Crime SuspenStories #17

(June-July 1953)

Al Williamson (Table of Contents: 1)

The EC "Artist of the Issue" / text article / 1 page (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

? (photograph)

Inks

? (photograph)

Letters

typeset

Genre

biography

Characters

Al Williamson

Reprints

• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)

Indexer Notes

Inside front cover.

Touch and Go! (Table of Contents: 2)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Ray Bradbury; Johnny Craig (adaptation)

Pencils

Johnny Craig

Inks

Johnny Craig

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

William Acton rose to his feet.

Genre

crime

Characters

Arthur Huxley (death); William Acton (villain)

Synopsis

Acton had killed Arthur Huxley and now tried to remove any clue that he had been at Huxley's home and had committed the crime. But his fixation with eliminating evidence of his presence had its consequences.

Reprints

• in The Autumn People (Ballantine Books, 1965 series) (October 1965)
• in EC Portfolio (Russ Cochran, 1971 series) #1
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Monsieur Sourire (Albin Michel, 1985 series) (1985) [N&B [B&W]]
• in EC Classics (Russ Cochran, 1985 series) #8 - Crime SuspenStories (1986)
• in Iskalde Grøss album (Semic, 1989 series) #1 ([november] 1989)
• in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (July 1990)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #17 (November 1996)
• in Foul Play! The Art and Artists of the Notorious E.C. Comics! (HarperCollins, 2005 series) (2005)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #5 - Fall Guy for Murder and Other Stories (July 2013) [Reprinted in black and white.]
• in Choke Gasp! The Best of 75 Years of EC Comics (Dark Horse, 2019 series) (2019)
• in Home to Stay! The Complete EC Ray Bradbury Stories (Fantagraphics, 2022 series) (January 2023)

Indexer Notes

Adapted from the short story "Touch and Go" (later retitled "The Fruit at the bottom of the Bowl") by Ray Bradbury.

Some of the story appears in flashback.

Letterer credit by Craig Delich.

One for the Money... (Table of Contents: 3)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)

Pencils

Jack Kamen (signed)

Inks

Jack Kamen (signed)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Anita stood before the huge penthouse apartment windows...

Genre

crime

Characters

Ronald Shelby (death); Anita Shelby (Ronald's wife, death); Harriet Walker (villain);Eric Walker (villain, Harriet's husband)

Synopsis

When Ronald tells his wife that he has bled his business dry and there is no more money, his wife tells him that she only cared for him because of money, and announces she's leaving him. He commits suicide, and Anita then returns to her old stomping grounds where she had found Ronald and hopes that lightning strikes again. Meanwhile, she joins an elderly woman having lunch and talks with her, then is surprised that the woman offers her to be her paid live-in companion. Arriving at the house, she confronts Harriet's husband Eric, once jilted by another woman, who craves women to get revenge on.

Reprints

• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in EC Classics (Russ Cochran, 1985 series) #8 - Crime SuspenStories (1986)
• in Iskalde Grøss album (Semic, 1989 series) #1 ([november] 1989)
• in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (July 1990)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #17 (November 1996)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #14 - Forty Whacks and Other Stories (November 2015) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

Cover story.

Big Blow! (Table of Contents: 4)

text story / 2 pages (report information)

Script

Al Feldstein

Pencils

Marie Severin (masthead illustration)

Inks

Marie Severin (masthead illustration)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

typeset

Genre

crime

Characters

Henderson (Markel's partner, death); Markel (villain, imminent death)

Synopsis

While traveling by car, Markel spots his partner asleep and kills him with a wrench. Locating a spot to discard the bloody instrument, he hurls it out the window, then locates a likely spot to engineer a crash with a semi truck so that the Police would not suspect the reality of his partner's head wound. Unfortunately, he discovers his car is traveling too fast to stop as planned......then as he approaches the rear of the truck, he spots a signed which said: DANGER! NITROGLYCERIN!!!

Reprints

• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #17 (November 1996)

Fired! (Table of Contents: 5)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)

Pencils

Al Williamson (signed)

Inks

Al Williamson (signed); Frank Frazetta (signed as Fritz)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Patricia Gibson, owner of the Circle-Diamond...

Genre

crime

Characters

Roy Willis (hired hand); Amy Ryan; Patricia Gibson (villain, Circle-Diamond owner)

Synopsis

As the owner of a cattle ranch, Patricia is getting lonely and longs for a man. That man is Roy Willis, a ranch hand who talks her into making him foreman. But soon he bores of Pat and seeks adventure in town with another woman. But Pat discovers the pair and decides to give Roy something to remember her by!

Reprints

• in EC Lives! (Ron Barlow, 1972 series) (1972)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in EC Classics (Russ Cochran, 1985 series) #8 - Crime SuspenStories (1986)
• in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (July 1990)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #17 (November 1996)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #3 - 50 Girls 50 and Other Stories (March 2013) [black and white reprint]

Keywords

Circle-Diamond Ranch

Indexer Notes

Script credit from "Tales of Terror! - The EC Companion" by Fred von Bernewitz and Grant Geissman.

...Two for the Show! (Table of Contents: 6)

Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)

Pencils

Bill Elder (signed as Elder); Jack Kamen (last panel)

Inks

Bill Elder (signed as Elder); Jack Kamen (last panel)

Colors

Marie Severin

Letters

Jim Wroten

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The storm brewed.

Genre

crime

Characters

unnamed detective; Sarah Jameson (Harry's wife, death); Harry Jameson (villain); Harriet Walker (villain, cameo); Harriet's son (villain, cameo)

Synopsis

Harry has killed his wife and made it look as if she never came home from work. A perfect crime, until a nosy detective smells a rat!

Reprints

• in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #4 (1983)
• in EC Classics (Russ Cochran, 1985 series) #8 - Crime SuspenStories (1986)
• in Iskalde Grøss album (Semic, 1989 series) #1 ([november] 1989)
• in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #1 (July 1990)
• in Crime Suspenstories (Gemstone, 1994 series) #17 (November 1996)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #18 - The Million Year Picnic and Other Stories (January 2017) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Indexer Notes

The final panel by Kamen is a tie-in to "One for the Money...", the first story in this issue.

Script credit from The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (2012 series) #[18] - The Million Year Picnic and Other Stories.