Product Description: EC Comics were superior to other comics of the 1950s because of a higher quality of writing and artwork, and they were widely imitated by other comics publishers. The subject matter for EC Comics were horror, science fiction/fantasy, crime stories, war stories and stories with a social message that generally had a twist or "shock" ending. This volume reprints the second six complete issues (24 stories) of the comic book Shock SuspenStories, originally published in 1953, and features a mixture of horror, crime, war and social issue-based stories, characterized by ironic "O. Henry" type twist endings, and including the first attempts in the comics medium to teach moral lessons about racial prejudice, anti-Semitism, gang violence, corrupt officials, etc.
No wonder "The Code" was created, EC was censored, and went out of business Shock SuspenStories, The EC Archives, Volume 2 contains full color glossy reprints of issues 7-12 of Shock SuspenStories. Now that Gemstone is publishing these stories, one can see why "The Code" was created, EC was censored, and went out of business. The only thing missing from these reprints are the advertisements. I wanna send away from my X-Ray specs!
Issue 7's last story, "The Small Assassin," is an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury story. Issue 9's first story, "The October Game" is also an adaptation of a Ray Bradbury tale.
The story "In Gratitude..." deals with racism and the small town mindset. It is stories like these that offer a glimpse into how life was back years ago. Taking into account the final message of this story, the moral lesson, one can see how it conflicted with an agenda of racism. I will not give you the particulars and details because the story presents the realities of war, two heroes' homecomings, and how different they were. For children and teenagers to read comic books with such social commentary rebuking the establishment, EC branded themselves.
Great stories and a great glimpse into the history of comics!
Fantastic Where it all began. Amazing art, great stories, beautiful new color on heavy glossy paper. These E.C. Archives are well worth buying. I intend to get them all.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Not Available Comics
Trevor
