Impact #3

Credits:
Cover dated July/August 1955
Cover by Jack Davis

"Life Sentence" - Art by Reed Crandall/Story by ???
"The Debt" - Art by Jack Davis/Story by Carl Wessler
"Totally Blind" - Art by Jack Kamen/Story by Otto Binder
"The Good Fairy" - Art by Graham Ingels/Story by ???

Impact was another of EC's New Direction titles. Its focus was on shock endings, one of the things that EC was most well known for. Like EC's other New Direction titles, things just couldn't compare to the golden age of EC's New Trend, but in general it was a better comic than the other New Direction titles. Overall this is an average issue, with the first story being the best and the issue gradually getting weaker with each successive story.

"Life Sentence" - A pastor reveals to a man named Paul that his father has died, bringing him to the dirty house where his father lived. Paul has utter disdain for his father. They talk about Paul's childhood, when his brother Danny died of typhoid. Soon after his father, who had come back from a hardware convention completely changed. He left Paul's mother and moved to a house on the other side of town. There he angrily yells at anyone who comes near. Paul and his mother are able to get by through charity provided to them by the pastor. Back in the present, the pastor reveals to Paul that his father was a typhoid carrier which was the reason for his strange change in behavior for so many years.

"The Debt" - A man named Joe Wiler is released from prison after spending 8 years there. On his way out he is greeted by his old friend and boss, Mr. Ryder, President of the local bank. Flashbacks show how Joe's son Ted was consistently behaving badly and breaking the law. Ted tries to settle down and Joe gets him a job at the bank, but Ryder has a hard time believing that he has changed. Ted gets married, and Ryder becomes suspicoius of the car Ted drives and the fact that he accompanies a country club. One day Ryder tells Joe that Ted has stolen $5,000 from the Bank. Joe takes the blame for it to cover for his son, even though Ryder knows he is lying about it. Back in the present, Ryder, who has suffered a heart attack and is on his death bed reveals that he was the one who stole the money.

"Totally Blind" - A woman named Mildred is very down on herself due to how ugly she is. As a result, she has never had a man love her. But one day she meets a handsome new neighbor of hers, Jim, who is blind. The two soon become friends and he asks her to marry him. Millie, continuously down on herself says they can't get married due to how ugly she is, but he convinces her how foolish this is and that he's known this of her since the beginning. One day Jim falls and hits his head. He later tells Millie he has an ability to get an operation which can restore his sight. Millie wants him to have it before they get married, such that he can see how ugly she is and leave her. Jim tells Millie that she is being a fool and that the fall restored his sight and he has been able to see what she looks like for a while now.

"The Good Fairy" - An old man named Crowder runs a store and is known as a penny pincher and grumpy old man. One day a little girld opens a lemonade stand in front of his store, angering him greatly. The girl's sad story about her sick mother causes many to sympathize with her and buy lemonade from her. Crowder complains, but the police is on the girl's side. Each night the girl's lemonade jar mysteriously gets filled up, causing her to think that she has a good fairy helping her out. This gets Crowder even more upset. But as the story ends it is revealed that Crowder is the good fairy, filling the jar in secret since he has a reputation to maintain.

Psychoanalysis #1

Credits:
Cover dated March/April 1955
Cover by Jack Kamen

"Freddy Carter (Session 1)" - Art by Jack Kamen/Story by Daniel Keyes
"Ellen Lyman (Session 1)" - Art by Jack Kamen/Story by Daniel Keyes
"Mark Stone (Session 1)" - Art by Jack Kamen/Story by Robert Bernstein

Probably the most unique of EC's New Direction titles, Psychoanalysis focused on three patients of a psychiatrist, the type of story you would never expect for a comic book. The title was unique from other EC stories for several other reasons as well, such as being the only EC title that was exclusive to one artist, Jack Kamen. Kamen was perfectly suited for the comic, where much of the activity occured in a psychiatrist's office. The title also brought in a couple of outside writers in Daniel Keyes and Robert Bernstein who weren't used for EC's other titles, at least until the picto-fiction era.

"Freddy Carter (Session 1)" - Freddy is a teenage boy that has acted out recently, including stealing a wristwatch from a friend. He also is failing in school and doesn't do well at sports. The psychiatrist soon notices that a lot of blame comes from his well to do parents. His father is obsessed with him being good in sports and going into the same field of work as him. His mother satisfies his interest in arts and other less manly things, but also smuthers him. This makes his father even more upset at him. All of this has caused Freddy to act out and to steal from his friend, whom he is jealous of because he has much better parents.

"Ellen Lyman (Session 1)" - Ellen is a young woman who is frequently having very sever migraines. She is also suffering from insomnia and whenever she does sleep has a bizarre dream. During the dream she is trying to get into a garden but is refused by a man standing there. He gives her a rabbit, which soon becomes worn and lumpy. She is told she can go through the gate if she gets a hundred on a test, but instead fails. She eventually finds the guard of the gate dead and heads into the garden, but finds the garden dark and decrepid. The psychiatrist works through Ellen's childhood, finding that a lot of these things stem from the poor household in which she grew up and the jealousy of her older sister.

"Mark Stone (Session 1)" - Mark Stone is an overweight writer who is frequently having pains in his chest that cause him to pass out. He is a successful writer, making a lot of money, but he typically spends it all and is sick with his work, thinking it is too commercialized. He is always down on any other writer whom he comes across who he thinks has done a better job than himself. Similar to Freddy, he also recounts a bad childhood during which his father was very critical of him.

M.D. #1

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

"The Fight for Life" - Art by Graham Ingels
"Janie Some Day" - Art by George Evans
"To Fill the Bill" - Art by Joe Orlando
"The Antidote" - Art by Reed Crandall

The second issue I'll be covering of M.D. is the comic's first. Not much different here than the previous issue I covered (#5) aside from the fact that each story (aside from the first) has a prognosis listed above it. Much like the previous issue I covered, its a rather dull and lifeless issue. The writer for all four stories is unknown.

"The Fight for Life" - Rather than being a traditional fictional story, this story instead provides a brief history of illnesses and attempted cures throughout the ages, starting with cave men, and going through various eras of human history. It shows the various ways in which mankind dealt with illnesses, including some very backwards thinking. It also briefly features Hippocrates and the effect he had on the medical profession. Stories told in this fashion were quite a rarity for EC, particularly for comics not edited by Harvey Kurtzman. It was clearly meant as an introduction to the comic, and a similar approach was taken with Aces High.
"Janie Some Day" - The Janie of the title is an orphan girl with Congenital Osteomyelitis, which forces both of her legs to be in casts. Eventually one of the leg gets better, enabling the removing of the cast, but the other leg gets worse and worse until it has to be amputated. The doctor tells Janie of the new leg she will get to replace her amputated one, but she is horrified when she believes she will be given a wooden leg. The doctor shows her the life-like artificial leg that is ready for her, and she is soon able to walk and play with the other orphans.

"To Fill the Bill" - A man is behind on a number of bills, and whenever he is able to pay some of them always ignores the one from his doctor, despite recommendations from his wife to pay them. One day his son swallows a safety pin and stops breathing. Despite the fact that the man was behind on all his bills, the doctor arrives and is able to save the boy by doing a tracheotomy. The man tells the doctor he will pay all the outstanding bills right away. The protagonist's refusal to pay the doctor bills in this story came off as a bit ridiculous and made it rather obvious what the ending of the story would be.

"The Antidote" - A doctor is about to head to meet with a specialist about something when one of his patients comes, hysteric about his kid. Despite having something to attend to, the doctor goes with him to see the child, who has an appendicitis. The doctor goes ahead and operates on him at the father's pleading, despite his other obligations. Once he is finished, he meets with the specialist, who was examining the doctor's wife. A similar type of story was done in Impact, although with much more tragic results.

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.

M.D. #5

Credits:
Cover dated December 1955/January 1956
Cover by Johnny Craig

"Complete Cure" - Art by Reed Crandall
"Child's Play" - Art by Joe Orlando
"Emergency" - Art by Graham Ingels
"The Right Diagnosis" - Art by George Evans

The writer for all 4 stories is unknown.

This is the first New Direction title I've covered as part of this blog. EC's New Direction comics were brought out after Bill Gaines cancelled all of EC's horror and suspenstory comics due to the horror/crime comic controversy at the time. The New Direction comics tackled various new subjects, some of which hadn't been covered in comics before. M.D. focused in particular on doctors and medical-drama related stories. Essentially a comic book version of E.R., House or other doctor/hospital themed shows. The New Direction comics were commercial failures and were a bit lifeless compared to EC's New Trend horror, crime and sci-fi comics. In addition, starting with the second issue of each the comics were under the Comics Code, resulting in a lot of censorship. Some of the New Direction comics were able to be at least somewhat interesting, even with the censorship, but M.D. was a comic I was never all that into. I can't say the stories are particularly bad, at least in this issue, but its hard to get too much into them or have much to say which is why this will be a rare instance where I won't have individual thoughts on each story. The one big thing that does come across in reading this issue is how different things are today; in "Child's Play", the mother's fear of her son being labeled different due to having a hearing aid, enough so that she doesn't even want him to have it, comes off as particularly ridiculous nowadays. The issue features a lot of extremism from the main characters, not just from that mother, but also central characters from the first and last stories.

"Complete Cure" - A man named Phil is in a car accident in which his legs are severly injured. His wife arrives at the hopsital and agrees to surgery which will save his life, but require the removal of his legs. Phil is extremely negative after waking up, wishing that he had died rather than losing his legs. He is convinced that his life is over and doesn't want to live as a cripple using prosthetics. Eventually he is convinced by his wife to use prosthetics and is able to walk again, but still feels extremely sorry for himself. He decides to leave his wife to spare her the burden of having to support him, but his doctor convinces him to come and see him first at a country club where he introduces him to a well known doctor, who also lost both of his legs. Phil realizes that he can make something of himself despite his handicap.

"Child's Play" - This story features a young boy named Jimmy whose friends stop playing with him and whose grades start suffering. It is soon discovered that Jimmy is going deaf which is the reason for these things. He goes through various tests and the doctor tells his parents that they could operate on him and give him a hearing aid to make things better. His mother is strongly opposed to this, thinking he will be labeled as different. She eventually concedes to having the operation. As it turns out, him having a hearing aid doesn't cause any problems at all; he gets back together with his old friends and they find his hearing aid very interesting.

"Emergency" - This story features a doctor traveling in an ambulance with a man with a broken leg. Due to a large storm, a tree blocks the road and he's forced to carry the injured man on a stretcher with the driver. When they get to the hospital they find that the power is completely out, and the backup generator isn't working either. The doctor, as well as the other doctor there and the various other staff work throughout the night to help out their patients, despite the lack of light or electricity, including successfully conducting surgery. By morning the power is back on and the doctors are finally able to take a break.

"The Right Diagnosis" - A man named George Gordon goes to his doctor complaining of severe abdominal pain. His doctor says nothing appears wrong after doing various tests, but George is convinced that he needs his appendix out. The doctor thinks it is more of a psychological disorder due to George's depression and that he has a self-destructive personality making him want to get surgery despite not needing it. George decides to go to another hospital under a fake name to see if they will operate on him, but they refuse as well. This causes George to want to commit suicide by jumping off the side of the building, but the doctor convinces him to not do so and get help.