.C.Comics are being reprinted. This is the guy who brought us SHOCK SUSPENSE STORIES, plus several other crime titles, and the scariest horror tales going, in such as THE VAULT OF HORROR, TALES FROM THE CRYPT and THE HAUNT OF FEAR. Their sci-fi titles, WEIRD SCIENCE and WEIRD FANTASY eschewed the standard space-opera themes and tapped writers like Ray Bradbury. But for me, the best were the two titles edited by Harvey Kurtzman: FRONTLINE COMBAT, and TWO-FISTED TALES. The latter started as an adventure title, but as the Korean War got hotter, it became an all war-story mag. Remember, this was the fifties. We had just won WWII. John Wayne strode biggly across the psyche of America. The standard fare at the time was "Sgt Rock and His Raging Commandos" wherein our guys always won, any one of ours was worth ten of the enemy, and moral issues were strictly black and white. Not so with Harvey Kurtzman. Among his 'good guy' stories were plenty where guys died for no good reason, just bad luck, or ignorance on the part of officers. One of the other things that made these titles so exciting was the research put into the stories. If it was about Panzer tanks, they drew them right. Scenes inside planes and ships were correct. You got to see things even Life Magazine couldn't show you. I just received the first volumn of the E.C. Archive, Issues #1-#6 Here a WWI flying story from that.

[UK_Widowmaker]

I'm a bit too young to remember these..but they look great!

[Hauksbee]

I'm a bit too young to remember these..but they look great!

...and even more so when you consider how it all happened. Bill Gaines father had this little comics business called "Educational Comics", or, E.C. He published bible stories in comics form. Bill, the son. had no interest in the biz. But Bill's Dad died very suddenly and he had to take it over. Somewhere along the line, he met Al Feldstein, and between the two of them, they launched a second E.C. Comics; this called "Entertaining Comics". The mainstay of this E.C. was the Crime and Horror titles, with the Sci-Fi and War titles following on. It's ironic that Gaines inherited a comics company that published what priests, pastors and educators thought kids should be reading, and used it to evolve yet another, but which had the same crew howling with outrage. ( I must admit, those Horror titles were pretty scarey) And where other publishers kept their artists anonymous (so they wouldn't get swelled heads and want more money) Gaines turned his guys into featured 'stars' who were allowed to sign their art.

 

Here's Page #2.Check out the detailing: the MG receivers, the fabric stitching, and, best of all, the hammer clipped to his gauntlet for clearing jams.

Edited January 1, 2012 by Hauksbee

[cptroyce]

Hauksbee -

 

I had a collection of comic books when I was a kid (1950's) that would be worth a fortune today if I didn't throw them away as I got older. Tales from the Crypt and the other Tales from...kept me entertained for hours.

 

Anyway..is this archive collection being reproduced in bound book form? Where is it available from?

 

Regards,

Royce

 

PS- Found them..thanks for posting the nostalgia

 

 

Edited January 1, 2012 by cptroyce

[Hauksbee]

I had a collection of comic books when I was a kid (1950's) that would be worth a fortune today if I didn't throw them away as I got older. Tales from the Crypt and the other Tales from...kept me entertained for hours

No doubt about it, you had the 'Cadillac of Comics'. It's the eternal story: 'If Mom hadn't thrown out the...", or, "If I hadn't..." Ah well. I vowed to learn from such lessons. However; I have two strikes against me. First, I am a "Thrower-Outer", not a"Pack Rat" and holding on to items for their potential resale value requires a Pack Rat mentality. Secondly, until recently, I've been an apartment dweller. Usually studio apts. ("Bed-sitters" in the UK.) Not much room there for a hoarder or dedicated collector so I've had to be quite selective. The problem is, the items I've chosen have remained worthless. Strike #3.

[Hauksbee]

Page #3 'Love the full-width panel at the bottom of the page. (and we'll see it again.)

Edited January 2, 2012 by Hauksbee

[Hauksbee]

Page #4

[Herr Prop-Wasche]

Ruh-roh! Looks like the Hun in the Sun!

 

Good stuff, Hauksbee.

[Hauksbee]

Yes, it's looking bad for our new hero...

[cptroyce]

Hauksbee - What archive book is this WW1 story issued? Also, you need to now keep posting pages... ;>)

Edited January 3, 2012 by cptroyce

[Hauksbee]

Hauksbee - What archive book is this WW1 story issued? Also, you need to now keep posting pages...

The Book is "The E.C.Archive_FRONTLINE COMBAT_Vol. #1_Issues 1-6" ISBN 978-1-60360-091-4 ($49.95...not exactly cheap) It is not heavy on WWI flying stories, but contains tales of war from all ages, intelligently written, and beautifully illustrated.

 

Here's the last page (tho' I think you already know where this tale is going.) Check the mid- page, full width panel. Tomorrow starts "Bomb Run", a WWII B-26 story from which I have not yet recovered. (No joke!)

[Hauksbee]

OK, here we go for Round #2. This is, without a doubt, the best comics story I've ever read. Irony was the mainstay of the E.C. writers, as shown here in the name of the plane, the book being read, and the eventual outcome of the story.

[cptroyce]

Hauksbee- I have not looked at a comic book or page in many years. But I have to say that beyond bringing back memories of my youth, the panels, character action, color etc. were really "art forms" unappreciated as a kid.

 

Anyway..I look forward to your postings.

 

Royce

[cptroyce]

Hauks- thank for continuing to post these pages...I'm enjoying following these stories..sort of like the "old" serial comics of the Sunday papers...What ? ! ;>)