Frontline Combat | |
---|---|
Publication information | |
Publisher | EC Comics |
Schedule | Bi-monthly |
Format | Anthology |
Publication date | July/August 1951 – January 1954 |
No. of issues | 15 |
Creative team | |
Created by | Harvey Kurtzman |
Written by | Harvey Kurtzman |
Artist(s) | Various |
Editor(s) | Harvey Kurtzman |
Frontline Combat is an anthology war comic book written and edited by Harvey Kurtzman and published bi-monthly by EC Comics. The first issue was cover dated July/August, 1951. [1] It ran for 15 issues over three years, and ended with the January, 1954 issue. Publication was discontinued following a decline in sales attributed to the end of the Korean War. The title was a companion to Kurtzman's comic book Two-Fisted Tales . Both titles depicted the horrors of war realistically and in great detail, exposing what Kurtzman saw as the truth about war without glamorizing or idealizing it.
Artists who contributed included Kurtzman and EC regulars such as John Severin, Jack Davis, Wally Wood, George Evans and Will Elder. Non-EC regulars who contributed included Alex Toth, Ric Estrada, Joe Kubert and Russ Heath.
Kurtzman wrote the majority of the comic's stories with Jerry DeFuccio contributing one-page text stories and an occasional regular story. The issues included writing contributions from artists Davis, Wood and Evans. [2]
In addition to contemporary stories about the Korean War and World War II, Two-Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat contained a number of stories taking place in historical settings, including the Civil War, the Revolutionary War and ancient Rome.
A series of special issues dedicated to the Civil War included issues 31 and 35 of Two-Fisted Tales and issue 9 of Frontline Combat. Although originally planned to be seven issues in total, the series was never completed. Other special issues of Frontline Combat included an issue dedicated to Iwo Jima (issue 7) and an issue dedicated to the Air Force (issue 12).
Kurtzman's editing approach to Two Fisted Tales and Frontline Combat was a stark contrast to EC editor Al Feldstein's style. Whereas Feldstein allowed his artists to draw the story in any manner they desired, Kurtzman developed detailed layouts for each story and required his artists to follow them exactly. [3] Kurtzman's writing tended to have a lot less text in them than Feldstein's, which enabled the two war titles to be hand-lettered rather than machine-lettered like the remainder of EC's titles. [4] Kurtzman was also dedicated to making the stories as historically accurate as possible and, along with assistant DeFuccio, put a lot of research into each story. As a result, where Feldstein took generally about a week to complete each issue he edited, Kurtzman took approximately a month.
Frontline Combat has been reprinted several times in the years since its demise. It was fully reprinted in a series of three black-and-white hardbacks by publisher Russ Cochran as part of The Complete EC Library in 1982. Between August 1995 and February 1999, Cochran (in association with Gemstone Publishing) reprinted the full 15 individual issues. This complete run was later rebound, with covers included, in a series of three softcover EC Annuals . In 2008, Cochran and Gemstone began to publish hardcover, re-colored volumes of Frontline Combat as part of the EC Archives series. One volume (of a projected three) was published before Gemstone's financial troubles left the project in limbo. GC Press LLC, a boutique imprint established by Russ Cochran and Grant Geissman, announced in a press release dated September 1, 2011 that it was continuing the EC Archives series, with the first new releases scheduled for November 2011. [5]
# | Date | Cover Artist | Story | Story Artist |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | July/Aug 1951 | Harvey Kurtzman | Marines Retreat! | John Severin & Harvey Kurtzman |
Enemy Assault! | Jack Davis | |||
O.P.! | Russ Heath | |||
Unterseeboot 113 | Wally Wood | |||
2 | Sept/Oct 1951 | Harvey Kurtzman | Bouncing Bertha | Jack Davis |
Zero Hour! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
Gettysburg! | Wally Wood | |||
Contact! | Harvey Kurtzman | |||
3 | Nov/Dec 1951 | Harvey Kurtzman | Tin Can! | Jack Davis |
Desert Fox! | Wally Wood | |||
Prisoner of War! | Harvey Kurtzman | |||
How They Die! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
4 | Jan/Feb 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | Combat Medic! | Jack Davis |
Light Brigade! | Wally Wood | |||
Air Burst! | Harvey Kurtzman | |||
Bomb Run! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
5 | March/April 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | 442nd Combat Team | John Severin & Bill Elder |
Stonewall Jackson! | Jack Davis | |||
War Machines! | John Severin | |||
Big 'If'! | Harvey Kurtzman | |||
6 | May/June 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | A Platoon! | John Severin & Bill Elder |
War of 1812! | Wally Wood | |||
Ace! | John Severin | |||
Bellyrobber! | Jack Davis | |||
7 | July/Aug 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | Iwo Jima! | Wally Wood |
The Landing! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
The Caves! | John Severin | |||
Mopping Up! | Jack Davis | |||
8 | Sept/Oct 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | Thunderjet! | Alex Toth |
Caesar! | Wally Wood | |||
Chickamauga! | Jack Davis | |||
Night Patrol! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
9 | Nov/Dec 1952 | Harvey Kurtzman | Abe Lincoln! | Jack Davis |
First Shot! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
Choose Sides! | Wally Wood | |||
Bull Run! | John Severin | |||
10 | Jan/Feb 1953 | John Severin & Bill Elder | A Baby! | Wally Wood |
Geronimo! | John Severin & Bill Elder | |||
Napoleon! | George Evans | |||
Anzio! | Jack Davis | |||
11 | March/April 1953 | Jack Davis | Bird-Dogs! | John Severin & Bill Elder |
Rough Riders! | Ric Estrada | |||
Lufbery! | George Evans | |||
Sailor! | Jack Davis | |||
12 | May/June 1953 | Jack Davis | F-94! | George Evans |
F-86 Sabre Jet! | Alex Toth | |||
B-26 Invader! | Jack Davis | |||
H-5 | Wally Wood | |||
13 | July/Aug 1953 | Wally Wood | Pantherjet! | Jack Davis |
War Dance! | John Severin | |||
Wolf! | Wally Wood | |||
Frank Luke! | George Evans | |||
14 | Oct 1953 | Wally Wood | Albatross! | Wally Wood |
Bonhomme Richard! | Joe Kubert | |||
Immelman! | George Evans | |||
Whupped! | Jack Davis | |||
15 | Jan 1954 | Wally Wood | Perimeter! | Wally Wood |
McCudden! | George Evans | |||
Vengeful Sioux! | Jack Davis | |||
Belts N' Celts! | John Severin | |||
Entertaining Comics, more commonly known as EC Comics, was an American publisher of comic books, which specialized in horror fiction, crime fiction, satire, military fiction, dark fantasy, and science fiction from the 1940s through the mid-1950s, notably the Tales from the Crypt series. Initially, EC was owned by Maxwell Gaines and specialized in educational and child-oriented stories. After Max Gaines' death in a boating accident in 1947, his son William Gaines took over the company and began to print more mature stories, delving into genres of horror, war, fantasy, science-fiction, adventure, and others. Noted for their high quality and shock endings, these stories were also unique in their socially conscious, progressive themes that anticipated the Civil Rights Movement and dawn of 1960s counterculture. In 1954–55, censorship pressures prompted it to concentrate on the humor magazine Mad, leading to the company's greatest and most enduring success. Consequently, by 1956, the company ceased publishing all of its comic lines except Mad.
Gemstone Publishing is an American company that publishes comic book price guides. The company was formed by Diamond Comic Distributors President and Chief Executive Officer Steve Geppi in 1994 when he bought Overstreet.
The Vault of Horror was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Haunt of Fear, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Vault of Horror hit newsstands with its April/May 1950 issue and ceased publication with its December/January 1955 issue, producing a total of 29 issues.
The Haunt of Fear was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics, starting in 1950. Along with Tales from the Crypt and The Vault of Horror, it formed a trifecta of popular EC horror anthologies. The Haunt of Fear was sold at newsstands beginning with its May/June 1950 issue. It ceased publication with its November/December 1954 issue, compiling a total of 28 issues.
Two-Fisted Tales is an anthology war comic published bi-monthly by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title originated in 1950 when Harvey Kurtzman suggested to William Gaines that they publish an adventure comic. Kurtzman became the editor of Two-Fisted Tales, and with the dawn of the Korean War, he soon narrowed the focus to war stories. The title was a companion comic to Frontline Combat, and stories Kurtzman wrote for both books often displayed an anti-war attitude. It returned to adventure-themed stories in issues #36 through #39, co-edited by John Severin and Colin Dawkins, with a cover-title change to The New Two-Fisted Tales.
Crime SuspenStories was a bi-monthly anthology crime comic published by EC Comics in the early 1950s. The title first arrived on newsstands with its October/November 1950 issue and ceased publication with its February/March 1955 issue, producing a total of 27 issues. Years after its demise, the title was reprinted in its entirety, and four stories were adapted for television in the HBO's Tales From The Crypt.
Tales from the Crypt was an American bi-monthly horror comic anthology series published by EC Comics from 1950 to 1955, producing 27 issues. Along with its sister titles, The Haunt of Fear and The Vault of Horror, Tales from the Crypt was popular, but in the late 1940s and early 1950s comic books came under attack from parents, clergymen, schoolteachers and others who believed the books contributed to illiteracy and juvenile delinquency. In April and June 1954, highly publicized congressional subcommittee hearings on the effects of comic books upon children left the industry shaken. With the subsequent imposition of a highly restrictive Comics Code, EC Comics publisher Bill Gaines cancelled Tales from the Crypt and its two companion horror titles, along with the company's remaining crime and science fiction series in September 1954.
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.
Weird Fantasy is an American dark fantasy and science fiction anthology comic that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. The companion comic for Weird Fantasy was Weird Science. Over a four-year span, Weird Fantasy ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December 1953 issue.
Weird Science was an American science fiction comic book magazine that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a four-year span, the comic ran for 22 issues, ending with the November–December, 1953 issue. Weird Fantasy was a sister title published during the same time frame.
Weird Science-Fantasy was an American science fiction-fantasy anthology comic, that was part of the EC Comics line in the early 1950s. Over a 14-month span, the comic ran for seven issues, starting in March 1954 with issue #23 and ending with issue #29 in May/June 1955.
Impact was a short-lived comic book series published by EC Comics in 1955 as the first title in its New Direction line.
Incredible Science Fiction was an American science fiction anthology comic published by EC Comics in 1955 and 1956, lasting a total of four issues.
Jerome DeFuccio was an American comic book writer and editor known primarily for his work at Mad, where he was an associate editor for 25 years. He was also closely involved in many of the Mad paperbacks, editing Clods' Letters to Mad and many other reprints and spin-offs. Some of his contributions to EC Comics appeared under the pseudonym Jerry Dee.
Valor was a comic book published by EC Comics in 1955 as the second title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by Bill Gaines and edited by Al Feldstein. It lasted a total of five issues before being cancelled, along with EC's other New Direction comics.
Panic was a bi-monthly humor comic that was published by Bill Gaines' EC Comics line during the mid-1950s as a companion to Harvey Kurtzman's Mad, which was being heavily imitated by other comic publishers.
Aces High was a comic book series published by EC Comics in 1955 as the fourth title in its New Direction line. The bi-monthly comic was published by Bill Gaines. It lasted a total of five issues before being cancelled, along with EC's other New Direction comics.
The EC Archives are an ongoing series of American hardcover collections of full-color comic book reprints of EC Comics, published by Russ Cochran and Gemstone Publishing from 2006 to 2008, and then continued by Cochran and Grant Geissman's GC imprint (2011–2012), and finally taken over by Dark Horse in 2013.
Russ Cochran was a publisher of EC Comics reprints, Disney comics, and books on Hopalong Cassidy, Chet Atkins, Les Paul, and vacuum tubes. He was a publisher for over 30 years, after quitting his job as a physics professor.
Three Dimensional E.C. Classics was a quarterly comic book anthology series published by EC Comics in 1954. It began publication with its Spring 1954 issue and ceased with its March 1954 issue, producing a total of two issues. The stories it contained were classics in that they were recyclings of stories that had already appeared in earlier EC comic books. However, all new artwork was done for these books, rather than applying the 3-D process to the original illustrations from the first presentations of the stories. They were three-dimensional because they were presented in Anaglyph 3-D. Two 3-D viewers were included with each issue.