Crime Suspenstories, Vol. 1 (EC Archives)

These are great comics! The first 6 issues of Crime SuspensStories, and it’s a shame the rest haven’t been published. This is Volume 1 of one volume.I actually wonder if these stories aren’t better now than they were when they were first published in 1950-51. Reading them now, they are a breath of fresh air in comic book style — simple, unpretentious, expressive artwork and quirky stories written by authors who don’t take themselves too seriously.I don’t mean to condemn more modern popular comics with their psychological themes, social significance, or their more sophisticated artwork. That’s all great, but it’s nice to see what comics were like in a less complicated pop world.The originals were published at a time before television was common and when movies were black and white. They were the accessible visual media of their time, portable and inexpensive. You can imagine yourself back in those days, when comic books were a “rich” medium compared to others, and your chosen means of escape to another world.These are not testaments to 50s innocence, though. And the 50s weren’t as innocent as much of its pop culture would make it look, so all the better.The stories and the art are analogous to pre-code movies of the 20s and early 30s, not yet bound by the Comics Code. These are from the pre-mom-and-apple-pie days of comics, free to explore darker themes, shady behavior, and the parts of everyday life that your parents didn’t want you to know about. Reading these is almost like an act of revenge against the Comics Code’s dominance starting in the late 50s.No need to over-intellectualize though. These are just plain fun to read. Taboo subject matter, twisty endings, a general feeling of anxiety.It’s crime, but it’s not cops and robbers, or gangsters and G-men. Often it’s husband vs. wife, or wife vs. husband. It’s never a crime of sudden passion. There’s always a plan, and the plan is going to bite back hard, usually in just the last few frames of the story.There is certainly social commentary implicit in the stories. Husbands and wives are at each others’ throats (although they typically use more clever means of killing each other). Wives are depicted as bored at home, slaved to the kitchen and housework. Husbands are workaholics, and of course sometimes cheaters. They complain that their wives “nag” continuously. The standard domestic relationship of the 50s seems unstable, ready to explode. And then it does.There’s a running theme of fate working against the bad guy like a force of nature. Something doubles back on him — just when he (or she) thinks he’s carried out the perfect murder, he finds out he’s his own victim (the victim dies, too, but . . . collateral damage). A twist of fate he couldn’t have foreseen reaches out and grabs him by the throat at the last second.So you get the fun, and you get the moral of the story, but it’s not like the good guys win. It’s just that the bad guys lose.

Bad boys, bad boys, whatcha gunna do? Whatcha gunna do when the artist draws you? Great artwork, great stories, this is CLASSIC "noir" crime comics at its very best. This is the stuff that inspired modern masterpieces of crime fiction like Brubaker's Criminal. Great stories, with great art, you could do a whole lot worse than "acquiring" a copy of this, however the means, and reading this wonderful collection. I mean, what is your other alternative, watching Law & Order?

The EC Crime Suspense Stories were created back when people weren't bombarded with so many entertainment choices. TV was in it's infancy and video games unheard of. So imagine yourself as a ten year old kid getting hold of one of these comics. The excitement, the artwork, the sorid adult world of skullduggery. This collection of the first six comics will have you thinking, pretty radical for the 1950's! I brought these for my kids and yes they like them but maybe wait until they are at least 12 years old as they might start waking up scared in the night. Good art work and a good collection of tales.

Love these pre-code stories. Takes me back to my early days. The artwork is great and the stories are prime for bedtime reading. Some of them are most interesting. Certain ones are still chilling.

Perfect.

These stories represent the first six issues of Crime SuspenseStories. They are all great stories representing the best talent. The color reproduction is vibrant and the paper quality is wonderful. Well done.

AAA+++ PRODUCT NOW IN FULL COLOR - THESE VOLUMES ARE A GREAT READ! The stories are as good now as when they were first published

Great!

I had never read any of their crime stories before. Unfortunately I find them rather disappointing. As Max Collins admits many of the stories are based on popular movies and novels from the day although he feels they were influenced more by radio adaptions of the stories. Either way if you're familiar with the stories you already know the ending so the "twist ending" doesn't really work. Fortunately after two issues they start putting in a Haunt of Fear story at the back of the book. While the ones in this volume are not classics they are very good. Graham Ingels does the art thank goodness.Now all of the art as always is really good. I don't know if I'll pick up other volumes. The one main reason for me to get them would be the horror stories and I'm not sure they're worth the cost.