Extra! #1

Credits:
Cover dated March/April 1955
Cover by Johnny Craig

"Dateline: Cayo Ramono, Cuba!" - Art by Johnny Craig/Story by Johnny Craig
"Camera!" - Art by John Severin/Story by Colin Dawkins
"Holiday for MacDuff" - Art by Reed Crandall/Story by ???
"Dateline: Key West!" - Art by Johnny Craig/Story by Johnny Craig

Extra! is the second of the six New Direction titles that I've covered on this blog. This one featured the adventures of newspaper reporters and photographers, who often got heavily involved in the action themselves as this issue shows. Overall, like EC's other New Direction titles, Extra! just couldn't compare to those that came out in the New Trend. All of the stories here are average adventure stories at best, and from a story standpoint aren't good enough to warrant any high praise. Overall the artwork is fairly strong though. Johnny Craig was my favorite EC artist and he got 2 stories per issue here (and was editor for the comic's entire run). While EC's line was almost entirely anthology stories, Extra! features a number of recurring characters who are introduced here including Keith Michaels, Vicki, Patrick MacDonald and Slick Rampart.

"Dateline: Cayo Romano, Cuba!" - Reporter Keith Michaels is heading towards Cuba but is late, worrying his boss, Editor Patrick MacDonald as well as his secretary Vicki. Keith and Vicki depart on a plane, having heard that a munitions firm owner, Henry Gavell (a former Nazi) has dissappeared. Upon arriving in Cuba, Keith finds that Gavell has been taken prisoner. Keith is able to rescue Gavell and escape with him, but thinks that it was all an act and takes Gavell captive. This is proven when Gavell reveals he knows Keith's name, despite him not saying it.

"Camera!" - Slick Rampart, a cameraman heads to a conference in Geneva to take pictures of a General May. While there, he spots that another cameraman is carrying an odd camera that he doesn't switch the film for. Rampart follows the man and goes inside his home while he's away. There he realizes that the camera is actually a gun. He is encountered by some thugs on the way out whom he manages to beat off. Rampart sneaks a regular camera back into the man's house. The next day he spots him trying to take a picture of the general and realizes that the man was trying to assassinate him. The criminal is taken captive and pulls out a regular gun, but Rampart shoots him with the camera-gun.

"Holiday for MacDuff" - A Scottish reporter named MacDuff heads down for vacation on the island of Christian. There he hears gunshots going off and bursts inside a house where he sees Dr. Karona and his daughter. Karona has been shot. MacDuff decides to helps out the daughter, Wilhelmina, despite local law enforcement not trusting him. Wilhelmina tells MacDuff that Karona was hiding away from enemy agents while working for his government on a Tinnium project. MacDuff and Wilhelmina escape from their guard and MacDuff finds the man who shot Karona. They do battle on  his boat and MacDuff comes out on top. Wilhelmina convinces MacDuff to keep things a secret by kissing him.

"Dateline: Key West!" - Keith Michaels and Vicki head to Key West where Keith hopes to get some spear fishing in. They attend a party that night where they meet the head of the Miami World Press Service, Mr. Edson. He introduces them to his daughter Nancy and her fiance Rod. The next day, Keith and Vicki go out spearfishing and Keith spots a body in the water. He brings it up and Mr. Edson reveals the body belonged to a private investigator he had looking into Rod. Keith convinces Rod and Nancy to come out spearfishing with him and Vicki. They head to the area where Keith found the body, which he has left there. He has Rod come underwater with him where the 2 do battle, with Keith knocking him out. Once he brings Rod to the surface Nancy admits that Rod was into Narcotics and was blackmailing her. Upon coming to Rod confesses to the murder, and Keith & Vicki decide to enjoy the rest of their time off.