(December 1951-January 1952)
EC,
1950 Series
- Volume
- 1
- Price
- 0.10 USD
- Pages
- 36
- Indicia Frequency
- bi-monthly
- On-sale Date
- 1951-08-22
- Publisher's Age Guidelines
- Authorized A. C. M. P. Conforms to the Comics Code
- Indicia / Colophon Publisher
- L. L. Publishing Co. Inc.
- Brand
-
EC An Entertaining Comic
- Editing
- Al Feldstein (credited as Albert B. Feldstein) (associate editor); Bill Gaines (credited as William M. Gaines) (managing editor)
Issue Notes
The on-sale date is the publication date reported in U. S. Copyright Office filings. Catalog of Copyright Entries, Periodicals, July-December 1951, page 195, registration number B315815.
- Parts of this issue are reprinted:
[no title indexed]
Crime SuspenStories / cover / 1 page
- Pencils
- Johnny Craig (signed)
- Inks
- Johnny Craig (signed)
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- ?
- Genre
- crime
- Characters
- Herman Winkler; Dr. Paul Merrick
- Reprints
- Keywords
- thermometers; walk-in freezers
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.
Out of the Frying Pan...
Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 8 pages
- Script
- Johnny Craig (signed)
- Pencils
- Johnny Craig (signed)
- Inks
- Johnny Craig (signed)
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Hmm... just 9 P.M.!
- Genre
- crime
- Characters
- Old Charlie (patient); Herb (patient); Hank's girlfriend (cameo); Hank's girlfriend's lover (death); Hank Bowers (villain)
- Synopsis
- Old Charlie's efforts to describe the sights outside of the hospital window are really appreciated by two paralyzed patients. But soon, a new patient, Hank Bowers, being held for murder and supposedly blind, is put into the room and he does not appreciate such talk. Until Hank gets an idea for escape.
- Reprints
-
in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #2 (1983) - in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #2 (September 1990)
-
in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #4/1992 (uke 23 1992) - in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #8 (August 1994)
- in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #5 - Fall Guy for Murder and Other Stories (July 2013) [Reprinted in black and white.]
-
Indexer Notes
Letterer credit by Craig Delich.
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
A Trace of Murder!
Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 7 pages
- Script
- Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)
- Pencils
- Jack Kamen (signed)
- Inks
- Jack Kamen (signed)
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Irving Fenwick turned away from his wife Muriel...
- Genre
- crime
- Characters
- Muriel Fenwick (Irving's wife, death); Emma Morley (Felix's wife, death); Helen (Felix's girlfriend); unnamed Police Lieutenant (cameo); unnamed Chief of Police (cameo); unnamed doctor (cameo); two young cemetery vandals [Moose; Butch] (cameos for both); unnamed cemetery caretaker; Irving Fenwick (villain, death); Felix Morley (villain)
- Synopsis
- The murder-suicide of a husband and wife greatly interests Felix Morley, who wishes to do away with his nagging wife for young and fresh Helen. Felix researches and discovers that some poisons can be administered with no trace of the poison left behind and decides to use it on his wife, Emma, who dies, and all her money is left to Felix. But Felix slips and says that he killed his wife to his girl, so Helen goes to the Police. Unbeknownst to Felix, two cemetery vandals switch the headstones of Emma and Muriel, so when the Police investigate, Felix is in a fix.
- Reprints
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #2 (1983)
- in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #2 (September 1990)
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #8 (August 1994)
- in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #14 - Forty Whacks and Other Stories (November 2015) [Reprinted in black and white.]
-
Indexer Notes
Plot and script credits by Craig Delich.
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
Double-Cross
text story / 2 pages
- Script
- Al Feldstein
- Pencils
- ? (masthead illustration)
- Inks
- ? (masthead illustration)
- Colors
- ?
- Letters
- typeset
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Ever since they had pulled that hundred grand job up in Scranton...
- Genre
- crime
- Characters
- Morton (villain, death); Ben Carlisle (villain); Donna (villain, Ben's moll and wife, death)
- Synopsis
- Carlisle and Morton had perpetrated a $100,000 heist in Scranton, but managed to outrun the law. But Morton loved Ben's moll, Donna, so planned to have her set up Ben for a killing, then she and Morton could run off together with all the dough. However, Ben knows of the plan and plans a double-cross himself, which works out well.
- Reprints
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #2 (1983)
- in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #2 (September 1990)
-
Indexer Notes
Page count revision from 1 to 2 by Craig Delich.
The Escaped Maniac!
Crime SuspenStories / comic story / 6 pages
- Script
- Bill Gaines (co-plot); Al Feldstein (co-plot, script)
- Pencils
- George Roussos (signed as Roussos)
- Inks
- George Roussos (signed as Roussos)
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- The engine hummed contentedly as I guided the car along the highway...
- Genre
- crime
- Characters
- Charles Beeker (factory worker, hitchhiker, death); Bert (villain, vehicle driver)
- Synopsis
- Bert picks up a hitchhiker alongside the road in a blinding rainstorm and begin a journey together. But when Beeker turns on the radio instead of the car's heater, they hear a broadcast telling of an escaped maniac from the state hospital for the criminally insane and not to pick up any hitchhikers. Naturally, Bert is nervous as they locate an unoccupied home to get out of the rain. Unfortunately, Charles falls victim to the man who picked him up: the real maniac!
- Reprints
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #2 (1983)
- in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #2 (September 1990)
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #8 (August 1994)
- in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #35 - The Bitter End and Other Stories (January 2024) [Reprinted in black and white.]
-
Indexer Notes
Plot and script credits by Craig Delich.
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
Partnership Dissolved!
The Haunt of Fear / comic story / 7 pages
- Script
- Al Feldstein
- Pencils
- Graham Ingels (signed as G. Ingels)
- Inks
- Graham Ingels (signed as G. Ingels)
- Colors
- ? (see notes)
- Letters
- Jim Wroten
- First Line of Dialogue or Text
- Hee, hee! Yes, it's me again!
- Genre
- crime; horror-suspense
- Characters
- The Old Witch (host); Miss Stone (Winkler's secretary); Doctor Paul Merrick (inventor, death); Herman Winkler (villain, packing house owner, death)
- Synopsis
- Doc Merrick displays the effectiveness of his secret chemical solution to tenderize meat: an extract of the papaya fruit, containing an enzyme called Papien which, when mixed with Merrick's secret catalytic agent, creates a solution which acts like Pepsin, a digestive enzyme found in the human body. Together they plan to undercut their competitors in the meat business by dipping cheap cuts into the solution and creating high grade steak. Although Winkler plans a double-cross to get all the profits from this partnership, an unexpected surprise awaits him.....a fatal surprise!
- Reprints
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1983 series) #2 (1983)
- in Tales from the Crypt (Gladstone, 1990 series) #2 (September 1990)
- in Iskalde Grøss (Semic, 1982 series) #4/1993 (uke 33 1993)
- in Crime Suspenstories (Russ Cochran, 1992 series) #8 (August 1994)
- in The Fantagraphics EC Artists' Library (Fantagraphics, 2012 series) #13 - Grave Business and Other Stories (June 2015) [Reprinted in black and white.]
-
Indexer Notes
Script and plot credits by Craig Delich.
Colors were previously attributed to Marie Severin (see Indexer Notes for this issue’s cover, above).
Editing
Related Scans
Series Information
Table of Contents
-
0.
[no title indexed]
Crime SuspenStories -
1.
Out of the Frying Pan...
Crime SuspenStories -
2.
A Trace of Murder!
Crime SuspenStories -
3.
Double-Cross
-
4.
The Escaped Maniac!
Crime SuspenStories -
5.
Partnership Dissolved!
The Haunt of Fear
This issue was modified by, among others
- David B
- Craig Delich
- Bill Devine
- Katy Hayhurst
- Jerry Hillegas (R.I.P.)
- Michael Hoskin
- R. S. Martin
- Tony R. Rose
- Jason Sacks
- Ramon Schenk
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