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The EC Archives
The EC Archives: Frontline Combat, Vol. 1
Legendary artists Harvey Kurtzman, Wally Wood, Jack Davis, John Severin, and Will Elder illustrate these powerful stories written by Kurtzman and Jerry DeFuccio. Long considered to be among the best war stories ever written, Frontline Combat tells poignant tales of "War and Fighting Men," reprinted here in spectacular full color. Volume One recaptures the first six complete issues (24 stories) of this ground-breaking title, originally published in 1951 and 1952.
- GenresComicsWarGraphic Novels
212 pages, Hardcover
Published October 15, 2008
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 6, 2020
The war comics of EC were not your white washed Sgt Rock or Sgt Fury stories where the good guys always won in the end. They were much gritter and real life. The main characters many times ended up just as messed up as the wars they fought in. Great art and story telling Recommended
November 3, 2020
Never thought I'd give a mere collection of funny books a 5 star rating, but then I had never had prolonged exposure to Harvey Kurtzman's FRONTLINE COMBAT. The worst stories in this collection are very good, the majority are the best and the best are gems.
July 5, 2024
This was finally released in September of 2009, after 11 months of delays from its original solicitation date. The reason that this book was delayed so long was because of Gemstone's financial troubles which have ultimately resulted in them losing the EC license. I guess that the book was ready to be released on time, but since the printer bills were not paid they kept this book hostage in a warehouse somewhere. I am really bummed out, because I want the entire 'New Trend' in hardcover format. There will be a total of 66, and so far 13 have been released with no word on when we will see the rest.
Like all EC Comics, these are among the finest comic books ever produced. EC mopped up the competition with their superior writing and artwork. In a few short years after these issues were published a jerkoff by the name of Fredric Wertham would help spearhead this company's demise.
Like all EC Comics, these are among the finest comic books ever produced. EC mopped up the competition with their superior writing and artwork. In a few short years after these issues were published a jerkoff by the name of Fredric Wertham would help spearhead this company's demise.
April 4, 2018
A few excellent war parables, a few solid historical pieces, and a metric ton of well-pace, beautifully drawn war stories. Good stuff.
January 4, 2022
It's not that common for a story from the golden age to make me teary-eyed but that last story sure did
October 23, 2012
Fantastic groundbreaking comics, packaged in a far-too-pricey edition.
Entertaining Comics (EC) had a momentous, but all too brief, impact on the comic books in the early to mid 1950s. Called Educational Comics until its publisher died in a boating accident and his more populist-minded son took over, EC put out a line of science-fiction, crime, and horror books that were written with a level of cleverness unseen elsewhere and illustrated by a top shelf of artists. But its war titles, edited, written, and laid out by Harvey Kurtzman, were the cream of the crop. While other titles in the line like Tales from the Crypt relied on shocking (for the day) gore and black humor, Kurtzman went against the grain of other war comics with stories emphasizing the futility and insanity of combat. One tale finds a fresh recruit in World War I trapped on the barbed wire in no man's land, crying out for help, his fellow soldiers in the trenches going crazy listening to him die. Another story, set during the Civil War, ends with a soldier inadvertently shooting his father dead. Throughout, Kurtzman demonstrates a painstaking attention to storytelling and pacing. Unlike his contemporaries, Kurtzman allowed many moments to pass silently, without narration, letting his precise layouts carry the drama with style.
This volume offers a fascinating window into another time. Half of the stories in these comics published in 1951 and 1952 are Korean War tales. It's tough to imagine comics (or even other pop culture like TV) taking on the Iraq or Afghan wars in a similar way. But even in this regard, Kurtzman's vision comes through. Other contemporary war comics emphasized the adventure or portrayed the war patriotically. Kurtzman's tales end as often in tragedy as they do in triumph, and even those happy endings come with a bitter undertone. We're only a few years past the "buy war bonds!" era, but cultural changes that would come to fruition in the Vietnam War have their roots here.
For too long, these pivotal comics have only been available to enthusiasts. And they are likely to remain so. This hardcover volume is just over 200 pages, six issues worth, and costs $49.95. It's a decent looking oversize volume, with each issue followed by a brief essay giving historical context, not to mention the reproduced house ads from the original issues (which offer a look at how swiftly the company had shifted gears: an ad for Shock SuspenStories with its cover image of an electrocution sits opposite an ad trying to shift old copies of Picture Stories from the Bible). But there are also a few garish ads for other volumes in the reprint series, which look horrible in a deluxe edition.
These stories have also been recolored from the original comics. For the most part, this is done with care. And although the notes claim that the original colorist's guide was followed, it's only in the loosest sense. The early EC books may have had superlative writing and art, but they were colored idiosyncratically, with climactic panels often washed in pastel pinks or yellows. The recoloring job is much more naturalistic; blues, greens, and browns predominate. It's attractive to modern eyes, and in many ways an improvement, but it's still a baffling move. The EC fans who'd want to shell out hundreds of dollars for these volumes prize historical accuracy above all, and the new fans who'd appreciate the modern colors are pretty much priced out. This new EC fan has been grabbing cheap 90s reprints off eBay and out of back issue bins and borrowed the deluxe hardcover edition from the library.
Again, great work. It's a shame that such an important piece of comics history remains out of the reach of the casual reader.
Entertaining Comics (EC) had a momentous, but all too brief, impact on the comic books in the early to mid 1950s. Called Educational Comics until its publisher died in a boating accident and his more populist-minded son took over, EC put out a line of science-fiction, crime, and horror books that were written with a level of cleverness unseen elsewhere and illustrated by a top shelf of artists. But its war titles, edited, written, and laid out by Harvey Kurtzman, were the cream of the crop. While other titles in the line like Tales from the Crypt relied on shocking (for the day) gore and black humor, Kurtzman went against the grain of other war comics with stories emphasizing the futility and insanity of combat. One tale finds a fresh recruit in World War I trapped on the barbed wire in no man's land, crying out for help, his fellow soldiers in the trenches going crazy listening to him die. Another story, set during the Civil War, ends with a soldier inadvertently shooting his father dead. Throughout, Kurtzman demonstrates a painstaking attention to storytelling and pacing. Unlike his contemporaries, Kurtzman allowed many moments to pass silently, without narration, letting his precise layouts carry the drama with style.
This volume offers a fascinating window into another time. Half of the stories in these comics published in 1951 and 1952 are Korean War tales. It's tough to imagine comics (or even other pop culture like TV) taking on the Iraq or Afghan wars in a similar way. But even in this regard, Kurtzman's vision comes through. Other contemporary war comics emphasized the adventure or portrayed the war patriotically. Kurtzman's tales end as often in tragedy as they do in triumph, and even those happy endings come with a bitter undertone. We're only a few years past the "buy war bonds!" era, but cultural changes that would come to fruition in the Vietnam War have their roots here.
For too long, these pivotal comics have only been available to enthusiasts. And they are likely to remain so. This hardcover volume is just over 200 pages, six issues worth, and costs $49.95. It's a decent looking oversize volume, with each issue followed by a brief essay giving historical context, not to mention the reproduced house ads from the original issues (which offer a look at how swiftly the company had shifted gears: an ad for Shock SuspenStories with its cover image of an electrocution sits opposite an ad trying to shift old copies of Picture Stories from the Bible). But there are also a few garish ads for other volumes in the reprint series, which look horrible in a deluxe edition.
These stories have also been recolored from the original comics. For the most part, this is done with care. And although the notes claim that the original colorist's guide was followed, it's only in the loosest sense. The early EC books may have had superlative writing and art, but they were colored idiosyncratically, with climactic panels often washed in pastel pinks or yellows. The recoloring job is much more naturalistic; blues, greens, and browns predominate. It's attractive to modern eyes, and in many ways an improvement, but it's still a baffling move. The EC fans who'd want to shell out hundreds of dollars for these volumes prize historical accuracy above all, and the new fans who'd appreciate the modern colors are pretty much priced out. This new EC fan has been grabbing cheap 90s reprints off eBay and out of back issue bins and borrowed the deluxe hardcover edition from the library.
Again, great work. It's a shame that such an important piece of comics history remains out of the reach of the casual reader.
July 20, 2012
This Archive is different that the other non-war EC Archives. Harvey Kurtzman's writing style is less formulaic, and thus less predicatable that that of Al Feldstein, who penned nearly all other EC "new age" stories. Kurtzman's stories were not always 6 pages long, and often times would lack the twist ending on the final page that seemed mandatory for stories in the horror or science fiction titles. Kurtzman also regularly included a history story, in which he would recount a battle from the war of 1812, or a biographical piece on a general from WW2.
This title, along with its predecessor Two-Fisted Tales also features artists who did not work on EC's non-war titles. Kurtzman's almost cartoony art style softens some of his grittier story subjects, while John Severin's ultra realistic style enhances the horrible world the reader has been sucked into.
This title began right at the start of America's entry into the Korean War, and so every issue features at least one story set in that conflict. The tone of the comic seems to change around the 5th issue of this Archive. Where Kurtzman often wrote stories that told of the tragedy of war (for both sides) in the first 4 issues, something (possibly fear of things like the House Un-American Activities Committee) changed to a more patriotic "American superiority" tone with the final 2 issues of this collection.
This title, along with its predecessor Two-Fisted Tales also features artists who did not work on EC's non-war titles. Kurtzman's almost cartoony art style softens some of his grittier story subjects, while John Severin's ultra realistic style enhances the horrible world the reader has been sucked into.
This title began right at the start of America's entry into the Korean War, and so every issue features at least one story set in that conflict. The tone of the comic seems to change around the 5th issue of this Archive. Where Kurtzman often wrote stories that told of the tragedy of war (for both sides) in the first 4 issues, something (possibly fear of things like the House Un-American Activities Committee) changed to a more patriotic "American superiority" tone with the final 2 issues of this collection.
February 6, 2023
Incoming mail! Kaboom! Contains four of the best stories Harvey Kurtzman ever wrote AND drew, including his all time favorite "Air Burst", and his last (combat) one "The Big If". Wood turns in some legendary work, the most important being "Desert Fox", with a full page depicting the holocaust ('we need four million more pages!'), followed by a total demystification of a man who then still had western sympathizers. Jack Davis is an absolute beauty in all of these stories, stunning and very emotional work. This, along with Two Fisted Tales 1+2, are three of the best volumes of war comics ever released not just by this label, but by anyone, anywhere, ever.
Want to read
August 4, 2014I last read these in complete box set reprint from Russ Cochran, late 1980s. This is as good as comics get. There will be some overlap between these sequential reprints and Fantagraphics' editions organized by artist and theme: the Harvey Kurtzman and John Severin volumes, in particular. I want to read and reread each one!
Highest recommendation.
Highest recommendation.
May 22, 2015
Much better than I expected. These aren't just the war propaganda that was typical of the time, they're sophisticated stories that pack an emotional punch. The stories in this volume cover most of America's wars. We get perspectives from both sides of many conflicts and we're usually left with tragedy. Very well written and great art, too.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews