Two-Fisted Tales #24

(November-December 1951)

Hill 203! (Table of Contents: 1)

comic story / 8 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Jack Davis (signed)

Inks

Jack Davis (signed)

Colors

? (see notes)

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Dawn in Korea!

Genre

war

Characters

U.N. soldiers [Macswain; Duke; Yodanza; George] (all die); North Korean soldiers (villains, all die)

Synopsis

It is March of 1951 and United Nations forces are fighting a limited offensive to seek out and destroy the enemy. They take up residence on a hill and set up an air-cooled 50-caliber machine gun to try and stop advancing enemy soldiers. One by one, as the enemy fall, so do the soldiers manning the gun on Hill 203, until all are dead. But they still held the hill.

Reprints

• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in Les Meilleures Histoires de... (Les Humanoïdes Associés, 1983 series) #[4] - Guerre - Corée (janvier 1984) [N&B [B&W]]
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #7 (April 1994)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #22 - Death Stand and Other Stories (August 2018) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Korean War; Uijongbu

Indexer Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin, but it is unlikely that Severin had begun coloring at EC when this issue was colored (Cassell 2012, 33–34 and 171).
_________
Reference:

Cassell, Dewey, with Aaron Sultan. 2012. Marie Severin: The Mirthful Mistress of Comics. Raleigh: TwoMorrows Publishing.

Bug Out! (Table of Contents: 2)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Inks

Wally Wood (signed as Wood)

Colors

? (see notes)

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

It all began in the summer of last year!

Genre

war

Characters

Valentine (U.S. soldier); Charlotte (a nurse); U.S. soldiers (many die); North Korean soldiers (villains, many die)

Synopsis

A U.S. patrol is under heavy attack by the enemy and is wiped out except for one man who manages to live after the order to bug out. Slowly but surely, this man, Valentine, begins to mentally break down after all he has been through, only to awake one day in a hospital after being brought in from a bombed out Korean village. From then on, all he can do is continually relive his past military actions.

Reprints

• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #7 (April 1994)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #26 - Atom Bomb and Other Stories (2019) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Korea

Indexer Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “Hill 203!,” above).

SuspenStory Fans! (Table of Contents: 3) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

Boomerang! (Table of Contents: 4)

text story / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

?

Letters

typeset

First Line of Dialogue or Text

The lone American submarine had run into the unwary Japanese convoy in enemy waters.

Genre

war

Reprints

• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #7 (April 1994)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)

[untitled] (Table of Contents: 5) (Expand) /

promo (ad from the publisher) / 0.5 page (report information)

[no title indexed] (Table of Contents: 6)

Combat Correspondence / letters page / 1 page (report information)

Script

?

Letters

typeset

Reprints

• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)

Indexer Notes

Letters from Pfc. Richard Lupoff (future author), Roger Winters, Gerry McLaughlin, John P. Browne, Ernest Bauer, A Friend, Tod McRees, Richard D. W. Schultz.

Rubble! (Table of Contents: 7)

comic story / 6 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

Harvey Kurtzman

Inks

Harvey Kurtzman

Colors

Harvey Kurtzman ? (see notes)

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

Somewhere in Korea, a self-propelled long-tom squats in the rubble...

Genre

war

Characters

Mr. Chun (death); Mrs. Chun (death); North Korean soldiers (villains); Chinese soldiers (villains)

Synopsis

A tale from the Korean War is told through "the eyes" of the battlefield rubble of the Chun family home.

Reprints

• in EC Portfolio (Russ Cochran, 1971 series) #6 (1977)
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #7 (April 1994)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #1 - Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories (August 2012) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Korea

Indexer Notes

Story told mostly in flashback.

Marie Severin’s statement that “[Harvey] Kurtzman colored his own art, especially on covers...” (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover) suggests that Kurtzman colored stories that he drew, albeit perhaps less consistently than he colored his cover art.

Weak Link! (Table of Contents: 8)

comic story / 7 pages (report information)

Script

Harvey Kurtzman

Pencils

John Severin (signed as Severin)

Inks

Bill Elder (signed as Elder)

Colors

? (see notes)

Letters

Ben Oda

First Line of Dialogue or Text

A chain is as strong as its weakest link!

Genre

war

Characters

Lieutenant Stonzek (death); un-named Sergeant (death); Jonesy (death); Swenson [aka Swen] (death); Pringle (death); The Nazis (villains, some die)

Synopsis

Told by HQ that the Jerries are sending Tiger tanks down a particular road, American forces decide to set up an ambush. Two men note that logs have been laid into the water to serve as a means of tanks crossing the river and realize they have been suckered into a trap, but it's too late for all of the American forces.

Reprints

• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1980 series) #2 (1980)
• in Two-Fisted Tales (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #7 (April 1994)
• in EC Archives: Two-Fisted Tales (Gemstone, 2007 series) #2 ([August] 2007)
• in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #10 - Bomb Run and Other Stories (August 2014) [Reprinted in black and white.]

Keywords

Baker Company; Huertgen Forest; Tiger tank; Wermacht

Indexer Notes

Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for “Hill 203!,” above).