Two-Fisted Tales 22 (2)

Two-Fisted Tales 22

Jul-Aug 1951

Dying City!

by Harvey Kurtzman, Alex Toth

An elderly Korean man recalls how the war destroyed his family and the city in which he lives.

Thoughts

There are lots of little moments in this 7-page story. I could describe them all but I think a very basic description is better in a case like this. There are a number of wordless panels in this story. I like this use of sound effects and captions. This story is told entirely from the old man’s perspective. American soldiers do appear in this story but they don’t get very many lines and they are not the main characters. Ultimately this story is about the havoc and destruction caused by war, specifically on civilian populations. The story is, in the end, a little preachy or moralistic but I didn't feel like that brought the story down. 

Frontline Combat 12 (2)

Frontline Combat 12

May-Jun 1953

F-86 Sabre Jet!

by Harvey Kurtzman, Alex Toth

Four F-86 fighter pilots engage 4 MiG-15s in aerial combat over Korea during the Korean War. The sky is very overcast and one of the pilots sails into a seemingly endless cloud bank. He loses sense of direction and has trouble believing what the instruments on his dashboard are telling him. He goes with the readings on the instruments despite feeling that he is making a mistake. His instruments turn out to be correct and he emerges from the cloud bank safely.

The Giggling Killer

by Harvey Kurtzman
Crime-SuspenStories (1950) 3
Feb-Mar 1951

Reprinted in Crime SuspenStories (1992) 3
May 1993

Lester Loman, a traveling salesman who lives in a suburb of Chicago, is sick of his wife's nagging. His story crosses paths with that of the giggling killer who has already strangled 8 people. Lester kills his wife and tries to make it look like the serial killer did it. Lester doesn't exactly get away with it but it isn't the police that catch him.

Most of the panels have just a few colors and not much in the way of detail color work. Many of the panels are dominated by a single color which could be green, yellow, blue, orange, pink, or purple. I think this was probably done for more than just artistic reasons.

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8711/

Poison!

by Johnny Craig, Marie Severin
Crime SuspenStories (1950) 3
Feb-Mar 1951

Reprinted in Crime SuspenStories (1992) 3
May 1993

A man comes up with a crazy scheme to frame his housekeeper for the murder of his wife. She knows he killed his wife and is blackmailing him. The scheme backfires, of course.

I love the look of the art work, the clean lines, and the coloring by Marie Severin. There are a number of panels that are colored primarily or totally with yellow or green. This look totally works for me. The fade in on the last page as the man awakens (after the beautifully illustrated tumble down a flight of stairs) is also masterfully depicted. Twist endings don't always work for me but this is one case where the artwork helps as the camera angle is also twisted in the transition from the next-to-last to the last panel of the story.

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8711/

The Curse of Harkley Heath

By Harry Harrison and Wally Wood
Vault of Horror 13
Jun-Jul 1950

Reprinted in Came the Dawn and Other Stories Illustrated by Wally Wood

The three surviving members of the Harkley clan (Sybil, Charles, Edgar) read about the family curse which dates back to 1820 after murdering their Uncle Roger. Mr. Hagers, their uncle's lawyer informs them that Roger left all his money to Sybil. Charles and Edgar murder Sybil and then Charles turns on Edgar

All 3 are dead by the time the story ends. Story-wise not so great or innovative but I like visual storytelling, especially the horrific facial expressions. They really covey the sense of greed, panic, and dread the characters in this story are experiencing.

3/15

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/223228/

Search!

By Harvey Kurtzman
Two-Fisted Tales 21
May-Jun 1951

Reprinted in Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

In 1943 near Anzio two GI's man a machine gun post and fight to stay alive. During breaks in the fighting Joe tells his ammo man about how he is  searching for Mario, his brother. Joe was born in Italy. Mario stayed behind years before when Joe and their ma moved to the United States.

There ain't a lot to this story. What struck me the most about it isn't the twist at the end but the relationship between Joe and the ammo man whom he calls kid. It felt real, not forced or fake.

This is the first Kurtzman drawn war story in this collection. From the looks of it the rest of the stories, whether drawn by Kurtzman or not, are all war stories. I suppose arguably the first story in this collection, Conquest, could also be considered a war story.

3/3

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8951/

The Living Corpse

by Al Feldstein (writer) and Wally Wood (artist)
Crypt of Terror 18
Jun-Jul 1950

Reprinted in Came the Dawn and Other Stories Illustrated by Wally Wood

Jed Bryant goes a bit crazy after he gets attacked by a corpse while working in the morgue late at night. He tries taking a break from the job and goes to see a magic show, Satanus and Desiree. Why he would go to see a show like that considering what has him on edge already is beyond me. Turns out that Satanus is the living corpse that has attacked him twice.

Kind of silly but I loved how creepy some of the art is especially when Jed is hallucinating.

2/28

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8343/

Pirate Gold!

By Harvey Kurtzman
Two-Fisted Tales 20
Mar-Apr 1951

Reprinted in Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

Long Ben Sawkins slowly recovers his memory of his life as a pirate, his shipmates who double crossed him, and the treasure they stole together.

The twist at the end of this story wasn't quite enough for me. It was s little too simple to suit my tastes.

2/17

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8836/

The Mad Magician

by Gardner Fox, Harry Harrison, Wally Wood
Haunt of Fear 15
May-Jun 1950

Reprinted in Came the Dawn and Other Stories Illustrated by Wally Wood

Petaja, the mad magician, traps Jim and his wife. After drugging them he plans to saw Jim in half but Jim's wife gets away and gets the police.

Not a great ending but I loved how this story was built up. The illustrations of the whirling saw blade and the crazy look in Petaja's eyes helped to sell the intensity of the situation.

2/6

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8246/

Jivaro Death!

By Harvey Kurtzman
Two-Fisted Tales 19
Jan-Feb 1951

Reprinted in Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzmsn

Slick Charlie kills a diamond courier in South America and takes his credentials. He gets away with it thanks to some help from Garcia, whom he later double crosses. After impersonating the diamond courier he takes a roundabout route to get to the Pacific coast. He gets caught by the Jivaro people. Smitty his new assistant is tortured to death while Charlie listens to his screams. Charlie avoids torture but not death at the hands of the Jivaro.

The twist at the end of this story wasn't the strongest. It felt a bit weak and tacked on at the end. The strength in this story is the way in which it is told up to that point.

1/30

GCD: https://www.comics.org/issue/8669/

The Werewolf Legend

By Gardner Fox, Harry Harrison, Wally Wood
Vault of Horror 12
Apr-May 1950

Reprinted in Came the Dawn and Other Stories Illustrated by Wally Wood

Walter Mallory wakes up covered in blood and with fuzzy memories of what happened the night before. After he reads a family history he starts to believe he is a werewolf. There is of course a twist in end of the story.

Not bad, not the Frazetta art I am used to but he didn't draw it alone.

1/19

Conquest!

By Harvey Kurtzmsn
Two-Fisted Tales 18
Nov-Dec 1950

Reprinted in Corpse on the Imjin and Other Stories by Harvey Kurtzman

A story of violent and bloody conquest set in 16th century Mexico. Captain Juan Alvorado leads a force of Spaniards who have come for gold. They use their superior weapons to capture the city. Soon the Spaniards grow bored and less vigilant. The natives return and return bloodshed with bloodshed.

I have read this story before in color in Two-Fisted Tales Archive Vol. 1. I had my doubts going in but it really works well in black and white.

There's nothing particularly spectacular about the subject matter but the visual story-telling is great. Love the sense of motion in the action scenes. There's something about the shading effect Kurtzmsn uses in some panels that I really like.

If I had to single out one panel I guess it would be the opening splash page but there are no wasted panels in this story.

1/11