Two-Fisted Tales #19

Credits:
Cover dated January/February 1951
Cover by Harvey Kurtzman

"War Story!" - Art by John Severin & Bill Elder/Story by John Severin & Harvey Kurtzman
"Jivaro Death!" - Art by Harvey Kurtzman/Story by Harvey Kurtzman
"Flight from Danger" - Art by Johnny Craig/Story by Johnny Craig
"Brutal Capt. Bull!" - Art by Wally Wood/Story by Harvey Kurtzman

Today I'll be covering my first issue of EC's war comics. I was never as much a fan of the Kurtzman edited comics as I was the Feldstein ones, but Kurtzman's war comics were nonetheless fairly strong throughout. This is one of the earliest issues and the first where Kurtzman's hand in editing becomes apparant.

"War Story" - A sergeant tells a young fellow soldier about a company he was a part of in Japan during World War II. The company had a pair of twins in it, Dave, who loved to play his harmonica and kid around, and Duke, a mean guy obsessed with killing. Heading through the jungle they come across a Japanese battalion that they take out. Duke shoots a Japanese soldier shooting a white flag, then tries to kill the wounded Japanese commander but is stopped by the fellow soldiers. The wounded Japanese commander is brought to a hospital tent where he is given a blood transfusion. Duke becomes obsessed with killing him. Later, when Duke is away, his brother is wounded in an air raid and a stray bullet kills the wounded Japanese commander. Dave is put in the hospital tent where he was held. Duke sneaks in later that night, and thinking it is still the Japanese commander, stabs him with his knife. He is shocked to find his twin brother's harmonica seconds later. This story was the first in a long series of team ups with John Severin (pencils) and Bill Elder (inks) which appeared primarily in EC's war comics, but also had a few appearances in the sci-fi comics as well. The two were a good combination. After a more adventure-themed first issue, this second issue of Two-Fisted Tales starts off with the first true war story of the franchise and is a good one. Kurtzman shows right off the bat that Two-Fisted Tales would be different than the usual war comic. This story was originally intended to be the final story of the issue, but was moved up to the front, one of the few instances where EC went against its typical 8/7/6/7 page story format.

"Jivaro Death" - On a boat in the Amazon, a man named Slick and his assistant Garcia kill a diamond messenger and his bodyguard, then pretend to be them and acquire a half a million dollars in diamonds. Slick and Garcia head to a restaurant to meet Slick's colleague Smitty, who stabs and murders Garcia when he arrives. Slick and Smitty decide that to avoid the cops they'll head up the Amazon on their own boat, through Jivaro country, who are known for shrinking heads. Slick and Smitty are caught by the Jivaros and Smitty is tortured for hours before his death. The Jivaros come for Slick, who tells the Jivaros that he has magic powers that makes his flesh as strong as steel. As a result, he tricks the Jivaros into cutting his head off immediately rather than torturing him. This story was inspired by an anecdote that appeared in Bennet Cerf's book Try and Stop Me. This book was a source for a number of stories written by EC over the years, in particular those done by Al Feldstein and Bill Gaines. Jack London's story "Lost Face" was also an inspiration for the ending.

"Flight from Danger" - An elderly professor near Berlin, Professor Franck, and his daughter Lisa are under pursuit by German soldiers. Franck has knowledge about how to create a hydrogen bomb and is hoping to escape and give the information to America. The two are helped by Captain Jim Turner from the U.S. has arrived to rescue them. While under pursuit, Professor Franck is shot and dies of his injuries. Another ally, Herman Gault arrives to assist, and with his help, Jim and Lisa are able to escape. Due to working as her father's assistant, Lisa also knows about how to develop a hydrogen bomb so as to help America. This rather basic adventure story is the weakest of the issue, a rarity for Craig, who usually turned out very strong material.

"Brutal Capt. Bull!" - This story, which takes place during the 1700s, features a British man named Jeremiah Pringle who is brought aboard the ship H.M.S. Confidence against his will to be a crewmember. The ship is captained by the Captain Bull of the title, who beats Pringle and has him whipped when he demands to see him. Pringle swears that Captain Bull will regret this someday. As the months pass, Pringle becomes a strong crewmember. One day when a cannon rolls around the ship unsecured, Pringle is able to grab it and save Captain Bull. A couple of years pass and Pringle is discharged. Knowing that he is no longer bound to follow Captain Bull's rules, he goes to see him and beats him up. EC's revenge-style stories would often end with murder or some other gruesome fate, but in this case its just Captain Bull getting beat up by Pringle. An overall good story that would have fit at home in Piracy years later.