The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories Volume 3
Various authors
Dark Horse Books
May 12, 2015
Reviewed by Tim Potter
The third volume of The EC Archives: Shock Suspenstories delivers reprinted classic tales of the macabre from February 1954 to January 1955. Like it’s better known sister publications Vault of Horror and Tales From the Crypt, Shock Suspenstories consistently produced high quality comic book stories that addressed pressing social issues of the time. This volume contains two stories that unflinchingly look at race relations in a very progressive way that shocked many upon their original release. This edition also contains stories that were written and published during the concerted attack on the comic industry in general, horror comics in particular, that eventually led to Congressional hearings and industry wide censorship. The tightrope act of presenting these social issues and telling entertain stories is what EC did so brilliantly.
Contained here are six issues of the original magazine, each presenting about five graphic tales, one prose tale, original advertisements for other EC books and letter columns with fan mail. The prose stories are generally the weakest of the offerings, fun but forgettable in each case. The advertisements are fun relics of the time, especially the ads for EC’s Pirates comic, which has never been reprinted in Archives editions but hopefully will soon.
The letter columns, “Shock Talk,” are surprisingly fascinating, especially in issues number 13 and 18. The issue 13 “Shock Talk” presents letters from readers about a previous story that dealt with race in the armed forces. One letter is shocking in it’s hateful intent, while the remainder show that readers were impressed with the magazine’s forward stance on integration and positive race relations. “Shock Talk” in issue 18 is actually an op-ed about the concerted attempt to regulate and censor comic books. It provides an interesting insight as to why the stories from 60 years ago are more open-minded and challenging that much of the work published today.
Highlights from the graphic stories include the majority of the stories. “Blood-Brothers” is a story about one man’s irrational hatred of African-Americans. He learns his long-time friend is one-quarter black and is so offended that he begins a campaign of terror to force the man to move out of their neighborhood. The former friend is driven to suicide and the man who caused it learns an uncomfortable truth about his past. In “The Orphan” an unwanted and abused ten-year-old girl frames her mother and her mother’s lover for the murder of her father. It a harsh and brutal tale with a gut-punch of an ending. “Well Trained” finds an obsessed cop doing everything he can to see that his wife’s murderer goes to the electric chair for his crime. He is given every chance to kill the murderer himself but insists that the system must do its job and the obsession leads to an interesting and ambiguous ending. Siblings in “My Brother’s Keeper” are linked by one’s hatred for the other and the murder of a lover. It’s a strange and creepy tale with a fantastic ending.
The EC Archives are can’t miss entertainment for fans of classic comics. Shock Suspenstories may not rise to the same amazing standards of the EC horror publications, but the general quality of its contents is solid. These stories, billed as “Jolting Tales of Tension in the EC Tradition,” are a bit uneven. The volume of content in the edition makes up for any stories that miss the mark, over 200 pages of stories that are packed densely with smart, fun comic entertainment.
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