Shock SuspenStories
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Shock SuspenStories was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The bi-monthly comic, published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein, began with issue 1 in February/March 1952. Over a four-year span, it ran for 18 issues, ending with the December/January 1955 issue.
Front covers were by Feldstein, Wally Wood, Johnny Craig, George Evans and Jack Kamen. Kamen was the comic's most prolific artist, usually doing the lead eight-page story in each issue. Other stories were illustrated by Craig, Evans, Wood, Graham Ingels, Jack Davis, Al Williamson, Joe Orlando, Reed Crandall, Bernard Krigstein and Frank Frazetta.
Shock SuspenStories originated in early 1952 as a "sampler" featuring stories of various genres. Gaines and Feldstein explained the comic's origin and the source of its title in the first issue:
- We've tried to satisfy every one of you readers who have written us insisting that E.C. increase its output! Many of you wanted another science-fiction mag... you horror fans wanted another horror book... and you suspense readers wanted a companion mag to Crime SuspenStories! We decided, therefore, to make this new mag an "E.C. Sampler" ...and to include in it an S-F yarn, a horror tale, a Crime SuspenStory, and... for you readers of Frontline Combat and Two-Fisted Tales... a war story! Although there was a wide variance in the types of mags requested, all of you fans seemed to agree on one thing: all of you wanted the stories to have the usual E.C. SHOCK endings! So what could be more natural than to call the magazine SHOCK SUSPENSTORIES?
The war story would be immediately phased out with the second issue, replaced with a message story – the "Shock SuspenStory". Bhob Stewart discussed the "Shock SuspenStory" in his notes for the EC Library, which reprinted all 18 issues of this title:
- ...It was evident from the cover of #2 that Gaines had conceived this title for matters of deeper concern. With "The Patriots (the first Shock Suspenstory, from issue 2), the "Shock SuspenStory" was born. And far from being just a label of meaningless hype, the concept proved to be a major step for EC, providing Gaines and Feldstein with a forum for expressing their views on the human condition just as Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat were for Harvey Kurtzman. The Shock SuspenStory was characterized by a running theme of mob violence and an art style best described as Heightened Realism. A similarity can be noted between Wood's dramatically effective Shock renderings, and the caricatures of corruption in the acclaimed fine art of Jack Levine. [1]
Over the next three years Shock SuspenStories would tackle many relevant and controversial issues including racism (issue 3's "The Guilty", issue 11's "In Gratitude"), mob hysteria (issue 2's "The Patriots"), police corruption (issue 4's "Confession"), vigilantism (issue 6's "Under Cover"), drug addiction (issue 12's "The Monkey"), and rape (issue 8's "The Assault", issue 16's "A Kind of Justice"). The sampler format remained for the remaining three stories in the title until the end of 1953. Starting with issue 12 the horror and sci-fi stories were phased out and the comic focused primarily on crime and "Shock SuspenStories" for the remainder of its run.
Issue 13 of the title featured the story "Squeeze Play", which was the only solo story Frank Frazetta drew for E.C.
Issue 14 contained two of the title's most controversial stories, "The Orphan", which featured a ten year old girl murdering her father and framing her mother, and "The Whipping" which featured a racist father mistakenly beating his daughter to death, under the impression that she was her hispanic boyfriend. Gaines was questioned extensively about both stories by the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in April 1954. [2]
Shock SuspenStories was one of five comics voluntarily killed by publisher Bill Gaines in 1955 due to the current outcry over horror and crime comics.
Some stories from this comic were adapted for the Tales From the Crypt television series. Two stories (issue 7's "The Small Assassin" and issue 9's "The October Game") were adaptations of Ray Bradbury short stories.
[edit] Issue guide
| # | Date | Cover Artist | Story | Story Artist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Feb/March 1952 | Al Feldstein | The Neat Job! | Jack Kamen |
| Yellow! | Jack Davis | |||
| The Monsters! | Joe Orlando | |||
| The Rug! | Graham Ingels | |||
| 2 | April/May 1952 | Wally Wood | Kickback! | Jack Kamen |
| Gee Dad... It's a Daisy! | Wally Wood | |||
| The Patriots! | Jack Davis | |||
| Halloween! | Graham Ingels | |||
| 3 | June/July 1952 | Wally Wood | Just Desserts! | Jack Kamen |
| The Guilty! | Wally Wood | |||
| The Big Stand Up! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Stumped! | Jack Davis | |||
| 4 | August/Sept 1952 | Wally Wood | Split Second! | Jack Kamen |
| Confession | Wally Wood | |||
| Strictly Business! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Uppercut! | Jack Davis | |||
| 5 | Oct/Nov 1952 | Wally Wood | Well-Traveled! | Jack Kamen |
| Hate! | Wally Wood | |||
| What Fur?! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Cold Cuts! | Jack Davis | |||
| 6 | Dec/Jan 1953 | Wally Wood | Dead Right! | Jack Kamen |
| Under Cover! | Wally Wood | |||
| Not So Tough! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Sugar 'N Spice 'N... | Graham Ingels | |||
| 7 | Feb/March 1953 | Al Feldstein | Beauty and the Beach! | Jack Kamen |
| The Bribe! | Wally Wood | |||
| Infiltration | Joe Orlando | |||
| The Small Assassin! | George Evans | |||
| 8 | April/May 1953 | Al Feldstein | Piecemeal | Jack Kamen |
| The Assault! | Wally Wood | |||
| The Arrival | Al Williamson | |||
| Seep No More! | George Evans | |||
| 9 | June/July 1953 | Al Feldstein | The October Game | Jack Kamen |
| Came the Dawn! | Wally Wood | |||
| The Meddlers! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Carrion Death! | Reed Crandall | |||
| 10 | Aug/Sept 1953 | Jack Kamen | The Sacrifice | Jack Kamen |
| ...So Shall Ye Reap! | Wally Wood | |||
| Home Run! | Joe Orlando | |||
| Sweetie-Pie | Reed Crandall | |||
| 11 | Oct/Nov 1953 | Johnny Craig | The Tryst! | Johnny Craig |
| In Gratitude... | Wally Wood | |||
| The Space Suitors | Reed Crandall | |||
| ...Three's A Crowd | Jack Kamen | |||
| 12 | Dec/Jan 1954 | Al Feldstein | Deadline | Jack Kamen |
| The Monkey | Joe Orlando | |||
| The Kidnapper | Reed Crandall | |||
| Fall Guy | Wally Wood | |||
| 13 | Feb/March 1954 | Jack Kamen | Only Skin-Deep | Jack Kamen |
| Blood-Brothers | Wally Wood | |||
| Upon Reflection | Reed Crandall | |||
| Squeeze Play | Frank Frazetta | |||
| 14 | April/May 1954 | Wally Wood | The Orphan | Jack Kamen |
| The Whipping | Wally Wood | |||
| You, Murderer | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| As Ye Sow... | George Evans | |||
| 15 | June/July 1954 | Jack Kamen | Raw Deal | Jack Kamen |
| The Confidant | Wally Wood | |||
| For Cryin' Out Loud! | Reed Crandall | |||
| Well Trained | George Evans | |||
| 16 | Aug/Sept 1954 | George Evans | ...My Brother's Keeper | George Evans |
| The Hazing | Joe Orlando | |||
| A Kind of Justice | Reed Crandall | |||
| The Pen is Mightier | Jack Kamen | |||
| 17 | Oct/Nov 1954 | George Evans | 4-Sided Triangle | Jack Kamen |
| In Character | Reed Crandall | |||
| The Assassin | George Evans | |||
| The Operation | Joe Orlando | |||
| 18 | Dec/Jan 1955 | George Evans | Cadillac Fever! | George Evans |
| The Trap | Jack Kamen | |||
| In the Bag | Bernard Krigstein | |||
| Rundown | Reed Crandall |
[edit] Reprints
Shock SuspenStories has been reprinted on a couple of occasions. The series was collected in a series of three black-and-white hardbacks by Russ Cochran in 1981 (also available together as a slipcased set), and all 18 individual issues saw print from Cochran (in association with Gemstone Publishing) between September 1992 and December 1996.
In December 2006, Shock SuspenStories became (with the first volume of Weird Science) the inaugural titles reprinted in lavish, full-color hardback books by Cochran and Gemstone Publishing as part of the EC Archives series. These volumes aim to collect the series in its entireity (alongside other EC Comics titles), in full-color volumes (of six issues each). Volume 1 included a foreword by fan Steven Spielberg and Volume 2 followed in May, 2007.
