EC Comics! It's An Entertaining Comic! Issue 68

The EC Reign Month by Month 1950-1956
68: October 1955 Part I

Davis

Impact 4

"The Lonely One" ★★★
Story by Jack Oleck?
Art by Jack Davis

"Fall in Winter" ★★
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Graham Ingels

"The Bitter End" ★
Story by Al Feldstein?
Art by Reed Crandall

"Country Doctor" ★★1/2
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by George Evans

Benson can't stand Miller and makes his life in a soldier's suit a living hell. What's the beef? Well, Miller is Jewish and Benson is a bigot. He prods Miller at every turn, calls him "yellow" and, at one point, beats the hell out of him. But Miller just keeps doing his job. Things reach a head when Benson finds out that Miller will be getting his corporal stripes; this infuriates the hot-head and he decides he's going to play a nasty prank on his victim. Benson grabs hold of a "dummy grenade" (one that soldiers practice with) and tosses it among Miller and his comrades, screaming "Live grenade!" Benson expects the younger man to turn tail and run but, instead, the kid throws himself on the TNT pineapple, earning the respect of the others in his platoon. Now it's time for Benson to be "The Lonely One."

"The Lonely One"

"The Lonely One"

Well, it took four issues but Al finally decided to throw in a Two-Fisted Tale among the soap opera whatzits and it's not too bad at all; certainly better than most of the war stories that stunk up the last batch of TFTs. It's confusing throughout the story to discern exactly where the prejudice stems from, since Benson's hatred is focused on a kid named Miller, probably one of the most innocuous names around, but thanks to a little research I found an interesting bit about the story in an interview with Bill Gaines that ran in The Comics Journal. Gaines insists that the name was made purposely "bland" so that the story could pass without interference from the Comics Code, an organization that was upholding moral values by eliminating any traces of Jews or Blacks in funny books. This wasn't the first run-in with the numbskulls at the CCA and it wouldn't be the last. Extra star for not ending it with Benson seeing the light and buying Miller a . . . Miller.

"Fall in Winter"

Why is Theodore Hamilton standing on the ledge of a high-rise building, threatening to jump? Through flashbacks, we discover that Theodore has had a rotten day. First, after thirty years of dedicated service, his boss, Mr. Abernathy, lays him off. There's no way his wife, Ruth, will accept the news with anything less than a screaming fit. Then, as Theodore is attempting to board his bus to go home, a woman ahead of him in line drops her purse. Without a second thought, he picks up the purse just as the woman turns and screams "Purse snatcher!" The cops arrive and Theodore panics, racing away with the purse still in hand. The police chase him into the building and onto the ledge where he now stands, but Theodore loses his nerve and begins to inch his way back to the window when he loses his footing and falls. Luckily, the fire department has arrived in time and catches the falling man in their net. The bus driver shows up to dispute the woman's claims and Mr. Abernathy seems to appear in a puff of smoke to deliver the good news: he'll be keeping Theodore on after all. It's a wonderful life! "Fall in Winter" begins as an involving human interest story (something we don't see much of in the New Direction titles); I wanted to know why this old man was up there on the ledge. But then, unfortunately, Carl Wessler decided he was writing a Hollywood B-picture instead and threw in some silly histrionics and outlandish last-second saves. Graham's style is slowly sliding into a post-Crypt tranquility; his characters look a little more human now that he doesn't have to worry about ghouls and swamp witches. Even his women (well, aside from the crazy bus lady) look a little softer.

"The Bitter End"

Nicholas Bullard is an embarrassment to his father, Gerard, who only wants Nicky to follow in the old man's shoes and become a multi-million dollar businessman. Nicky would rather be an artsy-fartsy, sensitive mama's boy (where have we heard this before?), so he rebels every chance he gets. Why, Nicky won't even date fabulous Sheila Cochrane, heir to the Cochrane millions, and instead becomes involved with a simple diner waitress. Pshaw! to that. Gerard pulls strings and has Nicky sent to New Guinea on a one-year business trek but, after all his letters to his son go unanswered, he has a change of heart and has him shipped home. To his surprise, Nicky's diner girl, Iris, shows up at Gerard's door, with baby in tow, to inform him that his son died while in New Guinea. Iris vows that Gerard will never see his grandson again. I kept waiting for "the Psychiatrist" to show up to tell Gerard what he was doing wrong and tell Nick that he's really telling his father, with his actions, that the family tree needs to be pulled down. It's not some of Reed Crandall's best work either; it's a rather hum-drum affair.

"Country Doctor"

On this cold and snowy night, "Country Doctor" Joseph Brown is called out for two emergencies: farmer Eddie has had a run-in with his tractor, and young couple Fred and Alice are expecting their first child. Fred insists that Dr. Brown hurry as his wife is in pain but Brown deems farmer Eddie to be the more serious of the two. Several times while mending Ed's crushed leg, Brown receives pleading calls from Fred but tells the man to calm down, babies are born every day. Eventually Dr. Brown gets to the young couple's house but, unfortunately, it's too late: Alice and the baby are both dead. He sobs as Eddie's son, Chet, takes him home in their sleigh through the snow and Chet feels really guilty that Dr. Brown's daughter, Alice, died while the doc was helping his father. This is a tough one. I liked the little-town atmosphere of "Country Doctor" and, of course, the George Evans illustrations, but the twist is a cheap one, thrown in because there just has to be an O. Henry to wrap up an EC story, right?  I think the story would have had more of an Impact had it left well enough alone. The Doc would have been wracked with guilt regardless and that final panel, where Brown pretty much lays the guilt on Chet's doorstep ("I . . . choke . . . I promised to take a look in at your father, Chet . . .") is an odd turn. -Peter

Jack- This is a very strong issue for a New Direction comic. Davis is very good at drawing war stories and, though the Korean War was over and had stopped appearing as a location for EC tales some time ago, "The Lonely One" is not a bad little offering. It took me a minute to figure out that Miller was Jewish, which shows that Gaines was wise to pick such a bland name, but the cover telegraphed what should have been a more unexpected ending. I liked the Woolrichian sense of dread at the start of "Fall in Winter" and was surprised that attempted suicide paid off so handsomely; I also liked Ingels's smoother artwork. I was stunned to read your criticism of Crandall's work in "The Bitter End," since I was marveling at the magazine-quality illustrations on every page. I think it's some of Crandall's best EC work. Of course, George Evans is no slouch, either, and rivals Crandall for my favorite EC artist of 1955. I did not see the end of "Country Doctor" coming in advance but I sure liked the visuals.

Davis

Incredible Science Fiction 31

"You, Rocket"★★1/2
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Wally Wood

"Fulfillment"★★1/2
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Bernie Krigstein

"Time to Leave"★★★
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Roy Krenkel and Al Williamson

"Has-Been"★★★
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by Wally Wood

Peter suggests another
new blog to Jack
("You, Rocket")

After rocket engineer Allan Crane is killed in a rocket car accident, nearby scientists harvest his brain to use for an audacious project--they will link it to a spaceship and thus avoid the necessity of putting a man in space, something that has so far failed due to the fact that the astronauts went insane when confronted with the vast reaches of space. Allan's brain is trained to pilot a ship and he becomes convinced of his own power and importance. Launch day comes and the ship takes off, but when he sees the vast void Allan's brain turns the ship around, crying "Mama" like an infant and heading back to Earth.

Wally Wood was my favorite EC artist when it came to science fiction stories, but Jack Oleck is not my favorite writer of these tales. "You, Rocket" plods along as if it's going somewhere and seems vaguely like a Bradbury ripoff until the final panel which, oddly enough, does not clue the reader in that it's "the end." I turned the page thinking there was more only to find that that was it. Not a sign of a great finish.

Carter's pose recalls the early EC
work of Al Feldstein in this panel
from "Time to Leave"

Ancient Egyptians worship the image of the god Ra. Many years before, a disabled space ship landed on an unfamiliar planet. The skipper of the ship was a meek man and his wife a shrew; he enjoyed the primitive planet but she couldn't wait to leave. She nagged him until he used the ship's blasters illegally to destroy the jungle around it so that a rescue ship could find them easily. Soon, the rescue ship arrived and repaired the disabled ship; as it took off, a primitive man on the planet observed  the skipper in his oxygen ask. Back to ancient Egypt and now we see that the image of Ra resembles the space ship captain in his oxygen mask.

The good news is that Bernie Krigstein can drew a pretty sweet gal, even if she is a nagging beast. The bad news is that Jack Oleck falls back on one of the oldest tropes of bad science fiction, that being the idea that ancient astronauts visited our planet long ago and the reality of their existence became legend over time. "Fulfillment" is a poor excuse for a science fiction story but Krigstein's work is better than what I've seen from him in quite awhile.

In the year 2954, a man named Garvin calmly welcomes another "Prim," or time traveler; this time, it's Dr. Arnold Carter from North America in 1955. Garvin tells Carter that he'll show him around the city but he's sure that Carter will want to rush back home. Carter argues but, as he witnesses the emotionless perfection of the future city, he is repelled and when it's "Time to Leave" he is surprised that Garvin wants to join him.

A nice wordless panel by Wood
("Has-Been")

Better than the first two stories but still seeming long at six pages, "Time to Leave" seems like an anti-Communist screed with gorgeous art by Krenkel and Williamson. The future city has men and women who all dress alike and everyone has the same amount of money. Dance shows are performed by robots. It really doesn't seem as bad as all that, but Carter can't wait to get back to sloppy, emotional 1955.

A space ship captain worries that he's a "Has-Been," too old to fight in outer space battles due to a slowing of his reflexes. This appears to be borne out when he misses a shot during a confrontation with another ship, and he thinks back to his own father's lament that he was too old to fight in space. Working his way onto the force, the young man made the cut for space flight and worked his way up to captain. Now he's past his prime and his second-in-command must intervene to save their ship. Back home and decommissioned, his father welcomes home the captain--who has reached the ripe old age of fifteen.

Huh? I guess Oleck's point here is that things happen so fast in the space race that only the very young have the reflexes to keep up and by their mid-teens they are too slow. The story is pedestrian and, as in all of Oleck's stories this issue, the surprise ending doesn't quite work. At least Wood is on his game, as usual.-Jack

Krigstein delivers "Fulfillment"

Peter: For the most part, this is a pretty good issue of Incredible Science-Fiction, fairly well-written and gorgeously illustrated (how can you find fault in a funny book that serves you up two Woods?), and yet all the stories smack of retread. All four seem very similar to plots we've enjoyed in the past (especially "You, Rocket!" and "Time to Leave"), with tiny tweaks. The best of the bunch, to me, is "Fulfillment," which takes one of the aforementioned EC cliches (the brow-beaten, spineless husband and his shrewish wife) and actually does something interesting with it. The twist in the tail is very effective! Was it just me or did Jack Oleck try to sneak something by the CCA in "Time to Leave," something that would have had Wertham writing another chapter in his infamous diatribe? When Dr. Carter asks why you can't tell the men from the women, the Control replies, "Is there some reason why you should?" Oh, my, subtle homosexuality forced into the suggestive brain of little Tommy! Oh, and why does the Control, after meeting and touring with dozens of other time travelers, suddenly decide that Carter is right, this future is not too great after all? Which begs another question from me: why did EC give up on horror comics after the CCA axe fell? Why not at least try out a few issues of a CCA-approved Tales from the Crypt ("Crypt" was not an outlawed word, after all) and see what happened? Yeah, I know, it probably would have run into trouble eventually (like this title will) and been shut down but the experiment (from a Monday-morning quarterback point of view) would have been fascinating.

Kamen

Psychoanalysis 4

"Freddy Carter: Case No. 101 - Male (Session 4)" ★★
Story by Dan Keyes
Art by Jack Kamen

"Mark Stone: Case No. 103 - Male (Session 4)"  ★
"Mark Stone: Case No. 103 - Male (Final Sessions)"  1/2★
Story by Robert Bernstein
Art by Jack Kamen

Young Freddy Carter shows up for his final session of psychoanalysis with his therapist and unloads on the doc. Seems Freddy's parents have been acting up again. Pop tells Freddy if he doesn't pass his math and engineering finals, he's an embarrassing failure as a son and should seriously think about giving up on life. Mom keeps right on coddling her baby, thinking it's so cute when Freddy tricks his dad into thinking he's studying his geometry workbook when he's really hiding his collection of Emily Dickinson inside. What's a kid to do? More importantly, what's a head-shrinker to do?

If I gotta read this crap, then so do you!

Well, it's been a long time coming but "the Psychiatrist" ushers Mr. and Mrs. Carter into his office and rips them both new ones, scolding them for their behavior and for screwing up this wonderful boy's life. Magically, the veil is lifted and both parents not only agree to go easy on their only child but also to seek professional help themselves! Therapy completed! I'm not sure why but I was able to make it through this particular chapter in the Freddy Carter saga much easier than the previous three. Maybe it's because it's so darned ridiculous and dated. Mr. Carter is so mean-spirited and vicious to his son, I was wondering why editor Feldstein didn't steal Graham Ingels away from Piracy for an afternoon's work. A much better ending (and one that would have fit very well into Ghastly's oeuvre) would have been Freddy burying his therapist's letter opener in the back of Pop's skull.

Is this Freddy or Mark?

My first reaction to the splash page for the latest entry in the "Mark Stone" whining epic is that Freddy Carter got home, changed his suit, and realized he forgot the murder weapon in the doc's office and had to go back but, no, it's a slimmer, more svelte Mark Stone (chalk it up to my not being able to tell the difference between one Kamen character and another) arriving for his fourth session. And a doozy of a session it is, my friends. Mark is suddenly aggressive towards his mental savior but the reasoning is a bit skewed. Seems Mark has been having horrible dreams about his mother running off to Bermuda and leaving him fish in a pan but that's only a metaphor for what's really bothering him: "the Psychiatrist" has told Mark that he's taking a week off and going fishing in Cuba (hmmm . . . fish . . . Cuba . . . Bermuda . . . yeah, this psych stuff is pretty easy) and that terrifies the previously-obese TV writer. According to his therapist, Mark has been transferring all his hates and fears about authority, abandonment, and emotion to his therapist and that's not a good thing. Oh, whoops, our session is over.

No, that's not Mark!

A month later (after a session not illustrated), Mark Stone returns for his final session and he seems to be loaded with anxiety again, but this time it's about the impending cessation of his therapy. He can't get on an airplane without thinking it's going down, he badgers his new girlfriend to marry him, he won't get into the elevator because it's going to crash . . . okay, maybe this head-shrinking stuff isn't that easy. But thank goodness, we have writer Robert Bernstein to sort out the muck. Mark was pressuring Laura to wed him because, without therapy, he saw no future and she provided something stable. Oops, the session is over but his therapist smiles and assures Mark that, yep, maybe he's screwed up enough to come back for three more sessions.

Perhaps my favorite panel
ever published in an EC Comic!

And let's all give a standing ovation to Bill Gaines for pulling the plug on this turkey before we had to endure any more of those meetings. I would assume by the quick wrap-up at the finale of both "Freddy Carter" and "Mark Stone" (I say quick wrap-up but I had to slog through 18 pages of "Stone") that Feldstein knew the jig was up for this New Direction title after only four issues (despite the fact that there must have been at least thirteen loyal readers left). Criticizing Jack Kamen's art after all this time is like shooting the proverbial fish in a barrel but, seriously, can anyone tell me that anything Kamen has done in this series shows any bit of excitement or style? Look at the panels and the only way you can tell the difference between Kamen's characters is that some of them wear dresses and some not. Well, this is the first EC book that I've waved good riddance to but, sadly, it won't be the last. -Peter. 

Jack- It quickly became apparent to me that the real reason Freddy's parents were ending his sessions with the shrink was that the comic was being canceled. The first story is a hoot, from Freddy's Dad calling him a "novel-reading sissy" to a hilarious scene where the shrink dresses down the parents. Mark Stone demonstrates the usefulness of psychoanalysis as a tool for rapid weight loss, but the shrink's insistence on having a question and answer session with his patient seems laughable. By the end of this issue, I felt sorry for Jack Kamen for having to figure out how to draw panels to go along with the endless blather. It was the exciting three-panel sequence where the Psychiatrist cleans his glasses that made me realize it could not have been easy to illustrate this mess. Still, the bizarre idea of doing this comic at all kind of held my interest.

Next Week . . .
Can they really call these cool cats . . .
the Losers?

EC Comics! It's An Entertaining Comic! Issue 67

The EC Reign Month by Month 1950-1956
67: September 1955

Panic 10

"Captain Izzy and Washt Upps"★★1/2
Story by Jack Mendelsohn
Art by Bill Elder

"A Star is Corn"★1/2
Story by Jack Mendelsohn
Art by Jack Davis

"Punch Lines"★
Story by Jack Mendelsohn
Art by Bill Elder

"Foreign Movies"★1/2
Story by Jack Mendelsohn
Art by Jack Davis

"Captain Izzy and Washt Upps" are struggling with their job on a factory line unbending bobby pins, so they complain to the boss, who sends them on an exciting mission to the North Country to inspect his property holdings. They travel by plane to Roughantough, where they fight with the local bruisers until they are tied up and taken to the boss, who single-handedly knocks out everyone in town. Their task accomplished, they fly home.

"A Star is Corn"

In a lifetime of reading comic books and comic strips, I'll be darned if I ever read a Wash Tubbs story, and these parodies are not as funny as they might be if the reader is unfamiliar with the object of the parody. Still, perhaps because Mad is no longer a comic book and thus not grabbing all the good stuff, this seems above-average for a Panic story, with nice art by Elder (no surprise there) and humorous background gags. There is even a Bob and Ray reference on page three!

Matinee idol Normal Mainliner discovers stage performer Esther Blodgett and takes her under his wing, quickly running her through the star-making machine and turning her into a movie queen. She marries him despite his drunkenness and he disappears into the ocean, though Esther does not realize that he has found a mermaid to make into his next star.

I must admit I've never seen any version of A Star is Born, either. I am suddenly feeling quite ignorant, and it's all due to Panic. "A Star is Corn" is not very funny, but it is squarely in line with the sort of movie parodies that would sustain Mad magazine for many decades to come and Jack Davis is skilled at caricature.

"Punch Lines" fills six pages with 12 half-page gags. I didn't smile once. I was surprised to see from the credits that Elder drew this, because it's so straightforward and unimaginative. There's even a Reggie van Gleason character in one of the gags, which is about as dated as it gets.

"Punch Lines"

"Foreign Movies"

John loses his job and finally tells Marsha, who pledges to see it through together. That's the premise that sets up a series of one-page "Foreign Movies," looking at how the same situation would be handled by different countries in world cinema. We see French, British, and Italian versions of this scene, followed by Japanese, Russian, and American examples. There are a few faint smiles to be had, and Jack Davis does bigfoot art as well as anyone, but this issue of Panic was a real letdown after a promising start.
-Jack

"Captain Izzy and Washt Upps"

Peter: There are a couple decent one-liners in "Captain Izzy" (I'm a sucker for the fourth-wall jokes) but, otherwise, it's another bad send-up of a (now) obscure strip that I know nothing about. Sad thing is that I feel even if I knew the strip intimately, this would still be embarrassingly unfunny. But there are those two or three funny lines, something which is missing in spades in "A Star is Corn" (Ho! Ho! What a riotous title that one, eh?), which sees Jack Mendelsohn again switching out names of characters (in this case, Norman Mainliner instead of Norman Maine) and considering that hilarious. I can just picture Mendelsohn in his office cracking himself up with his own work. "Foreign Movies" and "Punch Lines" are so inane that they make me wonder if editor Feldstein hadn't, by this time, just thrown up his hands and said "I give up!" and okayed anything Mendelsohn submitted. How else to explain six pages wasted on bad alcoholic jokes and a further seven devoted to the same scene done in different languages (and none of them funny)?

Krigstein

 Piracy 6

"Fit for a King"★★★
Story Uncredited
Art by Reed Crandall

"The Skipper"★★★
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by George Evans

"Fur Crazy"★★
Story Uncredited
Art by Graham Ingels

"Solitary"★★1/2
Story Uncredited
Art by Jack Davis

An old derelict named Adam sleeps next to the fire at a British pub until he is awakened to tell the story of Long Ben Avery, the king of the pirates! Insisting that Avery was a fool, Adam recalls that Ben incited mutiny on the Charles, looted an English merchant ship, and sailed for Madagascar, where he revealed his plan to rob the treasure ship of the Great Mogul's Mocha Fleet. Despite difficult odds, his plan succeeds, and Avery recovers a large cache of treasure. He abandons his crew and sails for America, where he is chagrined to learn that the poor citizens of that new country can't afford jewels. Returning to London in search of a buyer, he is robbed and beaten; left tetched in the head, he wanders the streets, unaware of the jewels that remain in his pouch. Old Adam's tale done, he is kicked out of the pub for being a liar. He walks along the docks until he finds the quarters of the king's soldiers and turns himself in--he is none other than Ben Avery, long-missing pirate!

"Fit for a King"

This issue of Piracy is off to a solid start with "Fit for a King," a straightforward, old-fashioned tale of a pirate whose life did not turn out as well as he had hoped. It's not a big surprise that Adam is Ben Avery, but Reed Crandall can always be counted on to tell a pleasing visual tale.

Tired of being passed over for a ship captain's job, Richard Carson sets about sabotaging the Yorkton. The anchor disappears, the cargo shifts, the hold is set afire. Finally, the man who longs to be "The Skipper" fiddles with the compass so that the ship is steered through fog and onto rocks. The crew and captain abandon ship and, as the vessel goes down, Carson is excited that he finally can be the captain!

It's tough to say whose art is better in this issue of Piracy between Crandall and George Evans, but I have to give the prize to Evans by just a bit. Wessler's story doesn't hold any real surprises but it's fun to watch Carson's mad pursuit of power unfold, especially with Evans as a guide.

"Fur Crazy"

Gus Marker clings to an ice floe in the Arctic Sea until he washes ashore, only to find an abandoned Eskimo village of igloos. Hunkering down under a rotting fur, he thinks back to how he had led a party of men into the snowy wilds to kill seals for their pelts. Greed led him to wipe out the herds and thus destroy the food supply of the Eskimo; on his way back to civilization, his ship was destroyed in a storm and he ended up in the sea. Desperately hungry, he comes across the ship's stores, washed ashore, but finds no food--only pelts.

"Fur Crazy" is a depressing story with mediocre art by Ingels. Once again, the surprise ending is no surprise and, while Marker certainly earns his fate, I would have liked to have seen just a bit more characterization here. I'm an old protester against seal hunting, so I'm not unhappy to see this guy get his comeuppance.

"Solitary"

Captain Jonathan Wade is a tyrant aboard ship but he harbors a terrible secret; he and two of his crew abandoned everyone on a prior ship and escaped in the only longboat. He sends crewman Hayes off alone to find a desert island after Hayes commits a minor infraction, but when his two comrades are washed overboard in a typhoon the captain loses his mind and is stripped of his command by the crew. He sets off in a longboat by himself, looking for the two men, and lands on a desert island where he comes face to face with none other than Hayes! The angry crewman takes the longboat and paddles off, leaving Wade alone on the island to suffer the pangs of conscience.

A bit confusing and overly packed with plot, "Solitary" is not helped by the art of Jack Davis. It can be hard to take anything he draws seriously at times. The absurd coincidence of Wade landing on the same desert island as Hayes is hard to accept, but the final panel, reproduced here, is haunting in its sparseness.-Jack

"The Skipper"

Peter: On the exact opposite end of the quality spectrum from Panic we find Piracy, the New Direction's best title. That bold statement is backed up by proof this issue in the form of "The Skipper," a chilling study of escalating madness that defies expectations of softening by story's end. The single panel of Carson, going down with the ship, screaming "I'm Captain! Skipper of the Yorkton!," is about as scary as anything offered up in the horror titles. Can't say enough about George Evans's art, which shows Carson's mania deepen with each successive panel. Potent stuff. The "twist" that comes at the climax of "Fit for a King" is a bit obvious but the tale that precedes it is a good, rousing one and Reed Crandall is fast becoming Piracy's MVP. "Fur Crazy" isn't bad but contains what has to be the crudest Graham Ingels art we've seen, perhaps courtesy of a phantom inker? Or maybe Graham was just winding it down. "Solitary" puts the bow on an excellent issue, with Jack Davis giving us some of his best work in a long time. The final panel, of Wade alone in a sea of white, is nearly as powerful as that of "The Skipper."

Craig

M.D. 3

"When You Know How" ★★
Story Al Feldstein?
Art by Joe Orlando

"The Right Cure" ★1/2
Story Al Feldstein?
Art by Graham Ingels

"Shock Treatment" ★1/2
Story Al Feldstein?
Art by George Evans

"The Lesson" ★★1/2
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Reed Crandall

There go the white carpets!

Little Tad just wants to hang out with the big boys but that means taking risks, so when the other kids dare Tad to take his sled down Snake Hill, he naturally takes the challenge. Unfortunately, the trip down doesn’t go as smoothly as the trip up and Tad ends up with broken ribs, internal bleeding and, most important of all, a pierced thorax. Luckily, the other boys are able to wave down Trooper Benson, who throws Tad into his car and treks through the feet-deep snow back to his place, where he calls Doc Yates and tells him to bring his kit over pronto. Since the roads are all closed, they can’t take Tad into the local hospital so Doc Yates must perform an emergency thoracotomy (sawing of the ribs to reach the yucky stuff) with only two cans of coffee, a chainsaw, and a pack of Marlboros. The surgery is a success and Tad is back on Snake Hill in no time! For what it is (a boring medical story), "When You Know How" really isn’t that bad but it goes on and on and, as if all the medical definitions weren’t boring enough, we get a crossover with Psychoanalysis when Tad’s mom swears he’ll never sled again and Doc Yates lectures her on growing up and the dangers of coddling her son.

"The Right Cure"

Ma Venable has got herself a right ol’ pain in her midsection and none of the medicines she’s been subscribed to by the local herbists seem to be a'heppin'. Not the swamp grass nor the moldy bread nor the lizard gizzards; why not even the crayfish stewed in donkey’s milk an’ mushroom stems, pickled in vinegar and stewed in wine did the trick. She just can't seem to find "The Right Cure"! Now this pain inside is almighty awful and her husband won’t listen to her edjacated daughter and take her to a proper doctor until it’s nigh on too late! She begs her husband to jest shoot her with the family rifle but Pa don’t want no part of that, so’s young Jennie goes into town and begs Dr. Harold Benson, MD, to come have a look at her ailin’ ma. One look at the dyin’ woman and Doc Benson knows he has to get her to the hospital, but Pa’s all fired-up mad about this here quack comin’ into his house and it takes Jennie aimin’ both barrels of a shotgun at him before he sees some sense (well, some sense). The Doc speeds Ma to the ER, where he performs an emergency appendicealectomy on the woman’s abscessed organ. Everything else seems to be in good working order so the Doc sews her up and changes out of his smock just in time for Pa to show up with his gun loaded for bear. But one look at his resting wife and Pa is a changed man. Graham Ingels was always the go-to guy for swamp folk and he does another bang-up job here. The script is what it is, another annotated surgical performance that has a hard time working up any excitement for the audience. Not that there was much of an audience by this time (though the letters page, reprinted far below, proves there were at least fifteen consumers out there hungry for a publication dedicated to psoriasis (no, not psychoanalysis!) and thrombosis (if not coloproctology).

"Shock Treatment"

Dr. Arnold Ross is called to the home of the Mortons, a family he's been treating for years, to diagnose son Larry's abdominal pain. What he finds is a nightmare of parental disorder and attempted suicide. Morton explains to Mom and Pop Morton that Larry can no longer deal with his surroundings, with the constant bickering between the couple, and his displeasure has manifested itself into extreme depression. Not even a two-tenths solution of Potassium Permanganate will help.  The only cure for Larry, the Doc explains, is "Shock Treatment"! Quicker than you can say "Two grams of Chloral Hydrate, three-tenths gram of Barbital, and six CCs of Paraldehyde," Larry is strapped to a table, greased up, and zapped. The kid comes out of the therapy an amnesiac but forgetting about Mom and Dad fighting over whether it'll be Jack Benny or I Love Lucy on the tube seems to be just the ticket. In fact, Mr. and Mrs. Morton embrace and let on that the Doc has shown them the error of their ways and love is in bloom. The only thing I don't hate about this turkey is the George Evans art. George's moody work (especially in the "therapy room" scene) perfectly captures the intensity of the situation, something Al Feldstein's cold and analytical words completely miss. It is interesting to see how accepted this controversial practice was in the mid-1950s. According to Wikipedia, shock therapy is still used (Carrie Fisher is one of the most famous patients) but not as widespread as it was back then.

"The Lesson"

Young Frank Marley is out joy-riding in his Pop's jalopy, showing off for his best girl, Eve, when he loses control of the car in the driving rain. Luckily, someone sees the crash and calls an ambulance. Frank is taken out of the car but Eve remains, badly hurt. Frank recognizes Dr. Somners, who enters the wreck and examines Eve, shouting out orders to the ambulance drivers. They whisk Frank and Eve away to a local hospital where Eve undergoes an emergency cranioplasty (for you laymen out there, that's a cutting open of the skull to remove bad stuff on the brain) but Dr. Somners has a special punishment awaiting young Marley, who's beside himself over the condition of his girl, as he takes the kid into the operating room while they slice and dice. Eve comes through with flying colors and the gore has reduced Frank to a driver who will slow down for a yellow light and look both ways at a four-way stop from now on. Dr. Somners takes Marley into Eve's room to look in on the recovering girl and she awakens and plants a kiss on her doctor/father's cheek. Can you believe it? They're related!

Actually, despite my sarcasm, I liked "The Lesson" more than any story that's been presented within the closed quarters of MD covers so far. It's not Reed Crandall's art, which is uncharacteristically blah this time around (Frank Marley walks around with a bigger hunch on his back than Quasimodo and looks like a man in his thirties in the intro), but I enjoyed the straightforward story and, of course, the loopy twist in the final panel. I'm glad that Dr. Somners's insistence that Frank view the operation wasn't without comment (Frank's pop pretty much threatens legal action), but didn't little Franky do well during his first cranioplasty? -Peter

Jack- Peter, I am shocked that you totally ignored the gay subtext in "When You Know How" (even the title screams it!). Tad doesn't have the nerve to "ride the snake" so his friends tell him to "beat it." In the end, the old doctor tells the little boy "everything's easy when you know how." Couldn't be more obvious, eh what? I also got a kick out of the doctor blaming Tad's mother while her son is recovering from surgery on the kitchen table!

"The Right Cure" is weighed down by more poor art from Ingels, who seems to be about done with the whole comic book thing if his efforts this month are any indication. The story itself is dreadful and the final pun a clunker. I was hoping for a good-old EC close-up of the kid getting "Shock Treatment," but George Evans stays classy and doesn't show it. Too bad EC comics got tame! The art by Evans is the issue's visual highlight. I too liked "The Lesson," but I thought Crandall's art was outstanding. Now those were the days when the same doctor would set a broken leg, set a broken arm, and then do brain surgery all in one shot! The ending was a complete surprise to me. In all, not a terrible comic, but I'd love to see the sales figures.

Next Week . . .
What could possibly be worse
than a stinkin' Nazi?

EC Comics! It's An Entertaining Comic! Issue 66

The EC Reign Month by Month 1950-1956
66: August 1955 Part II

Evans

 Aces High 3 

"The Rules"★★★★
Story by Jack Oleck
Art by George Evans

"The Spy"★★★
Story Uncredited
Art by Bernie Krigstein

"Greasemonkey"★★★1/2
Story Uncredited
Art by Wally Wood

"The Case of Champagne"★★1/2
Story by Carl Wessler
Art by Jack Davis

When Lt. Edward Dale joins the 95th Pursuit Squadron in WWI, he is determined to make a name for himself and become an ace by shooting down as many German planes as he can. He ignores "The Rules" of chivalry and decency and pads his total by shooting down every plane he sees, even if the pilot is waving a white flag of surrender. His own men shun him and there is talk of grounding him. After he shoots down a German plane that had assisted a damaged Allied plane in landing, the Germans issue an ultimatum: Lt. Dale is no longer subject to the rules of decency and they will do whatever it takes to shoot him down. He is alone in the skies when he falls for a decoy trap and a group of planes descend from above to end his career.

"The Rules"

Jack Oleck tells a cracking good story here about a man who flaunts the unwritten rules and deserves his punishment. Evans is superb at drawing WWI planes and air battles and his soldiers look realistic. This is a great start to the issue!

The men of the 17th Aero Squadron believe that there is a spy in their midst and they are convinced it's Klaus Ritter, due to his German name and heritage. Ritter was nowhere to be found when German planes blew up gasoline storage tanks! When German planes intercept an Allied mission to bomb a German ammo dump, Ritter is the first one suspected of being "The Spy," especially when he doesn't fire on a German plane that downs an Allied flier. Though Ritter protests his innocence, the men of his squadron shun him. Soon, a dangerous mission to bomb a well-guarded German target is announced and Ritter runs off and flies away on his own. The men of his squadron are convinced that he is off to warn the Germans, but when word comes back that the ammo dump was destroyed and Ritter killed, they know the truth.

"Greasemonkey"

A decent story with pretty good art, "The Spy" plods along without any real surprises. I never doubted that Ritter was loyal to the Allied cause and so the ending did not come as a revelation. Bernie Krigstein's art is best when he's being creative; when he draws a straightforward story then the weaknesses in his technique are most apparent.

Sergeant Stuart Warner is content to be a "Greasemonkey," repairing other men's planes, ever since an incident right at the end of his pilot training. He let his friend Smitty take his place on a night solo flight so Stuart could keep a hot date but Smitty was killed and Warner was consumed with guilt and thrown out of the pilot corps. Now, when a pilot captain reports that his wife has just given birth to a baby boy (as had the late Smitty's wife right before his death), Warner jumps into the captain's plane and completes a dangerous mission on his behalf. When he returns, the captain reveals that he's Smitty's brother!

"The Case of Champagne"

Wally Wood's gorgeous art aside, I liked this story because it did not follow the expected pattern. Yes, the fact that both brothers' wives had baby boys is a coincidence, but I expected Warner to be killed in the final flight; I guess I thought the story was going to go in the same direction as "The Spy" before it. The fact that it didn't and Warner made it back safely was a nice surprise.

Scotty returns to the 47th Squadron after being on leave in Paris and brings some fine booze with him, but he refuses to open "The Case of Champagne" despite the entreaties of new flier Nick Blaine, who remarks that "people die in wars" and suggests that they seize the day. Scotty's plane crash-lands after the next patrol but he ignores Blaine's suggestion to open the case and drink the champagne. Scotty grows obsessed with a particular German plane and is furious when Blaine downs the same plane while out on patrol with Scotty. Blaine ends up saving Scotty's life and they both return to base safely and finally crack open the champagne.

"The Spy"

Not a bad story, just the weakest in a strong issue. Jack Davis's style doesn't really fit air battle stories, in my opinion, and this one takes a coupe of twists and turns that end up being fairly meaningless because it's all about that case of champagne. Still, Aces High is an enjoyable comic.-Jack

Peter: I loved "The Rules" but why does it seem so familiar? Haven't we seen that plot before? Regardless, George Evans makes anything he illustrates into a great war story."The Spy" is a bit on the obvious side, don't you think? Bernie's definitely on his game this time, though. It's amazing when you contrast "The Spy" with "The Pyramid" (from Valor, below); Krigstein seemingly could change styles with a flick of his wrist. Talk about obvious, how about the maudlin "Greasemonkey?" It's just plain bad, until that final groaner pushes it into "awful" territory. Sheesh! At least Wally gives it a go despite being saddled with one of the dopiest scripts he'd ever been handed. "The Case of Champagne" is a lot like one of Hank Chapman's war stories--long and stuck on the same riff.

Craig

Extra! 3

"Dateline: Algiers" ★★★
Story and Art by Johnny Craig

"Steve Rampart" ★★
Story uncredited
Art by John Severin

"Geri Hamilton" ★
Story uncredited
Art by Reed Crandall

"Dateline: Paris" ★★
Story and Art by Johnny Craig

Crack World Press reporter Keith Michaels is in Algiers when he bumps into someone dressed in a Legionnaire uniform, someone who looks very familiar. The man excuses himself, insisting they don't know each other but, as he walks away, it dawns on Keith: the guy's a Fed. Oh well, shrugs Keith, on to the real story at the oil field that's been bombed. The supervisor insists that the explosion was the work of a saboteur and Keith drives back into town to type up his report. On the way, Michaels notices a commotion in the street and pulls over. Pushing through a crowd, he discovers the body of the Legionnaire. Beside it, visible only to Michaels' well-trained eye, is an envelope with a perfume odor and an earring bearing the name, "Shira." Keith wanders into a nearby cafe and (I mean, what a coincidence!) eyeballs the belly dancer on stage, a gorgeous dame by the handle of Shira, who happens to be missing one earring! The girl heads out the back door and Steve chases her down to hear her tell a sob story of an American FBI agent and true love. Keith's soaking it in with a reporter's ear when that ear is clubbed from behind and he loses consciousness.

"Dateline: Algiers"

The hack wakes up to find no girl but, luckily, they left him his camel. The babe had mentioned a place the Fed was supposed to meet up with the bad guys and Michaels puts his camel into gear and gets there in no time. He meets up with Shira, who explains that her boyfriend was supposed to be meeting up with another Legionnaire, the man responsible for the oil field bombing. He pats the girl on the fanny and tells her to meet him back at his hotel. When the other Legionnaire arrives, Keith sucker punches him and the men have a sturdy tussle, with Keith emerging the victor just as the Algerian police arrive on the scene, accompanied by a French officer. Michaels explains the situation but the Frenchman puts the kibosh on Keith's exclusive by revealing the identity of the saboteur: the lovely Shiva. Keith groans in embarrassment as, miles away, the oil field explodes. Keith swears he'll get revenge on the dame who made him look like a clown.

"Dateline:Algiers"

Well, here we have an interesting experiment that's also a preview of what's coming very soon in the EC Universe: the picto-fiction story (though it's not referred to by that term just yet). Comprised of about 70% text and 30% illustrations, "Dateline: Algiers" is actually a very good read. Sure, it's shot full of the dumb stuff that plagues these Extra! stories (the fact that Michaels does everything but report is exceedingly annoying) but, for once, Michaels has mud, rather than smugness, on his face in the final panel. Craig won't be mistaken for John le Carre, but he holds his own in the prose department and we know how stellar his graphics are.

Our favorite news photographer, Steve Rampart, is in Algiers (isn't everybody?), covering the oil field disaster when he bumps into his best bud, Keith Michaels, still cleaning egg off his face. Michaels gives Rampart the lowdown on his adventure and then the two board a flight to Paris, where Steve is to catch a connecting flight to New York. The two super-dudes say their goodbyes at the gate and Keith heads off into Paris where he'll . . . (oh, but that would be telling!) . . . and Steve hops his over-nighter. On board, Rampart uses his manly ways, good looks, and charm to win over a gorgeous brunette sitting next to him. The two head down below for a drink but when Steve offers to take the lovely girl's pic, things get frosty.

"Steve Rampart"

Not one to take "no" for an answer (like so many of these macho 1950s men), Rampart snaps a load of photos while the beauty is sleeping. When she awakens and Steve comments that he's captured her loveliness on film, the woman snaps and calls for her bodyguard, the man-mountain known as Max(!), to clean the shutterbug's clock. Rampart comes to in time to see the lovely maiden (who we now know is Shira) and her companions parachuting to safety, so he does what any red-blooded newspaper guy would do: he hops on top of Max and away they go! The pair land and have a bit of a kerfuffle, with Steve winning out. Meanwhile, Shira and her fellow agent are hoofing it and flag down a passing car. Too late, they realize, it's being commandeered by Steve Rampart, who saves the day and captures the two enemy spies.

Though I'm all for a little cross-over action now and then, this installment of "Steve Rampart" isn't the ticket. It follows the formula to the tee: Steve romances a dame (probably not one you'd take home to Ma), gets clobbered a few times, threatens to take a lot of pictures, and ends up staving off world domination by the Commies. Like our other World Press employee, Keith Michaels, Steve doesn't do much in the way of providing material for the company, instead flying around the world on their dime. The guy should be a Fed. I love Severin's graphics, though; that "Steve Canyon" vibe grows stronger every chapter.

"Geri Hamilton"

If there's one thing that Geri Hamilton can smell (even through her fancy French perfume), it's a good story and juvenile delinquent Eddie Harris is that good story. She and her camera-guy, Dagger, head down to the slums to try to smoke out the good-looking Harris and find out what's bugging him. Turns out a whole heck of a lot. Like enough problems to fill a week's worth of Days of Our Lives. The kid has no respect for elders and that goes for the poor old man, Pop, who raised him after Eddie became an orphan. Geri wants to know more about the troubled youth, so she digs up an old file and then suddenly realizes why beat cop Conley is always cleaning up the kid's mess. Seems he was the guy who ventilated Eddie's real Pop during a stick-up gone bad. Since then, both Conley and Pop have tried to bring Eddie up the right way despite his surroundings.

"Dateline: Paris"

Eddie has a confrontation with Pop over some dough and the old man's heart finally gives out, and Conley goes to search for him. Eddie tries kill his guardian angel, misses badly, and ends up in the clink. Geri doesn't get her happy ending after all. Why is every old man in an EC story nicknamed Pop? Despite the fact that Reed Crandall was professional enough to draw a typewriter into a couple of panels, I'm still not buying that this fashion model named Geri knows how to type or put a few words together to form a sentence, for that matter. These soap opera stories disguised as "human interest dramas" just suck the life out of my soul. It's like a really bad episode of Naked City.

In our second Keith Michaels adventure this issue, "Dateline: Paris," our favorite reporter travels to the city of love to check on a "rift in the French Cabinet" and uncovers what might be a case of adultery between one cabinet member and his rival's wife. But the suspected philanderer is found dead and suspicion falls on his lover. Since the police in every country Keith visits are morons, it's up to our hero to scratch at the doors and sniff out the facts. Back to the doldrums of Keith Michaels, Super Spy/Detective/ Romancer/Fashion Example, the boredom of which is inescapable. Only a sense of duty pushes me to read every panel carefully, looking for nuggets of zzzzzzzz . . .-Peter

"Dateline: Paris"

Jack: "Dateline: Algiers" didn't jell for me, despite the nice art by Johnny Craig. It's too hard to read the prose and then switch to panels with word balloons, back and forth, across eight pages. It took some figuring to realize that I was supposed to read across rather than down, and the text seemed overwritten. "Steve Rampart" flowed better for me and I liked the reference to It Happened One Night when the girl in the story flags down a truck by showing some leg. Severin's art is solid, as usual. "Geri Hamilton" doesn't work at all, after two linked stories, since it has nothing to do with them. Crandall is great but he really doesn't have much to do here. I was happy to reach "Dateline: Paris" and see that Craig was back to doing a straight comic story, but my excitement wore off quickly when I read this weak tale. Even Craig's art seems less tight and finished than we're used to.

Orlando

Valor 3

"The Cloak of Command" ★★
Story Uncredited
Art by Al Williamson

"Gentle as a Whisper" ★1/2
Story Uncredited
Art by Joe Orlando

"The Pyramid" ★★★
Story by Otto Binder
Art by Bernie Krigstein

"Debt of Honor" ★★★1/2
Story by E. Toomey
Art by Reed Crandall

Hoping to become as great a warrior as his father, Gaius Augustus marches a group of Roman soldiers through occupied Iberia, but arrogance and pride lead him down the wrong path into an ambush. Only the quick thinking of his father's advisor, Flavius, helps him avoid complete catastrophe after most of his men are run through. But, in the end, his complete 180-degree flip from mocking young stud to appreciative learner transforms Gaius into a man ready to ascend to greatness.

"The Cloak of Command"

Well, if these mini-epics are tantamount to sword-and-sandal sagas of the 1950s and 1960s, then "The Cloak of Command" is one of those on a par with Hercules and the Sons of Samson Meet the Daughters of Neptune, rather than Spartacus or Ben-Hur. It's not that our uncredited writer hasn't done a good job of creating a realistic scenario and interesting characters, it's just that it's a bit on the samey side. We've seen this before (and we'll doubtless see it again) in comics and movies and it's just not all that exciting. About the only bit that caught my attention was the scene where Flavius has the men anchor torches on their oxen and send them stampeding down into the Iberians, fooling the enemy into thinking the Romans were charging. Al Williamson, as usual, provides stunning visuals.

"Gentle as a Whisper"

A ship bearing gold stolen by Cortez wrecks on an island populated by Incas. The men are trekked to the temple where they are sacrificed to the gods, one man per sunrise. A Spanish friar convinces the Incas to let him have one night in their temple before he is slaughtered and he convinces the savages that their gods are no more than clay. He is freed. Though I get that the word "Valor" means more than sword-wielding vikings with big helmets, I'm not enamored with "Gentle as a Whisper," a slow-as-molasses morality story and its hot and cold Orlando art. Really, Joe's work looks fabulous in spots and absolutely awful in others. This story gives us a peek at what might have been should Bill and Al have opted for a religious funny book.

Thousands of slaves toil in the blazing hot sun of an Egyptian desert, all for their pharaoh, Amra. His royal physician by his side, the pharaoh sits in a tent, observes the work, and hopes it can be completed by sundown. For that is all the time his physician gives him. Feeling helpless, Amra takes his chariot out to beg his slaves to work faster, eventually offering them water, food from his palace, and then gold. The sun sinks lower and it becomes evident that the task is just too much when a worker cries out that they have finally uncovered a passage to "The Pyramid" where Amra's son had wandered in and become lost. The relieved father hugs his son and explains that the rest of the pyramid ("this folly") will be dismantled later. Without cheating one bit, Otto Binder steers you to an obvious conclusion (that Amra is sick and must be interred in a new pyramid by sundown) and then throws a very clever slider your way at the conclusion. Having a pharaoh feed his slaves is a nice change of pace as well. Bernie's art is a little on the doodly side here and there but, overall, it's nicely done.

"The Pyramid"

"Debt of Honor"

King Richard of England is in a precarious position: he's trying to force-feed Christianity to Jerusalem but Saladin, Jerusalem's ruler, is not buying it and Richard's men are starving. The kings of Germany and France both want to listen to Saladin's parley but Richard will not rest until Saladin and his men are run through with British steel. Guy Mortain, a traitor to Richard, convinces Saladin that he can serve Richard to him on a plate for a nominal sum. Saladin, wanting to avoid any more bloodshed, agrees despite his intolerance for turncoats. Mortain tells Richard of a secret passage into Jerusalem and offers to show it to him for one thousand pieces of gold and the king's oath never to punish him for his past betrayals. The king agrees; they enter the city and are ambushed and taken before Saladin, who offers the king his life if peace can be agreed upon. Richard begrudgingly agrees and is on his way. Later, that night, the rat Mortain has the gall to request his gold, knowing the king must keep his word. Richard gives the Judas his gold . . . in molten form.

An absorbing quasi-history lesson from page one right through its ironic climax (which would be echoed in a notorious scene from the first season of Game of Thrones), "Debt of Honor" is the best kind of history lesson. No dry sermons, packed with action, light on expository and stuffy dialogue, and beautifully drawn by Reed Crandall. -Peter

Jack-I agree that "Debt of Honor" is the best story this issue and I would give it four stars. I recently read a book on the Crusades and this story rings true, with an excellent, subtle twist ending and superb art by Crandall. Next in line for me is "The Cloak of Command," since I have an interest in Roman history. The young commander's hubris is well-portrayed and the exciting battle is drawn well by Williamson, though I prefer his science fiction work. "Gentle as a Whisper" features above-average art by Orlando, with none of the ugly caricatures that often mar his stories, while "The Pyramid" once again leaves me wondering what all the fuss is about in regard to Bernie Krigstein.

In Our 139th Issue of
Star Spangled DC War Stories . . .
A death in The Haunted Tank crew!
Fer reals!